A man in a white baseball jersey with "ASTROS" on the chest and orange and yellow stripes on his shoulders pitches a baseball with his right hand.
Nolan Ryan is Major League Baseball's all-time strikeout leader at 5,714.

In Major League Baseball (MLB), the 3,000 strikeout club is the group of 19 pitchers who have struck out 3,000 or more batters in their careers. Walter Johnson became the first member in 1923, and was the only one until Bob Gibson joined in 1974. The most recent addition is Max Scherzer, who joined on September 12, 2021. The group includes three left-handed pitchers: CC Sabathia, Steve Carlton, and Randy Johnson.[1][2] Randy Johnson reached the mark with the fewest games pitched and innings pitched.[3] The Minnesota Twins were the first of four franchises to see multiple pitchers record their 3,000th strikeout: Walter Johnson (while the franchise was called the Washington Senators) in 1923 and Bert Blyleven in 1986. The other teams with multiple members are the Chicago Cubs (Ferguson Jenkins and Greg Maddux), the New York Yankees (Phil Niekro and Sabathia), and the Houston Astros (Nolan Ryan and Justin Verlander). César Gerónimo is the only player struck out by two pitchers for their 3,000th strikeout: Gibson in 1974 and Ryan in 1980.[4] Ten 3,000-strikeout pitchers are also members of the 300-win club.[5] Seven members were named to the All-Century Team, a list of MLB's best 100 players; fans later elected four of them as starters.[6][7] Thirteen members of the club also won a Cy Young Award in their careers.

The club is considered to almost be a guarantee of entry into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Fourteen members of the 3,000-strikeout club have been elected to the Hall,[8][9] most recently Randy Johnson, Pedro Martínez, and John Smoltz, all voted in during the 2015 balloting.[10] Three more members - Sabathia, Scherzer, and Verlander - are not yet eligible for election, being neither dead for six months nor retired for five seasons.[11] The remaining two, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling, made their first appearances on the ballot for the 2013 elections and received about half of the total votes needed for induction before falling off the ballot in 2022.[12] Clemens' future election is seen as uncertain because of his alleged links to use of performance-enhancing drugs.[13]

Key

Player Name of the player
Strikeouts Career strikeouts
IP Career innings pitched
Date Date of the pitcher's 3,000th strikeout
Batter The batter struck out for the pitcher's 3,000th strikeout
Team The pitcher's team for his 3,000th strikeout
Seasons The seasons this player played in the major leagues
† Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
‡ Player is active

Club members

A man in a gray baseball uniform with "ARIZONA" on the chest, a red baseball cap, and a tan baseball glove on his right hand with "51" on its side pitches a baseball with his left hand.
Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, second all-time in strikeouts, is one of only three left-handed pitchers with 3,000 strikeouts.
An electronic banner announces John Smoltz' 3000th strikeout during a game in April 2008.
Player Strikeouts IP K/IP Date Batter Team Seasons
Nolan Ryan† 5,714[14] 5,386 1.06 July 4, 1980[4] César Gerónimo[4] Houston Astros 1966, 1968–1993
Randy Johnson† 4,875[2] 4,1351⁄3 1.18 September 10, 2000[4] Mike Lowell[4] Arizona Diamondbacks 1988–2009
Roger Clemens 4,672[15] 4,9162⁄3 0.95 July 5, 1998[4] Randy Winn[4] Toronto Blue Jays 1984–2007
Steve Carlton† 4,136[1] 5,2171⁄3 0.79 April 29, 1981[4] Tim Wallach[4] Philadelphia Phillies 1965–1988
Bert Blyleven† 3,701[16] 4,970 0.74 August 1, 1986[4] Mike Davis[4] Minnesota Twins 1970–1992
Tom Seaver† 3,640[17] 4,7822⁄3 0.76 April 18, 1981[4] Keith Hernandez[4] Cincinnati Reds 1967–1986
Don Sutton† 3,574[18] 5,2821⁄3 0.68 June 24, 1983[4] Alan Bannister[4] Milwaukee Brewers 1966–1988
Gaylord Perry† 3,534[19] 5,3501⁄3 0.66 October 1, 1978[4] Joe Simpson[4] San Diego Padres 1962–1983
Walter Johnson† 3,508[20] 5,9142⁄3 0.59 July 22, 1923 Stan Coveleski Washington Senators 1907–1927
Greg Maddux† 3,371[21] 5,0081⁄3 0.67 July 26, 2005[22] Omar Vizquel[22] Chicago Cubs 1986–2008
Phil Niekro† 3,342[23] 5,4041⁄3 0.62 July 4, 1984[4] Larry Parrish[4] New York Yankees 1964–1987
Max Scherzer‡ 3,323[24] 2,7952⁄3 1.19 September 12, 2021[25] Eric Hosmer[25] Los Angeles Dodgers 2008–present
Justin Verlander‡ 3,283[26] 3,2642⁄3 1.01 September 28, 2019[4] Kole Calhoun[4] Houston Astros 2005–present
Ferguson Jenkins† 3,192[27] 4,5002⁄3 0.71 May 25, 1982[4] Garry Templeton[4] Chicago Cubs 1965–1983
Pedro Martínez† 3,154[28] 2,8271⁄3 1.12 September 3, 2007[8] Aaron Harang[8] New York Mets 1992–2009
Bob Gibson† 3,117[29] 3,8841⁄3 0.80 July 17, 1974[4] César Gerónimo[4] St. Louis Cardinals 1959–1975
Curt Schilling 3,116[30] 3,261 0.96 August 30, 2006[31] Nick Swisher[31] Boston Red Sox 1988–2007
CC Sabathia 3,093[32] 3,5771⁄3 0.86 April 30, 2019[33] John Ryan Murphy[33] New York Yankees 2001–2019
John Smoltz† 3,084[34] 3,473 0.88 April 22, 2008[35] Felipe López[35] Atlanta Braves 1988–1999, 2001–2009

See also

References

General
  • "Career Leaders & Records for Strikeouts". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
Specific
  1. ^ a b "Steve Carlton Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 4 January 2010. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  2. ^ a b "Randy Johnson Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  3. ^ Luft, Jacob (September 20, 2000). "3k the fast way: Big Unit is quickest to 3,000 strikeouts". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on February 19, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y "Johnson joins 3K club in Arizona's loss to Florida". Sports Illustrated. Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 19, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  5. ^ "Career Leaders & Records for Wins". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  6. ^ "The All-Century Team". MLB.com. Archived from the original on 19 January 2010. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  7. ^ "All-Century Team final voting". ESPN. October 23, 1999. Retrieved January 20, 2010.
  8. ^ a b c Noble, Marty (September 3, 2007). "Pedro records 3,000th strikeout". MLB.com. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  9. ^ Mitchell, Fred (July 20, 2005). "Maddux on the verge of 3,000 strikeouts". Chicago Tribune.
  10. ^ "Hall of Fame Class of 2015" (Press release). National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. January 6, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  11. ^ "Rules for Election". National Baseball Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 30 May 2010. Retrieved June 21, 2010.
  12. ^ "2013 Hall of Fame Vote a Shutout" (Press release). National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. January 9, 2013. Retrieved January 9, 2013.
  13. ^ Kurkjian, Tim (January 9, 2012). "Whopper of a list of names await in 2013". ESPN.com. Retrieved May 21, 2012. But Clemens is, after [Barry] Bonds, the next face of the steroid era. He has been charged with lying before Congress about his use of performance-enhancing drugs. He has no chance to make it to Cooperstown next year, or for many, many years to come.
  14. ^ "Nolan Ryan Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 4 January 2010. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  15. ^ "Roger Clemens Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 4 January 2010. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  16. ^ "Bert Blyleven Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  17. ^ "Tom Seaver Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 4 January 2010. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  18. ^ "Don Sutton Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  19. ^ "Gaylord Perry Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 12 February 2010. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  20. ^ "Walter Johnson Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  21. ^ "Greg Maddux Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  22. ^ a b Muskat, Carrie (July 26, 2005). "Giant milestone: Maddux fans No. 3,000". MLB.com. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  23. ^ "Phil Niekro Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  24. ^ "Max Scherzer Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 12, 2021.
  25. ^ a b "Near-perfect Scherzer 19th to 3,000 K's".
  26. ^ "Justin Verlander Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved September 28, 2019.
  27. ^ "Fergie Jenkins Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  28. ^ "Pedro Martínez Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 4 January 2010. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  29. ^ "Bob Gibson Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 4 January 2010. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  30. ^ "Curt Schilling Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  31. ^ a b "Schilling reaches 3,000 career strikeouts". ESPN Internet Ventures. Associated Press. August 31, 2006. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  32. ^ "CC Sabathia Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 30, 2019.
  33. ^ a b "3K for CC! Lefty 17th to achieve K milestone". MLB.com. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  34. ^ "John Smoltz Statistics and History". Baseball-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 4 January 2010. Retrieved January 18, 2010.
  35. ^ a b Bowman, Mark (April 23, 2008). "Smoltz enters exclusive 3,000 K-Zone". MLB.com. Retrieved January 18, 2010.

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