3,000 strikeouts

For decades, a pitcher recording 3,000 strikeouts was an almost unheard of accomplishment, as only Walter Johnson had managed the feat in baseball's first 100 years following the creation of the National Association. He was joined by Bob Gibson in 1974. In 2025, Clayton Kershaw became the 20th pitcher to reach the mark.

When Kershaw began closing in on the mark in 2025, cries familiar to anyone who had followed the 300 Wins mark over the years began to be heard: would he be the final pitcher to achieve the milestone? That seemed a strange proposition to make at a time when strikeout rates were at an all-time high, and the speculation was based on a misunderstanding of what it takes to reach the milestone: i.e. pitching effectively until your late 30's. The misunderstanding was that this had always been the case, and those who made it to 3,000 were always the exception.

The members

Player	Strikeouts	Date of 3,000th	Teams	Seasons
Nolan Ryan	5,714	July 4, 1980	New York (NL), California, Houston (NL), Texas	1966-1993
Randy Johnson	4,875	September 10, 2000	Montréal, Seattle, Houston (NL), Arizona, New York (AL), San Francisco	1988-2009
Roger Clemens	4,672	July 5, 1998	Boston (AL), Toronto, New York (AL), Houston (NL)	1984-2007
Steve Carlton	4,136	April 29, 1981	St. Louis (NL), Philadelphia (NL), San Francisco, Chicago (AL), Cleveland, Minnesota	1965-1988
Bert Blyleven	3,701	August 1, 1986	Minnesota, Texas, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, California	1970-1992
Tom Seaver	3,640	April 18, 1981	New York (NL), Cincinnati, Chicago (AL), Boston (AL)	1967-1986
Don Sutton	3,574	June 24, 1983	Los Angeles (NL), Houston (NL), Milwaukee (AL), Oakland, California	1966-1988
Justin Verlander*	3,553	September 28, 2019	Detroit, Houston (AL), New York (NL), San Francisco	2005-present
Gaylord Perry	3,534	October 1, 1978	San Francisco, Cleveland, Texas, San Diego, New York (AL), Atlanta, Seattle, Kansas City	1962-1983
Walter Johnson	3,509	July 22, 1923	Washington (AL)	1907-1927
Max Scherzer*	3,489	September 12, 2021	Arizona, Detroit, Washington (NL), Los Angeles (NL), New York (NL), Texas, Toronto	2008-present
Greg Maddux	3,371	July 26, 2005	Chicago (NL), Atlanta, Los Angeles (NL), San Diego	1986-2008
Phil Niekro	3,342	July 4, 1984	Milwaukee/Atlanta, New York (AL), Cleveland, Toronto	1964-1987
Fergie Jenkins	3,192	May 25, 1982	Philadelphia (NL), Chicago (NL), Texas, Boston (AL)	1965-1983
Pedro Martinez	3,154	September 3, 2007	Los Angeles (NL), Montréal, Boston (AL), New York (NL), Philadelphia (NL)	1992-2009
Bob Gibson	3,117	July 17, 1974	St. Louis (NL)	1959-1975
Curt Schilling	3,116	August 30, 2006	Baltimore, Houston (NL), Philadelphia (NL), Arizona, Boston (AL)	1988-2007
CC Sabathia	3,093	April 30, 2019	Cleveland, Milwaukee (NL), New York (AL)	2001-2019
John Smoltz	3,084	April 22, 2008	Atlanta, Boston (AL), St. Louis (NL)	1988-2009
Clayton Kershaw	3,052	July 2, 2025	Los Angeles (NL)	2008-2025

* Active player; total and teams as of end of 2025 season

Further Reading

• Douglas J. Jordan: 3,000: Baseball’s Elite Clubs for Hits and Strikeouts, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2024. ISBN 978-1-4766-9628-7
• Matt Kelly: "This exclusive club could get new member tonight: Baseball's 3,000-strikeout fraternity is probably smaller than you think", mlb.com, April 24, 2019. [1]
• Andrew Simon: 23,000-K club members Scherzer, Kershaw set for showdown: How rare is it?", mlb.com, August 7, 2025. [2]
• Jackson Stone: "Kershaw set to become 20th (and final?) member of 3,000-K club", mlb.com, July 1, 2025. [3]

Related Sites

• Career Strikeout Leaders