Every MLB pitcher in the 3,000-strikeout club

Smoltz begins this list, and he also got there in a fascinating way. Famously, the Tigers traded Smoltz as a prospect to Atlanta for Doyle Alexander. As a starter for Atlanta, Smoltz was a strikeout machine, leading the National League twice in strikeouts (and also twice in games started). Then, he got injured and moved to the bullpen, where he was a lights-out closer. Smoltz racked up over 40 saves three times, including leading the majors with 55 in 2002. Then, back to the rotation, where in 2006 he once again led MLB in starts. The Hall of Famer retired with 3,084 strikeouts, but could have been higher on this list without the closer years.

Sabathia is one of three non-Hall of Famers on this list (and the other two are problematic figures for different reasons). He’s seen as a case study in the modern pitching resume for the Hall, since he retired with 251 wins, and the 300-win pitcher may be dead at this point. Sabathia won the Cy Young in 2007, one of five times he finished in the top five in voting. His 3,093 strikeouts came across 19 seasons. Hall of Famer monitoring systems have Sabathia as a borderline candidate, but maybe those need some reframing as well.

Speaking of problematic figures! Schilling was an elite strikeout pitcher. He racked up over 300 K’s in three different seasons, twice with the Phillies and once with the Diamondbacks. Schilling never won a Cy Young, though, and some analytics cases were down on him as a Hall of Famer simply as a pitcher, even with his 3,116 strikeouts. Those are paired with a 3.46 ERA and only 216 wins. Schilling came close to making the Hall, but as he started to make more polarizing and problematic statements, his votes started to top out, and he is no longer eligible for the BBWAA’s ballot.

Famed for his intimidation tactics on the mound — few have been as willing to throw at a batter as Gibson — the Cardinals legend retired with one more strikeout than Schilling. Of course, Gibson retired 13 years before Schilling debuted, so it’s not like he did that with intent. Gibson won two Cy Youngs, and in 1968 also won NL MVP with one of the best seasons ever. The righty had an 1.12 ERA, including 13 shutouts. This was too much for MLB, who lowered the mound and shrank the strike zone after the so-called “Year of the Pitcher.”

Many years later, Pedro would put up “Year of the Pitcher” style numbers. He led MLB in ERA five times, including two sub-2.00 ERA seasons, which were quite rare by the 1990s. Of course, this list is about strikeouts. The Hall of Famer led the American League in K’s three times and hung up his cleats with 3,154 of them. Notably, his 1.12 strikeouts per inning is third-most on this list, and he’s one of five to cross the 1.00 threshold.

Jenkins isn’t as big of a name as most of the pitchers on this list, but he has a Cy and he’s in the Hall. In fact, Fergie made history as the first Canadian in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was a workhorse on the mound, leading the majors in complete games four games. That will help you tally strikeouts, and indeed Jenkins notched 3,192 of them.

There’s a real uptick here, as Niekro retired with 3,342 strikeouts. He got there through sheer tonnage, which you can do when you are a knuckleball pitcher. It’s hard to argue with anybody being the best knuckleballer of all time other than Niekro. The style is easy on the arm, and Niekro retired with 5,404 innings pitched. That being said, he also led the NL in strikeouts in 1977, in his age-38 season. The dude retired at 48! Knuckleballing!

Our first active pitcher, Verlander is tied with Niekro at 3,342, but obviously that’s going to change quickly. Where he ends up is a mystery. The guy has three Cy Youngs, an MVP, two rings, and even a Comeback Player of the Year award. And yet, at 41, he’s still pitching, clearly because he wants to. Verlander is too far away to get to 4,000 but there is room to climb, not that his Hall of Fame resume needs padding.

The second, and last, active pitcher on this list, Scherzer and Verlander were teammates on multiple occasions. Now, they are neck-and-neck to see who will retire with more strikeouts. While Verlander is often seen as the better pitcher, “Mad Max” has more strikeouts (3,367) in fewer innings. Although he's only picked up two Cy Youngs and no MVPs, he has led the National League in strikeouts three times. Even though he’s been dealing with injuries, Scherzer seems like the kind of guy who is going to be dragged kicking and screaming into retirement.

Maddux was known for his elite control, leading the National League in walks per nine innings a whopping nine times. He’s also known for his fielding skills, picking up 18 Gold Gloves. However, he was also clearly an incredible strikeout pitcher as well. While the four-time Cy winner only topped 200 strikeouts once, and while he admittedly pitched 23 seasons, few players have topped his 3,371 strikeouts, so clearly he was adept on that front.

For decades, Johnson was the strikeout king of baseball. He’s from a different era, having retired in 1927, and having picked up his 3,000th strikeout in 1923. Unsurprisingly, his 5,914.2 innings pitched are the most on this list, and his 0.59 strikeouts per inning are the lowest. This is not to diminish “Big Train,” but to contextualize what he did. Johnson led the American League in strikeouts 12 times! He was the career leader in strikeouts from 1919 until 1983. Johnson was one of the inaugural Hall of Famers, on the strength of an unheard-of 3,508 strikeouts as well as 110 shutouts. Now that’s a record that won’t be broken.

Perry was infamous for doctoring baseballs, an image he built up for himself. That cut two ways. He released an autobiography in 1974, when he was still an active pitcher, called “Me and the Spitter.” Perry had a persona, which gave him more notoriety. However, not everybody found Perry’s unabashed chicanery charming. Though he won two Cy Youngs and retired with 311 wins and 3,534 strikeouts, it would not be until his third time on the Hall of Fame ballot that he got elected. He made it, but some argue that it took him three tries because some voters were hesitant to elect him, and even when he made it, it was on 77.5 percent of the ballots.

Though he spent the bulk of his career with the Dodgers (and even a couple seasons with the California Angels), and even though he would do stuff like appear on “Match Game” during his career, Sutton is kind of overlooked as an all-time great. Granted, he never won a Cy Young, but he led MLB in ERA once and led the NL in WHIP four times. Plus, there’s all the strikeouts. Sutton tallied 3,574 of them.

Pitching for the Miracle Mets of 1969 (when he led the NL in wins) was just the beginning. Five times, Seaver led the National League in strikeouts, and three times he led in ERA. The three-time Cy Young winner and 12-time All-Star is on the fringes of the “best pitcher ever” arguments. His 3,640 strikeouts get him to a new level of accomplishment by this measure, and a couple pitchers above him aren’t really in the “best ever” running. For what it’s worth, in 1992 he was elected into the Hall of Fame with a then-record 98.84 percent of the vote, and three of the five “no” votes left their ballots blank to protest Pete Rose being banned.

You may remember that Blyleven became a cause célèbre for analytically-minded folks when it comes to his Hall of Fame campaign. It took until his 14th, and penultimate time, on the ballot for Blyleven to get in. His 287 wins fell below the 300 mark that old-school viewers were still using as the threshold all Hall pitchers had to hit. However, twice he led MLB in FIP, and twice he was the leading pitcher in WAR, which obviously were not known quantities at the time. Here’s a number we can all get, though: Blyleven retired with 3,701 strikeouts, which is still fifth-most.

Carlton, a top-10 pitcher of all time (and maybe top five), opens the 4,000-strikeout club. With the Cardinals, he was a great pitcher. With the Phillies, he was the best pitcher in baseball. Between 1972 and 1983, the lefty led the National League in strikeouts five times (and wins three times), and won a whopping four Cy Youngs. Only two pitchers have more Cys, and they are both above him on this list. Carlton retired with 4,136 strikeouts.

Clemens is the other guy on this list not in the Hall of Fame, and of course that is purely because of the connection to PEDs that he has in the minds of voters. He led the American League in ERA six times and the National League once. Clemens, the greatest right-handed pitcher in history, also led the AL in strikeouts five times. His seven Cy Young awards is a record, and it is unlikely to ever be beat. Oh yeah, he also struck out 4,672 batters in his career. The top-three pitchers are at a different level.

Famously, Johnson started his career as an erratic pitcher. His long levers (Johnson stood 6’10’’ and was maybe the most-imposing figure to ever grace the MLB mound) made control difficult. Then, he figured it all out and one of the five-best pitching careers in history was born. Five times, “The Big Unit” racked up over 300 strikeouts in a season. He led the AL in ERA once and the NL three times. Also, he’d lead MLB in WHIP twice. Take that, control issues! Johnson retired with a whopping five Cy Youngs and a staggering 4,875 strikeouts. The best lefty ever? We wouldn’t want to argue against him.

One thing is for sure: Ryan was an amazing strikeout pitcher. He led his league in strikeouts 11 times. Also, he led the NL in ERA twice, and of course Ryan famously pitched seven no-hitters. And yet, nobody makes the argument he’s the best pitcher ever. Ryan never won the Cy Young. He also holds the record for the most walks and the most hits per nine innings as well. Ryan is kind of the Brett Favre of baseball. A Hall of Famer? Absolutely! That being said, he’s a Hall of Famer who mixed notable positive achievements with notable negative ones. His 5,714 strikeouts are incredible, and nobody will ever catch him. On the other hand, his 1.06 strikeouts per innings are fourth in the 3,000K club.