3,000 strikeout club

Hall of Famer 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 pitchers who have struck out 3,000 or more batters in their careers. Walter Johnson was the first to reach 3,000, doing so in 1923, and was the only pitcher at this milestone for 50 years until Bob Gibson recorded his 3,000th strikeout in 1974. In total, 16 pitchers have reached 3,000 strikeouts with John Smoltz, the most recent club member, joining in 2008.^[1] Steve Carlton and Randy Johnson are the only left-handed pitchers in this group.^[2][3] Randy Johnson was the quickest pitcher to 3,000 strikeouts, taking fewer games pitched or innings pitched than any other pitcher.^[4] César Gerónimo is the only player struck out by two different pitchers for their 3,000th strikeout, first by Gibson in 1974 and then Nolan Ryan in 1980.^[5] The Chicago Cubs are one of two franchises to see multiple pitchers record their 3,000th strikeout on their roster, first Ferguson Jenkins in 1982 and then Greg Maddux in 2005. The Minnesota Twins also had two pitchers reach the milestone with their team – Walter Johnson joined the club while the franchise was called the Washington Senators, then Bert Blyleven joined in 1986 with the team in Minnesota. Ten 3,000 strikeout pitchers are also members of the 300 win club.^[6] Seven pitchers from this club were named amongst the one hundred greatest players in MLB history as part of the All-Century Team, four of whom were eventually voted as starters for the team by fan vote.^[7][8]

Membership in the 3,000 strikeout club is often described as a guarantee of eventual entry into the Baseball Hall of Fame.^[9][10] Randy Johnson, Pedro Martínez, and John Smoltz are the most recently elected individuals, all voted in during 2015 balloting.^[11] Of the sixteen eligible members of the 3,000 strikeout club, fourteen have been elected to the Hall. The two who have appeared on a Hall of Fame ballot but have not yet been elected, Roger Clemens and Curt Schilling, both made their first appearances on the ballot for the 2013 elections. Each received only about half of the total votes needed for induction, with Schilling earning slightly more votes than Clemens.^[12] Clemens' future election is seen as uncertain because of his alleged links to use of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs).^[13] The current and near-future eligibility of many players linked to PED use, combined with voting restrictions in Hall of Fame balloting, has been cited as the source of a "backlog" in future Hall elections.^[14][15] Eligibility requires that a player has "been retired five seasons" or deceased for at least 6 months.^[16]

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

Club members

Hall of Famer Randy Johnson, second all-time in strikeouts, is one of only two left-handed pitchers with 3,000 strikeouts in MLB history.

Player	Strikeouts	IP	Date	Batter	Team	Seasons	Ref
Ryan, NolanNolan Ryan	5,714	5,386	000000001980-07-04-0000July 4, 1980[5]	Gerónimo, CésarCésar Gerónimo[5]	Houston Astros	1966, 1968–1993	[17]
Johnson, RandyRandy Johnson	4,875	4,135 1⁄3	000000002000-09-10-0000September 10, 2000[5]	Lowell, MikeMike Lowell[5]	Arizona Diamondbacks	1988–2009	[3]
Clemens, RogerRoger Clemens	4,672	4,916 2⁄3	000000001998-07-05-0000July 5, 1998[5]	Winn, RandyRandy Winn[5]	Toronto Blue Jays	1984–2007	[18]
Carlton, SteveSteve Carlton	4,136	5,217 1⁄3	000000001981-04-29-0000April 29, 1981[5]	Wallach, TimTim Wallach[5]	Philadelphia Phillies	1965–1988	[2]
Blyleven, BertBert Blyleven	3,701	4,970	000000001986-08-01-0000August 1, 1986[5]	Davis, MikeMike Davis[5]	Minnesota Twins	1970–1992	[19]
Seaver, TomTom Seaver	3,640	4,782 2⁄3	000000001981-04-18-0000April 18, 1981[5]	Hernandez, KeithKeith Hernandez[5]	Cincinnati Reds	1967–1986	[20]
Sutton, DonDon Sutton	3,574	5,282 1⁄3	000000001983-06-24-0000June 24, 1983[5]	Bannister, AlanAlan Bannister[5]	Milwaukee Brewers	1966–1988	[21]
Perry, GaylordGaylord Perry	3,534	5,350 1⁄3	000000001978-10-01-0000October 1, 1978[5]	Simpson, JoeJoe Simpson[5]	San Diego Padres	1962–1983	[22]
Johnson, WalterWalter Johnson	3,508	5,914 2⁄3	000000001923-07-22-0000July 22, 1923[23]	Coveleski, StanStan Coveleski[24]	Washington Senators	1907–1927	[25]
Maddux, GregGreg Maddux	3,371	5,008 1⁄3	000000002005-07-26-0000July 26, 2005[26]	Vizquel, OmarOmar Vizquel[26]	Chicago Cubs	1986–2008	[27]
Niekro, PhilPhil Niekro	3,342	5,404 1⁄3	000000001984-07-04-0000July 4, 1984[5]	Parrish, LarryLarry Parrish[5]	New York Yankees	1964–1987	[28]
Jenkins, FergusonFerguson Jenkins	3,192	4,500 2⁄3	000000001982-05-25-0000May 25, 1982[5]	Templeton, GarryGarry Templeton[5]	Chicago Cubs	1965–1983	[29]
Martínez, PedroPedro Martínez	3,154	2,827 1⁄3	000000002007-09-03-0000September 3, 2007[9]	Harang, AaronAaron Harang[9]	New York Mets	1992–2009	[30]
Gibson, BobBob Gibson	3,117	3,884 1⁄3	000000001974-07-17-0000July 17, 1974[5]	Gerónimo, CésarCésar Gerónimo[5]	St. Louis Cardinals	1959–1975	[31]
Schilling, CurtCurt Schilling	3,116	3,261	000000002006-08-30-0000August 30, 2006[32]	Swisher, NickNick Swisher[32]	Boston Red Sox	1988–2007	[33]
Smoltz, JohnJohn Smoltz	3,084	3,473	000000002008-04-22-0000April 22, 2008[1]	López, FelipeFelipe López[1]	Atlanta Braves	1988–1999, 2001–2009	[34]

Notes

See also

• List of Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders
• 300 win club

References

General

Specific

3,000 strikeout club
Nolan Ryan Randy Johnson Roger Clemens Steve Carlton Bert Blyleven Tom Seaver Don Sutton Gaylord Perry Walter Johnson Greg Maddux Phil Niekro Ferguson Jenkins Pedro Martínez Bob Gibson Curt Schilling John Smoltz
Book:3,000 strikeout club