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Career Leaders for Strikeouts
Strikeout kings. A tale once told by an umpire was Walter Johnson pitching with two strikes on a young batter who turned and walked towards the dugout. The umpire reminded the player that he had a strike left to which the player replied, "You can call it, I didn't see the first two!"
On that note, Baseball Almanac is pleased to present the top one-hundred (100) all time strikeout leaders in Major League history. Note: A bold faced entry denotes that the player was active during the previous Major League season.
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"I can't think of anything more humiliating than losing a ballgame to a guy who steals home on you." - Hall of Fame Pitcher Nolan Ryan (#1 Ranked Strikeouts Leader)
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| Name |
Strikeouts |
Rank |
| Nolan Ryan
|
5,714 |
1 |
| Randy Johnson
|
4,875 |
2 |
| Roger Clemens
|
4,672 |
3 |
| Steve Carlton
|
4,136 |
4 |
| Bert Blyleven
|
3,701 |
5 |
| Tom Seaver
|
3,640 |
6 |
| Don Sutton
|
3,574 |
7 |
| Gaylord Perry
|
3,534 |
8 |
| Walter Johnson
|
3,508 |
9 |
| Greg Maddux
|
3,371 |
10 |
| Phil Niekro
|
3,342 |
11 |
| Fergie Jenkins
|
3,192 |
12 |
| Pedro Martinez
|
3,154 |
13 |
| Bob Gibson
|
3,117 |
14 |
| Curt Schilling
|
3,116 |
15 |
| John Smoltz
|
3,084 |
16 |
| Jim Bunning
|
2,855 |
17 |
| Mickey Lolich
|
2,832 |
18 |
| Mike Mussina
|
2,813 |
19 |
| Cy Young
|
2,803 |
20 |
| Frank Tanana
|
2,773 |
21 |
| David Cone
|
2,668 |
22 |
| Chuck Finley
|
2,610 |
23 |
| Tom Glavine
|
2,607 |
24 |
| Warren Spahn
|
2,583 |
25 |
| Bob Feller
|
2,581 |
26 |
| Tim Keefe
|
2,564 |
27 |
| Jerry Koosman
|
2,556 |
28 |
| Christy Mathewson
|
2,502 |
29 |
| Don Drysdale
|
2,486 |
30 |
| Jack Morris
|
2,478 |
31 |
| Mark Langston
|
2,464 |
32 |
| Jim Kaat
|
2,461 |
33 |
| Sam McDowell
|
2,453 |
34 |
| Luis Tiant
|
2,416 |
35 |
| Dennis Eckersley
|
2,401 |
36 |
| Kevin Brown
|
2,397 |
37 |
| Sandy Koufax
|
2,396 |
38 |
| Charlie Hough
|
2,362 |
39 |
| Robin Roberts
|
2,357 |
40 |
| Jamie Moyer
|
2,342 |
41 |
| Early Wynn
|
2,334 |
42 |
| Rube Waddell
|
2,316 |
43 |
| Juan Marichal
|
2,303 |
44 |
| Dwight Gooden
|
2,293 |
45 |
| Lefty Grove
|
2,266 |
46 |
| Javier Vazquez
|
2,253 |
47 |
| Eddie Plank
|
2,246 |
48 |
| Tommy John
|
2,245 |
49 |
| Jim Palmer
|
2,212 |
50 |
| David Wells
|
2,201 |
51 |
| Grover Alexander
|
2,198 |
52 |
| Vida Blue
|
2,175 |
53 |
| Camilo Pascual
|
2,167 |
54 |
| Andy Pettitte
|
2,150 |
55 |
| Dennis Martinez
|
2,149 |
56 |
| Bobo Newsom
|
2,082 |
57 |
| Fernando Valenzuela
|
2,074 |
58 |
| Dazzy Vance
|
2,045 |
59 |
| Rick Reuschel
|
2,015 |
60 |
| Orel Hershiser
|
2,014 |
61 |
| Catfish Hunter
|
2,012 |
62 |
| Andy Benes
|
2,000 |
63 |
| Billy Pierce
|
1,999 |
64 |
| Kevin Appier
|
1,994 |
65 |
| Red Ruffing
|
1,987 |
66 |
| Tim Wakefield
|
1,979 |
67 |
| John Clarkson
|
1,978 |
68 |
| Al Leiter
|
1,974 |
69 |
| Bob Welch
|
1,969 |
70 |
| Kenny Rogers
|
1,968 |
71 |
| Whitey Ford
|
1,956 |
72 |
| Bobby Witt
|
1,955 |
73 |
| Danny Darwin
|
1,942 |
74 |
| Amos Rusie
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1,934 |
75 |
| Tom Gordon
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1,928 |
76 |
| Hideo Nomo
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1,918 |
77 |
| Jerry Reuss
|
1,907 |
78 |
| Kid Nichols
|
1,868 |
79 |
| Mickey Welch
|
1,850 |
80 |
| Frank Viola
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1,844 |
81 |
| Old Hoss Radbourn
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1,830 |
82 |
| Kevin Millwood
|
1,808 |
83 |
| Tony Mullane
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1,803 |
84 |
| Pud Galvin
|
1,799 |
85 |
| Hal Newhouser
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1,796 |
86 |
| Ron Guidry
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1,778 |
87 |
| John Burkett
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1,766 |
88 |
| Rudy May
|
1,760 |
89 |
| Jason Schmidt
|
1,758 |
90 |
| Joe Niekro
|
1,747 |
91 |
| Sid Fernandez
|
1,743 |
92 |
| Dave Stewart
|
1,741 |
93 |
| Ed Walsh
|
1,736 |
94 |
| Tom Candiotti
|
1,735 |
95 |
| Bob Friend
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1,734 |
96 |
| Johan Santana
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1,733 |
97 |
| Joe Coleman
|
1,728 |
98 |
| Milt Pappas
|
1,728 |
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| Kevin Gross
|
1,727 |
100 |
| Name |
Strikeouts |
Rank |
| Current Through 2009 Season |
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