CC Sabathia became the 17th player in MLB history with 3000 career strikeouts. Let’s take a look at that list.
On Tuesday, April 30, C.C. Sabathia became only the 17th pitcher in MLB history to record his 3,000th strikeout.
It is almost as much of a pitching milestone as 300 victories since all but Sabathia and two other players who have reached that milestone are enshrined in the Hall of Fame. It is also a very recent benchmark of greatness. Until the early 1980s, only one pitcher in more than 100 seasons of baseball history had reached 3,000 strikeouts. Since Nolan Ryan did it in 1983, Sabathia is the 15th to do so.
Sabathia is only the third left-hander to hit 3,000, joining Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton. He has a chance to move up on the list. He now trails John Smoltz by 82 strikeouts and he would need 114 more this year to catch Curt Schilling. Sabathia struck out 140 last season, so those totals are not out of the question.
The history of the 3,000 strikeout club is a brief one. Until 1983, Walter Johnson – who reached that level in the early 1920s – was its sole member. Since then, however, not only has the 3,000 strikeout club greatly expanded but four pitchers have sailed past 4,000 and Ryan topped 5,000.
In an era when pitchers are discouraged from throwing more than 100 pitches, there’s every reason to anticipate that Ryan’s record may be as durable as any in the record book.
At the same time, the club could continue to expand. Justin Verlander, Max Scherzer and Zack Greinke are all within 600 strikeouts of 3,000.
Here’s a look at the 17 pitchers who have recorded 3,000 strikeouts, with a special emphasis on their milepost victims.