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MLB Baseball Strikeout Leaders

We have a list of the Major League pitchers with the most career and single season strikeouts. How many can you name?
Modern era only
Active players in gold
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: September 30, 2024
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First submittedJuly 8, 2011
Times taken25,299
Average score38.6%
Rating3.98
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Career
#
Pitcher
5714
Nolan Ryan
4875
Randy Johnson
4672
Roger Clemens
4136
Steve Carlton
3701
Bert Blyleven
3640
Tom Seaver
3574
Don Sutton
3534
Gaylord Perry
3509
Walter Johnson
3416
Justin Verlander
3407
Max Scherzer
3371
Greg Maddux
3342
Phil Niekro
3192
Fergie Jenkins
3154
Pedro Martinez
3117
Bob Gibson
3116
Curt Schilling
3093
C.C. Sabathia
3084
John Smoltz
2979
Zack Greinke
2968
Clayton Kershaw
2855
Jim Bunning
2832
Mickey Lolich
2813
Mike Mussina
2803
Cy Young
2773
Frank Tanana
Career
#
Pitcher
2668
David Cone
2610
Chuck Finley
2607
Tom Glavine
2583
Warren Spahn
2581
Bob Feller
2564
Tim Keefe
2560
Cole Hamels
2556
Jerry Koosman
2536
Javier Vazquez
2535
Bartolo Colon
2524
Felix Hernandez
2513
A.J. Burnett
2507
Christy Mathewson
2486
Don Drysdale
2478
Jack Morris
2464
Mark Langston
2461
Jim Kaat
2453
Sam McDowell
2448
Andy Pettitte
2441
Jamie Moyer
2416
Luis Tiant
2414
Chris Sale
2401
Dennis Eckersley
2488
Jon Lester
2397
Kevin Brown
2396
Sandy Koufax
Single-Season
Year
#
Pitcher
1973
383
Nolan Ryan
1965
382
Sandy Koufax
2001
372
Randy Johnson
1974
367
Nolan Ryan
1999
364
Randy Johnson
1904
349
Rube Waddell
1946
348
Bob Feller
2000
347
Randy Johnson
1977
341
Nolan Ryan
2002
334
Randy Johnson
1998
329
Randy Johnson
1972
329
Nolan Ryan
1976
327
Nolan Ryan
2019
326
Gerrit Cole
1965
325
Sam McDowell
1997
319
Curt Schilling
1966
317
Sandy Koufax
2002
316
Curt Schilling
1910
313
Walter Johnson
Single Season
Year
#
Pitcher
1999
313
Pedro Martinez
1979
313
J.R. Richard
1972
310
Steve Carlton
2017
308
Chris Sale
1993
308
Randy Johnson
1971
308
Mickey Lolich
1963
306
Sandy Koufax
1986
306
Mike Scott
1997
305
Pedro Martinez
1970
304
Sam McDowell
1913
303
Walter Johnson
1978
303
J.R. Richard
1903
302
Rube Waddell
1971
301
Vida Blue
2015
301
Clayton Kershaw
1989
301
Nolan Ryan
2019
300
Justin Verlander
2018
300
Max Scherzer
1998
300
Curt Schilling
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26 Comments
BobSaget
+3
Level 78
Oct 14, 2013
Nolan Ryan was a beast.
howard38
+1
Level 61
Jul 30, 2014
Rube Waddell should show up on both lists. His top K total for one season was 349.
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Oct 4, 2015
Thanks. I added that. But I also removed him from the career list since we are only considering the modern era. There was a guy with 500 strikeouts in 1884.
Chutney
+1
Level 62
Oct 5, 2019
will white?
KingofQuiz
+1
Level 55
Oct 6, 2016
My wife is a (very) distant cousin of Jim Bunning...yet I didn't get him. I knew that he had thrown a no-hitter, but I didn't know he did anything beyond that; I thought he was probably just another one of those one hit wonders. Or in this case, a no hit wonder... :D (see what I did there?)
Simcano32
+1
Level 20
Mar 2, 2017
No just no
IsleAuHaulte
+1
Level 90
Oct 4, 2018
Did you meet her at Bunning man?
texdave
+1
Level 56
Mar 17, 2017
Jim Bunning threw a no-hitter in each league, won 224 games and wound up in the Hall of Fame. I loved watching his sidearm delivery during his best years.
DonTheLamplighter
+1
Level 85
Jul 4, 2017
Sad that Bunning passed away on May 26, 2017. He was 85.
IsleAuHaulte
+3
Level 90
Oct 4, 2018
Kent Tekulve of the Pirates had a sidearm delivery that was an exercise in discomfort to watch. He started with his arm stretched way out behind his back, body lowered down, hand higher than his head, hand upside down. Like he forgot he wasn't at bowling league night. Then it came in from the side as his body sank a little more, arching away from his pitching arm, his back in S-shape, head like a flamingo, legs splayed out in bizarre angles, arm releasing the ball somewhere in the mess. In a still image he looks like a duck flapping in the water. He was actually a reliable pitcher who came in for over 90 games 3 different seasons despite an exhausting looking workout on every pitch, including a 90 game year at age 40, a record. I just think batters got visually confused by him.
Archer1212
+1
Level 63
Aug 24, 2017
i spelled Sabathia with two b's. seems like nitpicking to not give credit for that.
DonTheLamplighter
+2
Level 85
Oct 23, 2017
Mickey Lolich nearly single-handedly won the 1968 World Series for the Tigers. Despite that being the year that Denny McLain went 31-6, it was Lolich that went toe-to-toe with Bob Gibson to bring Detroit back from a 3-games-to-1 Series deficit to win in 7 games.

If that Series had been played with the same TV coverage the World Series gets today, it would be one of the most talked-about Series ever, right up there with the '75 Reds-Red Sox and '91 Twins-Braves.

Photop
+1
Level 71
Mar 31, 2018
I started the quiz and revealed the answers right away. Going through the list, it is now clear. I have never heard of even a single one of these players.

I guess FailArmy on Youtube isn't the right source for learning about baseball.

IsleAuHaulte
+1
Level 90
Oct 4, 2018
I take it you aren't from anywhere from Colombia to Canada? Babe Ruth?
cornflakesfu
+1
Level 87
Oct 12, 2018
Babe Ruth isn't on this list . . .
dewey1971
+1
Level 70
Mar 31, 2018
some should have asterisks
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
May 29, 2019
I'm honestly getting pretty sick of the whole asterisk thing, especially when steroid use is flagrant in pretty much every sports league, including the NBA. The old guys were on drugs too, it was just different drugs. And, let's not forget the 10% of current players who use Adderall for their "ADHD". Heaping shame on the handful of people who got caught in the early 2000s is pretty silly, IMHO.
JudgeRudy
+2
Level 67
Nov 7, 2019
Amen, QM. Couldn't agree more. And as someone who played baseball collegiately with a technically valid script (and I say 'technically' only because of how easily it was obtained in the absence of anything resembling a scrupulous diagnosis), I can confirm that Adderall absolutely does have performance-enhancing potential.
Cooldrive
+1
Level 64
May 8, 2018
How did I miss Tim Keefe? I have his coffee cup.
cornflakesfu
+2
Level 87
Oct 12, 2018
It didn't accept "Big Sexy" for Bartolo Colon :(
Master27
+1
Level 88
May 29, 2019
Is there a reason why he is out of order on the list? Also, he is no longer active.
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
May 29, 2019
Bartolo Colon retired. No!!!! Don't worry, I'm sure he'll be back.
NEGeo
+1
Level 61
Dec 22, 2023
And yes He is active. In Asia in i believe karachi. He's 50.
Spacecat
+1
Level 53
Aug 7, 2019
@ Quizmaster. for 1971 it shows Vida Blue, but Mickey Lolich was the leader with 308 strikeouts in 1971.
Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Sep 30, 2019
The quiz is accurate. Both Lolich and Blue appear on the list.
LuigiDood227
+1
Level 64
May 8, 2023
Hamels technically is still active, just in San Diego's minor league system.
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