Strikeouts

Why do players strikeout?

Answer: By regulation, baseball bats may be no more than 2.75 inches in diameter at the thickest part and no more than 42 inches long.  A MLB baseball is only 3 inches in diameter. Thus, it is very, very difficult.  As a matter of fact, you can fail 7/10 times and be qualified for the Hall of Fame (.300 batting average). Read more

Batters

The top 15 Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders: (as of 2015 season)

1. Reggie Jackson – 2,597
2. Jim Thome – 2,548
3. Adam Dunn – 2,379
4. Sammy Sosa – 2,306
5. Alex Rodriguez – 2,220
6. Andrés Galarraga – 2,003
7. José Canseco – 1,942
8. Willie Stargell – 1,936
9. Mike Cameron – 1,901
10. Mike Schmidt – 1,883
11. Fred McGriff – 1,882
12. Tony Pérez – 1,867
13. Bobby Abreu – 1,840
14. Derek Jeter – 1,840
15. Dave Kingman – 1,816

Active batters with over 1,400 K’s:
(as of 2015 season)

1. Alex Rodriguez – 2,220
2. Ryan Howard – 1,729
3. David Ortiz – 1664
4. Carlos Beltrán – 1,592
5. Mark Reynolds – 1,519
6. Adrián Beltré – 1,518
7. Curtis Granderson 1,459
8. Adam LaRoche 1,407
9. Melvin Upton – 1,406
10. Miguel Cabrera – 1,400

Single season strikeout records (batters):

Rank	Player	Team	Strikeouts	Year
1	Mark Reynolds	Arizona Diamondbacks	223	2009
2	Adam Dunn	Chicago White Sox	222	2012
3	Chris Carter	Houston Astros	212	2013
4	Mark Reynolds	Arizona Diamondbacks	211	2010
5	Drew Stubbs	Cincinnati Reds	205	2011
6	Mark Reynolds	Arizona Diamondbacks	204	2008
7	Ryan Howard	Philadelphia Phillies	199	2007
8	Ryan Howard	Philadelphia Phillies	199	2008
9	Adam Dunn	Washington Nationals	199	2010
10	Chris Davis	Baltimore Orioles	199	2013

 

Strikeout records

Then there is the best pitchers who threw strikeouts.

Pitchers

The Top 20 Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders (active players in bold) (since 1901):^[16]

1. Nolan Ryan – 5,714
2. Randy Johnson – 4,875
3. Roger Clemens – 4,672
4. Steve Carlton – 4,136
5. Bert Blyleven – 3,701
6. Tom Seaver – 3,640
7. Don Sutton – 3,574
8. Gaylord Perry – 3,534
9. Walter Johnson – 3,509
10. Greg Maddux – 3,371
11. Phil Niekro – 3,342
12. Ferguson Jenkins – 3,192
13. Pedro Martínez – 3,154
14. Bob Gibson – 3,117
15. Curt Schilling – 3,116
16. John Smoltz – 3,084
17. Jim Bunning – 2,855
18. Mickey Lolich – 2,832
19. Mike Mussina – 2,813
20. Cy Young – 2,803

Active pitchers with over 2,000 strikeouts (as of 2015 season):

1. CC Sabathia – 2,574
2. Bartolo Colón – 2,237
3. Félix Hernández – 2,142
4. Jake Peavy – 2,105

The Top 10 Major League Baseball career strikeout-per-nine innings leaders (since 1900, minimum 1,000 IP):^[17]

1. Randy Johnson – 10.61
2. Kerry Wood – 10.32
3. Pedro Martínez – 10.04
4. Tim Lincecum – 9.61
5. Nolan Ryan – 9.55
6. Max Scherzer – 9.51
7. Trevor Hoffman – 9.36
8. Sandy Koufax – 9.28
9. Clayton Kershaw – 9.26
10. Óliver Pérez – 9.22

The Top 5 Major League Baseball single season strikeout-per-nine innings leaders (since 1900, minimum 1.0 IP per team game):

1. Randy Johnson, 2001 – 13.41
2. Pedro Martínez, 1999 – 13.20
3. Kerry Wood, 1998 – 12.58
4. Randy Johnson, 2000 – 12.56
5. Randy Johnson, 1995 – 12.35

The Top 10 Major League Baseball single season strikeout totals (since 1900):^[18]

Pitcher	Strikeouts	Season	Team	League	Overall Rank
Nolan Ryan	383	1973	California Angels	AL	8
Sandy Koufax	382	1965	Los Angeles Dodgers	NL	9
Randy Johnson	372	2001	Arizona Diamondbacks	NL	11
Nolan Ryan	367	1974	California Angels	AL	14
Randy Johnson	364	1999	Arizona Diamondbacks	NL	15
Rube Waddell	349	1904	Philadelphia Athletics	AL	18
Bob Feller	348	1946	Cleveland Indians	AL	19
Randy Johnson	347	2000	Arizona Diamondbacks	NL	20
Nolan Ryan	341	1977	California Angels	AL	25
Randy Johnson	334	2002	Arizona Diamondbacks	NL	30

The Top 10 Major League Baseball single season strikeout totals (all time):^[19]

Pitcher	Strikeouts	Season	Team	League	Overall Rank
Matt Kilroy	513	1886	Baltimore Orioles	AA	1
Toad Ramsey	499	1886	Louisville Colonels	AA	2
Hugh Daily	483	1884	Chicago Browns/Pittsburgh Stogies/Washington Nationals	UA	3
Dupee Shaw	451	1884	Detroit Wolverines/Boston Reds	NL/UA	4
Old Hoss Radbourn	441	1884	Providence Grays	NL	5
Charlie Buffington	417	1884	Boston Beaneaters	NL	6
Guy Hecker	385	1884	Louisville Eclipse	AA	7
Nolan Ryan	383	1973	California Angels	AL	8
Sandy Koufax	382	1965	Los Angeles Dodgers	NL	9
Bill Sweeney	374	1884	Baltimore Monumentals	UA	10

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