Max Scherzer is the 19th pitcher to hit the 3,000 strikeout plateau
(Robert Hanashiro-USA TODAY Sports)
Max Scherzer made baseball history on Sunday, hurling his 3,000th strikeout to become a member of the vaunted 3,000 strikeout club.
Scherzer supplanted Justin Verlander as the most recent entry into the club and trails the Houston Astros pitcher by just 10 career strikeouts. At just 36 years of age, Scherzer has a good shot of climbing up the career strikeout leader list.
Below is a post of the 18 men he’ll be chasing. Coming up just behind him is Zack Greinke (2,799) and Los Angeles Dodgers teammate Clayton Kershaw (2,658).
Nolan Ryan — 5,714
(Getty Images)
Date of 3,000th strikeout: July 4, 1980.
Team: Houston Astros.
Batter: Cesar Geronimo.
Randy Johnson — 4,875
(AP Photo/Matt York)
Date of 3,000th strikeout: September 10, 2000.
Team: Arizona Diamondbacks.
Batter: Mike Lowell.
Roger Clemens — 4,672
(V.J. Lovero-USA TODAY NETWORK)
Date of 3,000th strikeout: July 5, 1998.
Team: Toronto Blue Jays.
Batter: Randy Winn.
Steve Carlton — 4,136
(AP Photo)
Date of 3,000th strikeout: April 29, 1981.
Team: Philadelphia Phillies.
Batter: Tim Wallach.
Bert Blyleven — 3,701
(AP Photo)
Date of 3,000th strikeout: August 1, 1986.
Team: Minnesota Twins.
Batter: Mike Davis.
Tom Seaver — 3,640
(Tony Tomsic-USA TODAY NETWORK)
Date of 3,000th strikeout: April 18, 1981.
Team: Cincinnati Reds.
Batter: Keith Hernandez.
Don Sutton — 3,574
(DON EMMERT/AFP via Getty Images)
Date of 3,000th strikeout: June 24, 1983.
Team: Milwaukee Brewers.
Batter: Alan Bannister.
Gaylord Perry — 3,534
(Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images)
Date of 3,000th strikeout: October 1, 1978.
Team: San Diego Padres.
Batter: Joe Simpson.
Walter Johnson — 3,508
(AP Photo)
Date of 3,000th strikeout: July 22, 1923.
Team: Washington Senators.
Batter: Stan Coveleski.
Greg Maddux — 3,371
(Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports)
Date of 3,000th strikeout: July 26, 2005.
Team: Chicago Cubs.
Batter: Omar Vizquel.
Phil Niekro — 3,342
(Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports)
Date of 3,000th strikeout: July 4, 1984.
Team: New York Yankees.
Batter: Larry Parrish.
Ferguson Jenkins — 3,192
(AP Photo)
Date of 3,000th strikeout: May 25, 1982.
Team: Chicago Cubs.
Batter: Garry Templeton.
Pedro Martinez — 3,154
(USA TODAY Sports)
Date of 3,000th strikeout: September 3, 2007.
Team: New York Mets.
Batter: Aaron Harang.
Bob Gibson — 3,117
(Malcolm Emmons-USA TODAY Sports)
Date of 3,000th strikeout: July 17, 1974.
Team: St. Louis Cardinals.
Batter: Cesar Geronimo.
Curt Schilling — 3,116
(Getty Images)
Date of 3,000th strikeout: August 30, 2006.
Team: Boston Red Sox.
Batter: Nick Swisher.
CC Sabathia — 3,093
(Getty Images)
Date of 3,000th strikeout: April 30, 2019.
Team: New York Yankees.
Batter: John Ryan Murphy.
John Smoltz — 3,084
(Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports)
Date of 3,000th strikeout: April 22, 2008.
Team: Atlanta Braves.
Batter: Felipe Lopez.
Justin Verlander — 3,013
(Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports)
Date of 3,000th strikeout: September 28, 2019.
Team: Houston Astros.
Batter: Kole Calhoun.
