The 3,000-strikeout club has a new member.
Tuesday night, Yankees lefty CC Sabathia became the 17th pitcher in history with 3,000 career strikeouts. He is only the third left-hander with 3,000 strikeouts. Oddly enough, Sabathia reached the milestone in his first career start at Chase Field on Tuesday. It is the 33rd different ballpark he's pitched in.
Here is the milestone strikeout. Sabathia's family was in the stands and they were able to spend the moment together:
Sabathia went into Tuesday's game against the Diamondbacks (GameTracker) with 2,997 career strikeouts. In the second inning he fanned David Peralta, Christian Walker, and former teammate John Ryan Murphy to reach the milestone. Here is the all-time lefty strikeout leaderboard:
- Randy Johnson: 4,875
- Steve Carlton: 4,136
- CC Sabathia: 3,000 (and counting)
- Mickey Lolich: 2,832
- Frank Tanana: 2,773
Two years ago Sabathia passed Lolich to become the American League's all-time strikeout leader among left-handed pitchers. When the time comes, .
All but three of the 17 pitchers with 3,000 career strikeouts are in the Hall of Fame. The three exceptions: Sabathia, who is still active; Roger Clemens, whose Hall of Fame candidacy has been clouded by performance-enhancing drug allegations; and Curt Schilling, who is on track for induction within the next few years.
Sabathia, 38, has already announced 2019 will be his final season. He is closing in on 250 career wins (247 going into Tuesday) and 3,500 career innings (3,485 going into Tuesday). At 62.5 WAR for his career (and counting), Sabathia is a top-25 pitcher since MLB's expansion era began in 1961.
Sabathia is the first pitcher to join the 3,000-strikeout club since Hall of Famer John Smoltz in 2008. Nolan Ryan is the all-time leader with 5,714 strikeouts. Randy Johnson (4,875), Roger Clemens (4,672), and Steve Carlton (4,136) are the only other pitchers to reach 4,000 career strikeouts.
