List of Major League Baseball career strikeouts by batters leaders

Last updated

This list is for batters. For career strikeouts by pitchers, see List of Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders.
Reggie Jackson, the all-time leader in strikeouts by a batter Reggie Jackson bats at Yankee Stadium.jpg
Reggie Jackson, the all-time leader in strikeouts by a batter

In baseball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safely as a result. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is usually denoted by the letter K, or sometimes by the initialism SO. [1]

Contents

Reggie Jackson [2] [3] [4] holds the record for the most career strikeouts by a batter with 2,597. [5] Jim Thome [6] (2,548), Adam Dunn [7] (2,379), Sammy Sosa [8] (2,306), Alex Rodriguez [9] (2,287), Miguel Cabrera [10] (2,105), Giancarlo Stanton [11] (2,025), and Andrés Galarraga [12] (2,003) are the only other hitters to strike out over 2,000 times.

Key

RankRank amongst leaders in career strikeouts. A blank field indicates a tie.
Player (2025 Ks)Number of strikeouts during the 2025 Major League Baseball season.
KTotal career strikeouts.
*Denotes elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame.
BoldDenotes active player. [note 1]

List

Giancarlo Stanton, the active leader and 7th all-time in strikeouts by a batter. Giancarlo Stanton 2018.jpg
Giancarlo Stanton, the active leader and 7th all-time in strikeouts by a batter.
RankPlayer (2025 Ks)K
1 Reggie Jackson*2,597
2 Jim Thome*2,548
3 Adam Dunn 2,379
4 Sammy Sosa 2,306
5 Alex Rodriguez 2,287
6 Miguel Cabrera 2,105
7 Giancarlo Stanton (62)2,025
8 Andrés Galarraga 2,003
9 Justin Upton 1,971
10 Paul Goldschmidt (90)1,969
11 Jose Canseco 1,942
12 Willie Stargell*1,936
13 Mark Reynolds 1,927
14 Nelson Cruz 1,916
Curtis Granderson 1,916
16 Mike Cameron 1,901
17 Mike Schmidt*1,883
18 Fred McGriff*1,882
19 Andrew McCutchen (104)1,879
20 Tony Pérez*1,867
21 Chris Davis 1,852
22 Ryan Howard 1,843
23 Bobby Abreu 1,840
Derek Jeter*1,840
25 Dave Kingman 1,816
26 Manny Ramirez 1,813
27 Alfonso Soriano 1,803
28 Carlos Beltrán 1,795
29 Ken Griffey Jr.*1,779
30 Eugenio Suárez (157)1,775
31 Bobby Bonds 1,757
32 Craig Biggio*1,753
33 David Ortiz*1,750
34 Andruw Jones 1,748
Dale Murphy 1,748
36 Carlos Delgado 1,745
Freddie Freeman (110)1,745
38 Torii Hunter 1,741
39 Adrián Beltré*1,732
40 Lou Brock*1,730
41 Jim Edmonds 1,729
42 J. D. Martinez (0)1,714
43 Mickey Mantle*1,710
44 Harmon Killebrew*1,699
45 Chili Davis 1,698
46 Dwight Evans 1,697
47 Evan Longoria 1,696
48 Rickey Henderson*1,694
49 Dave Winfield*1,686
50 Matt Kemp 1,641
RankPlayer (2025 Ks)K
51 Joey Votto 1,640
52 Bryce Harper (101)1,634
53 Mike Trout (145)1,630
54 Derrek Lee 1,622
55 Reggie Sanders 1,614
56 Gary Gaetti 1,602
57 Nick Castellanos (115)1,599
58 Mark McGwire 1,596
59 Shin-Soo Choo 1,579
60 Carlos Peña 1,577
61 Jay Bruce 1,572
Jason Giambi 1,572
63 Lee May 1,570
64 Pat Burrell 1,564
65 Melvin Upton Jr. 1,561
66 Jeff Bagwell*1,558
67 Dick Allen*1,556
68 Ray Lankford 1,550
Willie McCovey*1,550
70 Barry Bonds 1,539
71 Dave Parker*1,537
72 Carlos Santana (87)1,536
73 Alex Gordon 1,535
74 Frank Robinson*1,532
75 Christian Yelich (149)1,530
76 Lance Parrish 1,527
77 Willie Mays*1,526
Devon White 1,526
79 Jeff Kent 1,522
80 Eddie Murray*1,516
81 Rick Monday 1,513
Greg Vaughn 1,513
83 Andre Dawson*1,509
84 Tony Phillips 1,499
85 Greg Luzinski 1,495
86 Kyle Schwarber (164)1,494
87 Eddie Mathews*1,487
88 Iván Rodríguez*1,474
89 Mike Napoli 1,468
90 Marcell Ozuna (121)1,467
91 Frank Howard 1,460
92 Jorge Posada 1,453
93 Jhonny Peralta 1,450
Jayson Werth 1,450
95 Jay Bell 1,443
96 Jack Clark 1,442
Juan Samuel 1,442
98 Harold Baines*1,441
Mark Teixeira 1,441
100 Mo Vaughn 1,429

Notes

  1. A player is considered inactive if he has announced his retirement or has not played for a full season.

References

  1. Major League Baseball (2001–2009). "Baseball Basics: Abbreviations".
  2. "Reggie Jackson Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  3. "Reggie Jackson Hall of Fame Profile". National Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  4. Leavengood, Ted. "Reggie Jackson Bio". Society For American Baseball Research. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  5. "Career Leaders For Striking Out". Baseball Alamanc. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  6. "Jim Thome Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  7. "Adam Dunn Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  8. "Sammy Sosa Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  9. "Alex Rodriguez Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  10. "Miguel Cabrera Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  11. "Giancarlo Stanton Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 30, 2025.
  12. "Andrés Galarraga Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 20, 2021.