List of Major League Baseball career strikeouts by batters leaders

Last updated

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
This list is for batters. For career strikeouts by pitchers, see List of Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders

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), and Andrés Galarraga [11] (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 9th all-time in strikeouts by a batter. Giancarlo Stanton 2018.jpg
Giancarlo Stanton, the active leader and 9th 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 Andrés Galarraga 2,003
8 Justin Upton 1,971
9 Giancarlo Stanton (0)1,963
10 Jose Canseco 1,942
11 Willie Stargell*1,936
12 Mark Reynolds 1,927
13 Nelson Cruz 1,916
Curtis Granderson 1,916
15 Mike Cameron 1,901
16 Mike Schmidt*1,883
17 Fred McGriff*1,882
18 Paul Goldschmidt (0)1,879
19 Tony Pérez*1,867
20 Chris Davis 1,852
21 Ryan Howard 1,843
22 Bobby Abreu 1,840
Derek Jeter*1,840
24 Dave Kingman 1,816
25 Manny Ramirez 1,813
26 Alfonso Soriano 1,803
27 Carlos Beltrán 1,795
28 Ken Griffey Jr.*1,779
29 Andrew McCutchen (0)1,775
30 Bobby Bonds 1,757
31 Craig Biggio*1,753
32 David Ortiz*1,750
33 Andruw Jones 1,748
Dale Murphy 1,748
35 Carlos Delgado 1,745
36 Torii Hunter 1,741
37 Adrián Beltré*1,732
38 Lou Brock*1,730
39 Jim Edmonds 1,729
40 J. D. Martinez (0)1,714
41 Mickey Mantle*1,710
42 Harmon Killebrew*1,699
43 Chili Davis 1,698
44 Dwight Evans 1,697
45 Evan Longoria 1,696
46 Rickey Henderson*1,694
47 Dave Winfield*1,686
48 Matt Kemp 1,641
49 Joey Votto 1,640
50 Freddie Freeman (0)1,635
RankPlayer (2025 Ks)K
51 Derrek Lee 1,622
52 Eugenio Suárez (0)1,618
53 Reggie Sanders 1,614
54 Gary Gaetti 1,602
55 Mark McGwire 1,596
56 Shin-Soo Choo 1,579
57 Carlos Peña 1,577
58 Jay Bruce 1,572
Jason Giambi 1,572
60 Lee May 1,570
61 Pat Burrell 1,564
62 Melvin Upton Jr. 1,561
63 Jeff Bagwell*1,558
64 Dick Allen 1,556
65 Ray Lankford 1,550
Willie McCovey*1,550
67 Barry Bonds 1,539
68 Dave Parker 1,537
69 Alex Gordon 1,535
70 Bryce Harper (0)1,533
71 Frank Robinson*1,532
72 Lance Parrish 1,527
73 Willie Mays*1,526
Devon White 1,526
75 Jeff Kent 1,522
76 Eddie Murray*1,516
77 Rick Monday 1,513
Greg Vaughn 1,513
79 Andre Dawson*1,509
80 Tony Phillips 1,499
81 Greg Luzinski 1,495
82 Eddie Mathews*1,487
83 Mike Trout (0)1,485
84 Nick Castellanos (0)1,484
85 Iván Rodríguez*1,474
86 Mike Napoli 1,468
87 Frank Howard 1,460
88 Jorge Posada 1,453
89 Jhonny Peralta 1,450
Jayson Werth 1,450
91 Carlos Santana (0)1,449
92 Jay Bell 1,443
93 Jack Clark 1,442
Juan Samuel 1,442
95 Harold Baines*1,441
Mark Teixeira 1,441
97 Mo Vaughn 1,429
98 Jimmy Wynn 1,427
99 Edwin Encarnación 1,426
100 Jim Rice*1,423

Notes

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

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References

  1. Major League Baseball (2001–2009). "Baseball Basics: Abbreviations".
  2. "Reggie Jackson Career Stats". 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 Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  7. "Adam Dunn Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  8. "Sammy Sosa Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  9. "Alex Rodriguez Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 20, 2021.
  10. "Miguel Cabrera Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
  11. "Andrés Galarraga Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved April 20, 2021.