Skip to content
Boxscore

Anytime quizBaseball

MLB career strikeouts: Top 25

Name the top 25 pitchers in career MLB strikeouts. You have 10:00.

A Premium quiz. Sign in to play it if you have Premium. The Top 25 stays free.

0 / 25 pitchers10:00
  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10
  11. 11
  12. 12
  13. 13
  14. 14
  15. 15
  16. 16
  17. 17
  18. 18
  19. 19
  20. 20
  21. 21
  22. 22
  23. 23
  24. 24
  25. 25

How to play

  • Name the 25 pitchers with the most career MLB strikeouts, regular season only.
  • Type them in any order. The clock starts when you tap the box or type. A name counts the moment it’s complete, no need to press Enter. A last name of four letters or more is enough, and one that players on the list share credits all of them.
  • Stuck? Hint tells you something about the next one you’re missing, and costs 15 seconds, off the clock and onto your time. Finish ends the round early.
  • Your best result goes on the quiz’s all-time leaderboard: most named, then fastest. Play as often as you like.

About this list

Career totals as of October 21, 2026. Career totals from the Lahman Baseball Database (CC BY-SA) and MLB's stats for the recent seasons. Like Lahman, they count the 1871–75 National Association; the Negro Leagues statistics MLB added to its records in 2024 aren't included.

On this list

It takes 2,803 to make this list: that's the total in last place, and the leader has more than twice that.

The 25 pitchers began their careers between 1890 and 2008. More of them started in the 1960s than in any other decade (8), and their careers ran 20.9 seasons on average, first season to last.

4 of them have played in the 2020s, and 2 had retired before 1970, so the list moves slowly.

The closest two places on the list are #16 and #17, 1 apart; the widest gap is 839, between #1 and #2.

The top five average 4,620, and the bottom five 2,856.

3 of them have played a season that started in 2025 or later. The highest placed is at #8, 14 short of #7.

Their careers ran from 17 to 28 seasons, first to last. Spread over those seasons, the fastest pace on the list is 222 a season (#2) and the slowest 127 (#25).

By the decade they started: 1890s (1), 1900s (1), 1950s (2), 1960s (8), 1970s (1), 1980s (5), 1990s (2), 2000s (5).

More baseball quizzes