As Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Clayton Kershaw makes his seventh start of the season on Friday against the Washington Nationals, he is just 12 strikeouts away from becoming the 20th pitcher in MLB history to record 3,000 strikeouts over his career. Entering Friday's start, Kershaw has tallied 2,988 strikeouts throughout his storied career, 20th most in MLB history.
Over 100 years before Kershaw approached the 3,000 strikeout mark, Walter Johnson became the first pitcher to pitch 3,000 strikeouts over his Hall of Fame career from 1907-1927. His feat stood alone for decades, until Bob Gibson reached the 3,000 strikeouts mark almost 50 years later in 1974.
