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]
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.
| Rank | Rank amongst leaders in career strikeouts. A blank field indicates a tie. | |
| Player (2024 Ks) | Number of strikeouts during the 2024 Major League Baseball season. | |
| K | Total career strikeouts. | |
| Denotes elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame. | ||
| Bold | Denotes active player.[12] |
| Rank | Player (2024 Ks) | K | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 51 | Freddie Freeman (80) | 1,615 | |
| 52 | Reggie Sanders | 1,614 | |
| 53 | Gary Gaetti | 1,602 | |
| 54 | Mark McGwire | 1,596 | |
| 55 | Eugenio Suárez (138) | 1,580 | |
| 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 | Frank Robinson | 1,532 | |
| 71 | Lance Parrish | 1,527 | |
| 72 | Willie Mays | 1,526 | |
| Devon White | 1,526 | ||
| 74 | Jeff Kent | 1,522 | |
| 75 | Eddie Murray | 1,516 | |
| 76 | Rick Monday | 1,513 | |
| Greg Vaughn | 1,513 | ||
| 78 | Andre Dawson | 1,509 | |
| 79 | Bryce Harper (105) | 1,500 | |
| 80 | Tony Phillips | 1,499 | |
| 81 | Greg Luzinski | 1,495 | |
| 82 | Eddie Mathews | 1,487 | |
| 83 | Mike Trout (27) | 1,485 | |
| 84 | Iván Rodríguez | 1,474 | |
| 85 | Mike Napoli | 1,468 | |
| 86 | Frank Howard | 1,460 | |
| 87 | Jorge Posada | 1,453 | |
| 88 | Nick Castellanos (107) | 1,452 | |
| 89 | Jhonny Peralta | 1,450 | |
| Jayson Werth | 1,450 | ||
| 91 | Jay Bell | 1,443 | |
| 92 | Jack Clark | 1,442 | |
| Juan Samuel | 1,442 | ||
| 94 | Harold Baines | 1,441 | |
| Mark Teixeira | 1,441 | ||
| 96 | Carlos Santana (80) | 1,430 | |
| 97 | Mo Vaughn | 1,429 | |
| 98 | Jimmy Wynn | 1,427 | |
| 99 | Edwin Encarnación | 1,426 | |
| 100 | Jim Rice | 1,423 |