Max Scherzer made his second start of the season for the Texas Rangers on Friday night. Against the Baltimore Orioles, he outplayed one of the legends of the game in Major League Baseball. all-time strikeout list.
With his strikeout of Ramón Urías in the second inning, Scherzer reached 3,372 in his career and surpassed Greg Maddux for 11th place on the all-time rankings. He recorded four strikeouts in a 2-1 loss, giving him 3,375, 18 behind former teammate Justin Verlander.
Maddux wasn’t known as a strikeout pitcher, which feels like a trick he played on fans throughout his career. Through this season, he ranked in the top 10 in career strikeouts with 3,371.
Last month, Verlander passed Maddux for 10th, which put him behind Walter Johnson, who scored 3,509 points, for ninth. But Scherzer is closing in on Verlander, who is currently on the injured list, and could soon surpass his two-time teammate. The two could spend the rest of their careers fighting to outdo each other and perhaps get closer to the top five on the all-time list.
It’s unlikely that other active pitchers will come close to matching Verlander and Scherzer. Clayton Kershaw currently ranks No. 21 with 2,944 strikeouts, Chris Sale No. 56 with 2,307 and Gerrit Cole No. 71 with 2,157 strikeouts.
All-time MLB strikeout list
1. Nolan Ryan — 5,714
2. Randy Johnson: 4,875
3. Roger Clemens: 4.672
4. Steve Carlton — 4,136
5. Bert Blyleven — 3,701
6. Tom Seaver: 3,640
7. Don Sutton – 3,574
8. Gaylord Perry — 3,534
9. Walter Johnson — 3,509
10. Justin Verlander — 3,393