Clayton Kershaw joins 3,000 strikeout club; 20th in MLB history

Clayton Kershaw closing in on 3,000 strikeouts

Dodgers' longtime pitcher Clayton Kershaw is on the verge of becoming the 20th pitcher in MLB history to join the 3,000 strikeout club.

LOS ANGELES - The legend of Clayton Kershaw continues.

On Wednesday, the longtime Los Angeles Dodgers ace became the 20th pitcher in MLB history to join the 3,000-strikeout club.

Kershaw, 37, reached the historic milestone after striking out Vinny Capra of the Chicago White Sox in the sixth inning.

Even before the 3,000-plus strikeouts, Kershaw had been considered by many as one of the best pitchers of his era. The lefty from Texas won three Cy Young awards (2011, 2013, 2014), was named MVP in 2014, was named an all-star 10 times, won the Gold Glove in 2011 and was a member of two World Series championship teams (2020 and 2024).

In an era of deeper bullpens, pitch counts and pitchers getting season-ending elbow surgeries, it may be a while before the baseball world sees another player in the 3,000-strikeout club. Kershaw joins 42-year-old Justin Verlander and 40-year-old Max Scherzer as the only active pitchers to accomplish such a feat.

Trailing behind the three surefire first-ballot hall-of-famers are Chris Sale, who is less than 500 shy at age 36, and Gerrit Cole, who just had Tommy John surgery at 34 and finished the previous season with 2,251 career strikeouts. Given their ages and injury histories (Sale underwent Tommy John surgery in 2020), both have ways to go before reaching 3,000 strikeouts.

MLB.com reporter Jackson Stone did the math on Cole and Sale's possible paths to joining the elite club. According to Stone's calculation, Sale could reach the legendary milestone near the end of 2027 if the lefty can stay healthy and can maintain his ace form. As for Cole, he might be able to join the club as early as 2030 if he go back to his pre-surgery form, Stone estimated in his report.