MLB Top five strike-out pitchers of all-time – Part 2
At Number four in the highest strike-outs of all-time is Steve Norman Carlton. He played in Major League Baseball for 23 years from 1965 to 1988 and proved his mettle every season at the mound.
He played for six different teams in his career but gained the most success with Philadelphia Phillies from 1972 to 1986 when he won four Cy Young Awards, the dream award for any pitcher.
The left-handed pitcher is ranked as the second-best in most strike-outs (4136) by a left-handed pitcher behind Randy Johnson. He also has the second-most wins (329-244) by a left-handed pitcher and based on his achievements, Carlton can make any top all-time
all-star team.
Nicknamed the “Lefty”, Carlton completes the elite four who have managed 4000 and more strike-outs in their careers. He was a winning machine and with 27 wins in a single season, he still holds the record for most wins in a single season in the National
League. He made this record in 1972 and four decades later, this record is still intact.
The ten-time All-Star selection, including four consecutive years from 1979-1982, Carlton is also a two-time World Series champion. The Philadelphia Phillies honoured Lefty by retiring his number.
Steve Carlton last appeared in the Majors in 1988 when he played for the Minnesota Twins. He was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 1994.
Completing the list at Number five is Bert Blyleven. Bert debuted in 1970 for the Minnesota Twins and made his last appearance in 1992 for the California Angels.
In his 22 years at MLB, Bert tested the best of the batters. Among his arsenal of pitching was the lethal curveball which caused trouble to even the best batters in business.
Blyleven ended his career with 3701 strike-outs and became eligible for entry into Hall of Fame in 1998. For 13 years, however, he was overlooked as the vote count never exceeded the required 75%. In his 14th attempt he finally made it to the
Hall of Fame with 79.7% votes.
Blyleven was Dutch-born and this may have been a major reason for votes not coming his way. Relentless efforts by baseball writers and analysts finally made him heard and he got where he deserved to be 13 years ago.
Almost 20 years after his retirement, the Minnesota Twins will formally retire his number on July 16, 2011.
The current active pitcher who leads in strike-outs is Javier Vazquez of Florida Marlins. Vazquez has 2440 strike-outs which are almost 1300 less than the fifth all-time leader in strike-outs.
Javier has played for six different teams including Montreal Expos, New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, Chicago White Sox, Atlanta Braves and the Florida Marlins.
Javier has an ERA of 4.29 which is quiet high given the tough competition in MLB. He is ranked at Number 35 in the all-time list and it seems a distant possibility that he will ever make it to the top five.
The two big names in modern day baseball, CC Sabathia and Roy Halladay, do make the top 100 all-time strike-out leaders but their rank of 79 and 84 respectively means that their chance of making it to the top is also bleak.
The game of baseball is now more dominated by the batters. The quality of bats has improved and batters connect more often and this is a major reason why pitchers manage fewer strike-outs from the mound.
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