
NHL superstar poll: Must-see players, best road restaurants, rule changes
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adminHENDERSON, Nev. — With training camps opening up this week, and a preseason game in [checks notes] Australia on Friday, the NHL is close to being back in action. This summer was an eventful one, with a new franchise icon in Chicago in Connor Bedard, a handful of key players signed to new teams or traded — including the reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson — and the usual flurry of off-ice activity for players (and the Stanley Cup).
ESPN’s Kristen Shilton and Greg Wyshynski caught up with dozens of star players at the NHL Player Media Tour near Las Vegas last week, and asked all the pertinent questions: What team or player are they most excited to watch? Which current or former teammate will one day make a great coach or GM? What’s their go-to restaurant on the road? And what rule change would they enact if they could pick only one?
What team or player are you most excited to watch this season?
Matthew Tkachuk, Florida Panthers: I’m excited to see what Boston does after their season last year, how they follow that one up.
Mario Ferraro, San Jose Sharks: I have to go with Toronto Maple Leafs. Noah Gregor, who’s my good buddy, just signed a PTO there but I’m confident that he’s going to sign [a contract] there. And Dylan Gambrell, who I used to play with, is on that team too. I grew up in Toronto so I’m always kind of keeping in the loop with what Toronto’s doing. I’m kind of surrounded by it. I talked to my cousins today, and they won’t stop talking about Toronto. I’m like, I’m right here. I play for the Sharks. I don’t give an eff’ about Toronto, whatever. But I’m kind of sucked into it. I grew up a Leaf fan, but it was easy moving on. I was just so happy to be in the NHL and so honored to be with the Sharks. As soon as I got drafted, I just forgot about the blue and white. It’s all about the teal.
Josh Morrissey, Winnipeg Jets: I would say probably Chicago, just with Bedard coming in and so much hype around his game. I have not seen his shot live. Of course I’ve seen it many times on TV and social media. He’s a young guy and you definitely don’t want to be the guy that takes the new young prospect lightly and he makes you look silly, so we’ll have to be ready for him. Certainly every level he’s been at, he’s produced. Plus, they’re in our division, so we’ll play him a lot. So it’d be cool to play them.
Dylan Larkin, Detroit Red Wings: Pittsburgh Penguins. Like, the 13-year-old me would be thrilled with Erik Karlsson joining [Kris] Letang, [Evgeni] Malkin and [Sidney] Crosby. That’s pretty cool. I’m excited to watch them.
Tage Thompson, Buffalo Sabres: I’m kind of interested to see how Detroit is this year. I feel like they made some really good additions to their team and I think they’re going to be pretty good. So just kind of curious to see what they do.
Jacob Trouba, New York Rangers: Obviously I think the Pittsburgh move was pretty crazy. You don’t see a Norris Trophy winner get traded that often after winning it. So I think that’ll be interesting to see how that works. Obviously that’s a proven team that’s won before and added another tremendous player, so that’s an interesting one to watch.
Troy Terry, Anaheim Ducks: I love watching the Avalanche. Just being in Colorado [during the offseason], I train with a lot of them and have gotten to know a lot of them. Like, Logan O’Connor is my next door neighbor and I’m very close with him, so I always root for [Colorado].
Charlie McAvoy, Boston Bruins: I think our division’s going to be loaded this year. I really do. You’ve got the young teams, right? So Buffalo is intriguing. They took a big step last year with a young core. Jersey’s got the young core that they’re trying to work with. It’s cool to see.
Jason Robertson, Dallas Stars: Some teams in the East are kind of fun to watch, the younger teams like Buffalo or Ottawa or New Jersey or Detroit. Everyone’s saying it’s all of their years, so I’m anxious to see what they’re going to do about it.
Bowen Byram, Colorado Avalanche: I’m drawn to where there’s some personal connections. Alex Newhook got traded to Montreal so I’m excited to see how he does and how their team is over there. I’ve got a couple close friends on Buffalo so I always like watching them and seeing how my buddies are doing.
What’s your favorite off-day activity?
Ferraro: I honestly think going camping. My girlfriend Mckenna [Olson] inspired me to get a Toyota 4Runner. Then I started looking at videos and I’m like, “They actually look pretty sick when you mod them up.” Then I started digging deeper. People have campers on top. They build this whole rig that’s just suited for living in the woods and living outdoors in the desert, whatever. So I’m like, you know what? This is all pretty cool. So I slowly got into it. I also saw Brent Burns used to have a rooftop camper. So I asked him questions about it too, and now I love it. That’s awesome. It’s like I’m really happy about it. It’s really easy. I just pick up and go. I feel like this season, if I have a day off, the night before, I might just cruise out to Big Sur or something, just make a trip out of it.
Matt Boldy, Minnesota Wild: I’d say golf in the summer. But in the winter, I’d say sitting on my couch and watching TV. Right now I’m watching “Suits.”
Larkin: On the couch. I’m like the worst binge watcher; I’ll watch an entire [TV show] season in a day. I just did “Outlander,” which was pretty good.
Thompson: During the winter, I love watching movies. Big movie watcher. Just throw on a movie, chill, just kind of relax. [This summer], I watched “Oppenheimer.” Didn’t watch “Barbie.” I thought “Oppenheimer” was good. Long movie, kind of slow at the start, but I liked it. Kind of interesting too, the history of it.
Mikhail Sergachev, Tampa Bay Lightning: Spending time with family. Classic answer, right? We bought a boat, so we go on the boat and chill. Got a couple Jet Skis. All about family time on the water.
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins: I like anything outdoors. Hiking, kayaking, fishing. Lake kayaking. I don’t mess with the ocean too much. [Laughs] I really enjoy that. It’s a good way for me to stay active, but I love being in nature, be on the water and things like that, so if I get an opportunity to do that, it’s great.
Seth Jarvis, Carolina Hurricanes: Golf, or sleep. Depends on the day. Probably sleep first. For golf, the course we play the most in Raleigh is called Old Chatham. I’m probably not welcome back there as much anymore; usually tear it up pretty good. It’s a fun one.
Terry: I should say being with my family. So, being with my family. [Laughs] I also love to golf though. That’s my big hobby. We play Pelican Hill a lot in Orange County.
Jack Eichel, Vegas Golden Knights: I like to just relax, sleep in. Maybe get some treatment. Sit outside. Take the dog for a walk. Try and do nothing. Maybe take a sauna. Have a couple of nice meals. Sit by a pool.
Tom Wilson, Washington Capitals: Go to the dog park or go on a bit of a hike with the dog. There’s some great trails in Virginia where we live so that’s always good to clear your mind.
Matty Beniers, Seattle Kraken: I like to just relax. I’ve got a roommate, so we go to movies every once in a while and have dinners. And I like being around the guys. Just going to hang out at someone’s house, hang out with someone’s kids. I don’t mind having fun with them.
McAvoy: We’re in the fall right now, so most days are just lazy, hanging around Boston. But I will say we already have a plan in place to go do the apple picking thing. We’ve got a farm picked out, me and my wife. We’re going to do it. Doesn’t everybody do that in the fall? So I will say apple picking, because it’s better than me saying I’m just going to sit on the couch.
Robertson: I’m just big into playing video games and doing stuff around the house. Hopefully the day off is a Sunday and you can just watch football all day. Or I’ll go see my mom and dad, they live in Dallas too.
Matthew Tkachuk: My off days in Florida are probably a lot different … well, I know they’re a lot different than mine in Calgary. Either go out on the water, hang out by the pool, sometimes golf. I think the thing that I do that is definitely not like Calgary the most is hang out by the pool and get a lot of sun. It’s not bad. But I’m still watching hockey every night though.
Is there one restaurant you absolutely have to hit on the road every year?
Ferraro: One of my favorites that I’m going to in Vegas: Delilah at the Encore. I really, really like that restaurant and it has live jazz music. That’s really cool.
Brady Tkachuk, Ottawa Senators: Nusr-Et in New York. It’s the “Salt Bae” guy. And Carbone’s is always a good option.
Boldy: We went to a sushi place in Pittsburgh this year that was really, really good. [Marc-Andre] Fleury brought us there and that was probably some of the best sushi I’ve had. [QUESTION: Do they pull the fish directly out of the rivers?] Hey, whatever they’re doing, it works.
Crosby: I like New York. We go to Quality Italian a lot there. Good place. It’s a heavy meal. You need a morning skate after that one.
Cole Caufield, Montreal Canadiens: Nobu in Malibu is probably my favorite, it just being on the water. I’ve been there once and I missed the trip [to Los Angeles] last year, so I’ve got to get back there this year.
Johnny Gaudreau, Columbus Blue Jackets: I like Maple & Ash [in Chicago]. Me and Erik Gudbranson, we like going there every year. That’s definitely our favorite.
Nazem Kadri, Calgary Flames: There’s a new steakhouse in Dallas called Monarch. It’s really nice. It’s up on the 60th floor; it’s beautiful.
Trouba: I love Blue Water Cafe in Vancouver. It’s a seafood spot. It’s not every time, but if I can go there, I go for sure.
Clayton Keller, Arizona Coyotes: I went to a really good place in Seattle. Oh, cool. I think it’s called The Pink Door. They have Italian food but really good steak too. It was unbelievable.
John Tavares, Toronto Maple Leafs: There’s a brunch place in Winnipeg called Clementine Cafe. It’s really good, so if the schedule works out I always try to make a pit stop there.
Which (current or former) teammate will make the best coach or GM one day?
Ferraro: I think that I’m going to have to go with [former teammate] Andrew Cogliano. That guy is dialed in, so I think he would be a really good GM. You can’t even talk to that guy on a game day. He’s so dialed in. Wouldn’t miss a day. The guy grinds. He’s a beast.
Brady Tkachuk: Claude Giroux would be a great GM. Just a very smart person. I think he just knows a lot about the game and would be a great person leading the charge.
Morrissey: Well, I would probably say Mark Scheifele. He just loves the game so much, has a passion for the game, especially on the coaching side. I think he loves the intricacies of improving his own game, which would translate really well for him. Helping with skill development, coaching kids or even top players. He coaches me all the time.
Thompson: I think Kyle Okposo would make a great GM. Very smart hockey mind. He’s kind got that business side to him too, so I think he would be a good GM.
Terry: Ryan Strome. He’s very on top of everything hockey-related. The way his brain works and all that, I think he’s GM material.
Seth Jones, Chicago Blackhawks: My brother [Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Caleb Jones], to be honest. He loves everything about being a GM. He’s been talking about [pursuing that] for a while now.
Beniers: Jaden Schwartz. He’s a good person, he’s very aware of everyone [and their] feelings and situations, and I think that’s really important. I think he’s a smart guy, and he’d be pretty strategic and do well.
Trouba: I don’t think we have a slam-dunk coach. But Adam Fox would be a pretty good GM. And I would be his assistant GM.
Byram: Andrew Cogliano would be a great GM. He’s been a great leader and mentor in our locker room to a lot of guys, and he’s helped me out a lot in my career with injuries and different stuff. I’ve learned a lot from him.
Tavares: Luke Schenn. His passion for the game is incredible. One of his nicknames is “Scoops” because he just always has the insight and the intel, a good pulse on things around the league. Obviously he’s a Stanley Cup champion. He’s been through a lot in his career, seen a lot, played for a lot of coaches and players, different organizations. When he came to Toronto last year, we’d sit beside each other on the plane and talk about that stuff; you can see he’d be built for management.
Quinn Hughes, Vancouver Canucks: Kyle Burroughs. He’s a fun guy, loves hockey. He could be an assistant coach or head coach who’d just love breaking down the video and just being around the rink, feeling like he’s part of the team being with the boys. Or Luke Schenn. The guy just loves hockey.
If you could add a rule to the NHL, what would it be?
Morrissey: If you score on the power play, the power play doesn’t end, so you get the full two minutes. As a guy that’s on the power play, I wouldn’t mind having it be the full two minutes regardless. So that might be a selfish answer.
Crosby: I don’t want to add this or subtract it [as a rule].. I just want to see it: Bringing the red line back. Would just love to see how that would affect the game. You knew when it was there, there’s a ton of trapping and all that sort of thing, but it would just be a totally different game today. I think it would force you to have to make a few more passes. I just would love to see the combination of the way we play now combined with bringing the red line back, compared to what it would’ve looked like when it was first there.
Jarvis: I don’t know if it’s a rule, but [being able to] interview the refs after games. If you could implement that, I’d like to see it. That would be fun.
Gaudreau: Get rid of the shootouts. Just do three-on-three [overtime] until someone scores.
Tavares: In the offensive zone [on faceoffs], the offensive player has the advantage and gets to go down second. I don’t always think it’s an advantage to go down second. I would like to think that the offensive player should be able to choose if you go down first or second. I know [from] going against Patrice Bergeron that he definitely wanted to be down first [Laughs] So, it’s funny what you see as an advantage and what you think is an advantage, and the offensive player should get to choose.
McAvoy: I’ve seen USA Hockey actually fool around with this, and it’s that you can’t ice the puck anymore on the power play. If you’re not able to ice the puck, then you’re forcing guys to try and make plays, try and lob it perfectly. I think it would make it really difficult.
Eichel: Longer overtime. It would make teams utilize more players and allow more guys the opportunity to play in overtime. And I think it’s just such an exciting time for the fans. I know as a fan of hockey, when I see games going into overtime, I automatically tune into them because I want to watch the three-on-three. So I think it’d be great for the fans.
Keller: No dress code on game days. We do that, not for every game. It would be cool to do it for every game. You go casual. You can mix in suits. You can kind of go with whatever you’re feeling to show your personality.
Filip Forsberg, Nashville Predators: Probably get rid of the back-to-backs. [Laughs] You just can’t play [as well] in a back-to-back.
Thompson: I’d probably get rid of the no-goal for kicks. I’d love it if you could kick in a puck. I think that should be a goal. If you have the ability to redirect a pass with your skate or kick it in, I think that’s a skill. I think that’s not an easy thing to do. So, I think that should be a goal for sure. You can kick it anywhere on the ice, except for in the net. So I think it should be a goal. Especially the fact that a lot of times the [defense] ties you up in front of the net and the only thing you can use are your feet.
Trouba: Eliminate the salary cap.
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Kershaw joins the 3K club! Where does he rank among pitchers with 3,000 strikeouts?
Published
4 hours agoon
July 3, 2025By
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Bradford DoolittleJul 2, 2025, 11:44 PM ET
Close- MLB writer and analyst for ESPN.com
- Former NBA writer and analyst for ESPN.com
- Been with ESPN since 2013
The 3,000-strikeout club has grown by one, with Clayton Kershaw of the Los Angeles Dodgers whiffing the Chicago White Sox‘s Vinny Capra in the sixth inning Wednesday at Dodger Stadium, becoming the 20th pitcher in baseball history to reach that milestone.
The 3K pitching club doesn’t generate as much hullabaloo as its hitting counterpart, but it is more exclusive: Thirty-three players have reached 3,000 hits.
When you look at the list of pitchers with 3,000 strikeouts, and Kershaw’s place on it, a few things jump out.
• None of them pitched at Ebbets Field, at least not in a regular-season game. I frame it like that to illustrate that this level of whiffery is a fairly recent phenomenon. The Dodgers bolted Brooklyn after the 1957 season, and at that point, Walter Johnson was the only member of the 3,000-strikeout club. A career Washington Senator, he never pitched against the Dodgers. Every other 3K member made his big league debut in 1959 or later. Half of them debuted in 1984 or later. Three of them (Kershaw, Max Scherzer and Justin Verlander) are active.
• For now, Kershaw has thrown the fewest career innings of any 3K member, though he’s likely to eventually end up with more frames than Pedro Martinez.
• Kershaw has the highest winning percentage of the 20 (.697) and the best ERA+ (155), though his edges over Martinez (.685 and 154) are razor thin.
• Kershaw tops the list in average game score (61.9) and is tied for second (with Bob Gibson) for quality start percentage (68%), behind only Tom Seaver (70%).
• Kershaw lags behind in bWAR, at least among this group of current, future and should-be Hall of Famers with 77.1, ranking 16th.
So where does Kershaw really rank in the 3K club? I’m glad you asked.
First, what should be obvious from the above bullet points is that the response to the question will vary according to how you choose to answer it. The ranking below reflects not only how I chose to answer the question but how I’d like to see starting pitchers rated in general — even today, in the wildly different context from the days of Walter Johnson.
1. Roger Clemens
FWP: 568.8 | Strikeouts: 4,672 (3rd in MLB history)
Game score W-L: 477-230 (.675)
The top three pitchers on the list, including Rocket, match the modern-era top three for all pitchers, not just the 3K guys. (The string is broken by fourth-place Christy Mathewson.) Before running the numbers, I figured Walter Johnson, with his modern-era record of 417 career wins (the old-fashioned variety), would top the list. But Clemens actually started more games (relief appearances don’t factor in) and had a better game score win percentage.
2. Randy Johnson
FWP: 532.9 | Strikeouts: 4,875 (2nd)
Game score W-L: 421-182 (.698)
Since we’re lopping off pre-1901 performances, the method does Cy Young dirty. Only two pitchers — Young (511 wins) and Walter Johnson got to 400 career wins by the traditional method. By the game score method, the club grows to nine, including a bunch of players many of us actually got to see play. The Big Unit is one of the new 400-game winners, and of the nine, his game score winning percentage is the highest. The only thing keeping Johnson from No. 1 on this list is that he logged 104 fewer career starts than Clemens.
3. Walter Johnson
FWP: 494.7 | Strikeouts: 3,509 (9th)
Game score W-L: 437-229 (.656)
Don’t weep for the Big Train — even this revamping of his century-old performance record and the fixation on strikeouts can’t dim his greatness. That fact we mentioned in the introduction — that every 3K member except Walter Johnson debuted in 1959 or later — tells you a lot about just how much he was a man out of his time. Johnson retired after the 1927 season and surpassed 3,000 strikeouts by whiffing Cleveland’s Stan Coveleski on July 22, 1923. It was nearly 51 years before Gibson became 3K member No. 2 on July 17, 1974.
4. Greg Maddux
FWP: 443.3 | Strikeouts: 3,371 (12th)
Game score W-L: 453-287 (.612)
There is a stark contrast between pitcher No. 4 and pitcher No. 5 on this ranking. The wild thing about Maddux ranking above Nolan Ryan in a group selected for strikeouts is that no one thinks of Maddux as a strikeout pitcher. He never led a league in whiffs and topped 200 just once (204 in 1998). He was just an amazingly good pitcher for a really long time.
5. Nolan Ryan
FWP: 443.1 | Strikeouts: 5,714 (1st)
Game score W-L: 467-306 (.604)
Ryan is without a doubt the greatest strikeout pitcher who ever lived, and it’s really hard to imagine someone surpassing him. This is a guy who struck out his first six batters in 1966, when Lyndon Johnson was in the White House, and his last 46 in 1993, when Bill Clinton was there. Ryan was often criticized during his heyday for his win-loss record, but the game score method clears that right up. Ryan’s revised winning percentage (.604) is markedly higher than his actual percentage (.526).
6. Max Scherzer
FWP: 385.7 | Strikeouts: 3,419 (11th)
Game score W-L: 315-145 (.685)
Here’s another club Mad Max is in: .680 or better game score winning percentage, minimum 100 career starts. He’s one of just eight members, along with Kershaw. The list is topped by Smoky Joe Wood, who dominated the AL during the 1910s before hurting his arm and converting into a full-time outfielder. The full list: Wood, Martinez, Randy Johnson, Lefty Grove, Mathewson, Kershaw, Stephen Strasburg and Scherzer.
7. Justin Verlander
FWP: 385.0 | Strikeouts: 3,471 (10th)
Game score W-L: 349-190 (.647)
Like Scherzer, Verlander is fresh off the injured list. Thus, the two active leaders in our version of FWP have resumed their tight battle for permanent supremacy. Both also resume their quests to become the 10th and 11th pitchers to reach 3,500 strikeouts. Verlander, who hasn’t earned a traditional win in 13 starts, is 4-9 this season by the game score method.
8. Pedro Martinez
FWP: 383.5 | Strikeouts: 3,154 (15th)
Game score W-L: 292-117 (.714)
By so many measures, Martinez is one of the greatest of all time, even if his career volume didn’t reach the same levels as those of the others on the list. His 409 career starts are easily the fewest of the 3K club. But he has the highest game score winning percentage and, likewise, the highest score for FWP per start (.938).
9. Steve Carlton
FWP: 379.8 | Strikeouts: 4,136 (4th)
Game score W-L: 420-289 (.592)
When you think of Lefty, you think of his 1972 season, when he went 27-10 (traditional method) for a Phillies team that went 59-97. What does the game score method think of that season? It hates it. Kidding! No, Carlton, as you’d expect, dominated, going 32-9. So think of it like this: There were 32 times in 1972 that Carlton outpitched his starting counterpart despite the lethargic offense behind him.
10. Tom Seaver
FWP: 371.3 | Strikeouts: 3,640 (6th)
Game score W-L: 391-256 (.604)
Perhaps no other pitcher of his time demonstrated a more lethal combination of dominance and consistency than Seaver. The consistency is his historical differentiator. As mentioned, his career quality start percentage (70%) is tops among this group. Among all pitchers with at least 100 career starts, he ranks fifth. Dead ball era pitchers get a leg up in this stat, so the leader is the fairly anonymous Jeff Tesreau (72%), a standout for John McGraw’s New York Giants during the 1910s. The others ahead of Seaver are a fascinating bunch. One is Babe Ruth, and another is Ernie Shore, who in 1917 relieved Ruth when The Babe was ejected after walking a batter to start a game. Shore replaced him, picked off the batter who walked, then went on to retire all 26 batters he faced. The other ahead of Seaver: Jacob deGrom.
11. Clayton Kershaw
FWP: 370.9 | Strikeouts: 3,000 (20th)
Game score W-L: 301-137 (.687)
And here’s the guest of honor, our reason for doing this ranking exercise. As you can see, Kershaw joined the 300-game-score win club in his last start before Wednesday’s milestone game, becoming the 38th member. In so many measures of dominance, consistency and efficiency, Kershaw ranks as one of the very best pitchers of all time. When you think that he, Verlander and Scherzer are all in the waning years of Hall of Fame careers, you can’t help but wonder who, if anyone, is going to join some of the elite starting pitching statistical clubs in the future.
12. Don Sutton
FWP: 370.6 | Strikeouts: 3,574 (7th)
Game score W-L: 437-319 (.578)
For a post-dead ball pitcher, Sutton was a model of durability. He ranks third in career starts (756) and seventh in innings (5,283⅓). During the first 15 seasons of his career, Sutton started 31 or more games 14 times and threw at least 207 innings for the Dodgers in every season.
13. Ferguson Jenkins
FWP: 353.8 | Strikeouts: 3,192 (14th)
Game score W-L: 363-231 (.611)
Jenkins is in the Hall of Fame, so we can’t exactly say he was overlooked. Still, it does feel like he’s a bit underrated on the historical scale. His FWP score ranks 17th among all pitchers, and the game score method gives him a significant win-loss boost. That .611 percentage you see here is a good bit higher than his actual .557 career winning percentage. He just didn’t play for very many good teams and, in fact, never appeared in the postseason. He’s not the only Hall of Famer associated with the Chicago Cubs who suffered that fate.
14. Gaylord Perry
FWP: 335.6 | Strikeouts: 3,534 (8th)
Game score W-L: 398-292 (.577)
Perry, famous for doing, uh, whatever it takes to win a game, famously hung around past his expiration date to get to 300 wins, and he ended up with 314. Poor Perry: If my game score method had been in effect, he’d have quit two wins shy of 400. Would someone have given him a shot at getting there in 1984, when he was 45? One of history’s great what-if questions.
15. Phil Niekro
FWP: 332.5 | Strikeouts: 3,342 (13th)
Game score W-L: 408-308 (.570)
Knucksie won 318 games, and lost 274, the type of career exemplified by his 1979 season, when he went 21-20. We aren’t likely to see anyone again pair a 20-win season with a 20-loss season. His .537 traditional winning percentage improves with the game score method, but he’s still the low man in the 3K club in that column. Niekro joins Ryan and Sutton on the list of those with 300 game score losses. Sutton, at 319, is the leader. The others: Tommy John, Tom Glavine and Jamie Moyer. Of course, they were all safely over the 300-game-score win threshold as well.
16. CC Sabathia
FWP: 323.2 | Strikeouts: 3,093 (18th)
Game score W-L: 339-221 (.605)
Sabathia will be inducted into the Hall of Fame next month, and his place in this group only underscores how deserving he is of that honor. Sabathia debuted in 2001, and to reach the 250 traditional-win level (he won 251) in this era is an amazing feat. The only pitcher in that club who debuted later is Verlander, stuck at 262 wins after debuting in 2005. Right now, it’s hard to imagine who, if anyone, will be next. Of course, if we just went with game score wins, that would be different.
17. Bob Gibson
FWP: 321.0 | Strikeouts: 3,117 (16th)
Game score W-L: 305-177 (.633)
Gibson, incidentally, also won 251 games — and also gets enough boost from the game score method to climb over 300. His revised percentage is better than his traditional mark of .591. His average game score ranks third in this group, a reflection of his steady dominance but also of the era in which he pitched. Gibson is tied for eighth in quality start percentage among all pitchers. In 1968, when Gibson owned the baseball world with a 1.12 ERA, he went 22-9 by the traditional method. The game score method: 26-8. You’d think it would be even better, but it was, after all, the Year of the Pitcher.
18. Bert Blyleven
FWP: 320.2 | Strikeouts: 3,701 (5th)
Game score W-L: 391-294 (.571)
It took a prolonged campaign by statheads to raise awareness about Blyleven’s greatness and aid his eventual Cooperstown induction. He finished with 287 traditional wins, short of the historical benchmark. Here he would fall short of the 400-win benchmark, but, nevertheless, he is tied with John and Seaver for 11th on the game score wins list. His actual winning percentage was .534.
19. Curt Schilling
FWP: 307.1 | Strikeouts: 3,116 (17th)
Game score W-L: 281-155 (.644)
There are 31 pitchers who have broken the 300 FWP level, and it’s hard for me to imagine how anyone in that group could be left out of Cooperstown. You can sort this out for yourself in terms of baseball and not baseball reasons for this, but the group not there is Clemens, Schilling, John and Andy Pettitte, plus the greats (Kershaw, Verlander, Scherzer) who are still active.
20. John Smoltz
FWP: 273.8 | Strikeouts: 3,084 (19th)
Game score W-L: 290-191 (.603)
Smoltz won 213 games the traditional way, and he falls just short of 300 by the revised method. But all of this is about starting pitching, and with Smoltz, that overlooks a lot. After missing the 2000 season because of injury, he returned as a reliever, and for four seasons he was one of the best, logging 154 saves during that time. He’s the only member of the 200-win, 100-save club.

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Alden GonzalezJul 3, 2025, 12:30 AM ET
Close- ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the L.A. Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the L.A. Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016.
LOS ANGELES — Clayton Kershaw‘s 3,000th career strikeout was preceded by a scary, dispiriting moment, when Los Angeles Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy injured his left knee and had to be helped off the field Wednesday night.
Muncy is set to undergo an MRI on Thursday, but Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said initial tests have them feeling “optimistic” and that the “hope” is Muncy only sustained a sprain.
With one out in the sixth inning, Muncy jumped to catch a throw from Dodgers catcher Will Smith, then tagged out Chicago White Sox center fielder Michael A. Taylor on an attempted steal and immediately clutched his left knee, prompting a visit from Roberts and head trainer Thomas Albert.
Muncy wrapped his left arm around Albert and walked toward the third-base dugout, replaced by Enrique Hernandez. His injury, caused by Taylor’s helmet slamming into the side of his left knee on a headfirst slide, was so gruesome that the team’s broadcast opted not to show a replay.
Taylor also exited the game with what initially was diagnosed as a left trap contusion.
The Dodgers went on to win 5-4 on Freddie Freeman‘s walk-off single that scored Shohei Ohtani.
Sports
Kershaw becomes MLB’s 4th lefty with 3,000 K’s
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4 hours agoon
July 3, 2025By
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Alden GonzalezJul 2, 2025, 11:54 PM ET
Close- ESPN baseball reporter. Covered the L.A. Rams for ESPN from 2016 to 2018 and the L.A. Angels for MLB.com from 2012 to 2016.
LOS ANGELES — His start prolonged, the whiffs remained elusive, and the Dodger Stadium crowd became increasingly concerned that Clayton Kershaw might not reach a hallowed milestone in front of them Wednesday. Finally, with two outs in the sixth inning, on his 100th pitch of the night, it happened — an outside-corner slider to freeze Chicago White Sox third baseman Vinny Capra and make Kershaw the 20th member of the 3,000-strikeout club.
Kershaw came off the mound and waved his cap to a sold-out crowd that had risen in appreciation. His teammates then greeted him on the field, dispersing hugs before a tribute video played on the scoreboard, after which Kershaw spilled out of the dugout to greet the fans once more.
Kershaw, the Los Angeles Dodgers‘ longtime ace, is just the fourth lefty to reach 3,000 strikeouts, joining Randy Johnson, Steve Carlton and CC Sabathia. He is one of just five pitchers to accumulate that many with one team, along with Walter Johnson, Bob Gibson, Steve Carlton and John Smoltz. The only other active pitchers who reached 3,000 strikeouts are the two who have often been lumped with Kershaw among the greatest pitchers of this era: Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer, the latter of whom reached the milestone as a member of the Dodgers in September 2021.
Kershaw’s first strikeout accounted for the first out of the third inning — immediately after Austin Slater’s two-run homer gave the White Sox a 3-2 lead. Former Dodger Miguel Vargas fell behind in the count 0-2, becoming the ninth batter to get to two strikes against Kershaw, then swung through a curveball low and away. The next strikeout, No. 2,999 of his career, came on his season-high-tying 92nd pitch of the night, a curveball that landed well in front of home plate and induced a swing-and-miss from Lenyn Sosa to end the fifth inning.
Dodgers manager Dave Roberts did not even look at Kershaw as he made his way back into the dugout, a clear sign that Kershaw would not be taken out. The crowd erupted as Kershaw took the mound for the start of the sixth inning. Mike Tauchman grounded out and Michael A. Taylor hit a double, then was caught stealing on a play that prompted Dodgers third baseman Max Muncy to come down hard on his left knee, forcing him to be helped off the field.
The mood suddenly turned somber at Dodger Stadium. Then, four pitches later, came elation.
Kershaw reached 3,000 strikeouts in 2,787⅓ innings, making him the fourth-fastest player to reach the mark, according to research from the Elias Sports Bureau. The only ones who got there with fewer innings were Johnson (2,470⅔), Scherzer (2,516) and Pedro Martinez (2,647⅔).
The Dodgers came back to win 5-4, capping their rally with three runs in the bottom of the ninth.
Before the game, Roberts called the 3,000-strikeout milestone “the last box” of a Hall of Fame career — one whose spot in Cooperstown had already been cemented by three Cy Young Awards, 10 All-Star Games, an MVP, five ERA titles and more than 200 wins.
Kershaw’s 2.51 ERA is the lowest in the Live Ball era (since 1920) among those with at least 1,500 innings, even though Kershaw has nearly doubled that. He was a force early, averaging 200 innings and 218 strikeouts per season from 2010 to 2019. And he was a wonder late, finding ways to continually keep opposing lineups in check with his body aching and his fastball down into the high 80s.
Kershaw went on the injured list at least once every year from 2016 to 2024. A foot injury made him a spectator last October, when the Dodgers claimed their second championship in five years. The following month, Kershaw underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee and a ruptured plantar plate in his left big toe, then re-signed with the Dodgers and joined the rotation in mid-May. He allowed five runs in four innings in his debut but went 4-0 with a 2.08 ERA in his next seven starts, stabilizing a shorthanded rotation that remains without Blake Snell, Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki and Tony Gonsolin.
Since the start of 2021, Kershaw has somehow managed to put up the sixth-lowest ERA among those with at least 400 innings.
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