Giants' Justin Verlander Becomes 10th Pitcher in MLB History with 3,500 Strikeouts

Justin Verlander reached yet another career milestone on Sunday.

With a strikeout in the first inning of Sunday's game against the Washington Nationals, the San Francisco Giants' starter became just the 10th pitcher in MLB history to record 3,500 career strikeouts.

"I was happy to get there, happy to have a moment with the fans," Verlander said, per ESPN. "Cool milestone. I really appreciate what it's taken to get there.

By reaching the 3,500 mark, Verlander joins an elite group featuring Nolan Ryan, Randy Johnson and other all-time greats.

Verlander is the only active pitcher with 3,500 or more strikeouts, though Max Scherzer is getting close to reaching that threshold as he's currently at 3,456 career strikeouts.

Verlander, a three-time AL Cy Young Award winner and former MVP, picked up most of his strikeouts with the Detroit Tigers, the team he spent the first 13 years of his career with. He had a successful run with the Houston Astros from 2017 to 2022, helping them win a pair of World Series.

Now likely in the late stages of his career, Verlander isn't quite the dominant arm he once was, sitting at 1-9 with a 4.53 ERA, a 1.50 WHIP and 87 strikeouts in 20 starts. Regardless, he's almost certainly on his way to the Hall of Fame when he decides to call it a career.