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3,000-K club in relief | ||
| John Smoltz is unique to this club because of his years as a closer. This chart shows just how many more relief appearances he made than the club's other members. | ||
Pitcher | Relief app. | Saves |
| John Smoltz | 241 | 154 |
| Phil Niekro | 148 | 29 |
| Walter Johnson | 136 | 34 |
| Curt Schilling | 133 | 22 |
| Gaylord Perry | 87 | 11 |
| Fergie Jenkins | 70 | 7 |
| Pedro Martinez | 67 | 3 |
| Bob Gibson | 46 | 6 |
| Nolan Ryan | 34 | 3 |
| Steve Carlton | 32 | 2 |
| Don Sutton | 18 | 5 |
| Randy Johnson | 10 | 2 |
| Tom Seaver | 9 | 1 |
| Bert Blyleven | 7 | 0 |
| Greg Maddux | 4 | 0 |
| Roger Clemens | 2 | 0 |
Journey to 3,000 | |||||
| John Smoltz reached the 3,000-strikeout plateau in the sixth-fewest innings in Major League history. | |||||
Pitcher | Year | Inn. to 3,000 | |||
| Randy Johnson | 2000 | 2,470 | |||
| Pedro Martinez | 2007 | 2,647 2/3 | |||
| Nolan Ryan | 1980 | 2,802 | |||
| Curt Schilling | 2006 | 3,093 | |||
| Roger Clemens | 1998 | 3,154 2/3 | |||
| John Smoltz | 2008 | 3,385 2/3 | |||
| Tom Seaver | 1981 | 3,642 2/3 | |||
| Bob Gibson | 1974 | 3,666 1/3 | |||
| Steve Carlton | 1981 | 3,823 1/3 | |||
| Bert Blyleven | 1986 | 3,887 1/3 | |||
| Fergie Jenkins | 1982 | 4,174 | |||
| Don Sutton | 1983 | 4,243 2/3 | |||
| Greg Maddux | 2005 | 4,313 | |||
| Gaylord Perry | 1978 | 4,355 1/3 | |||
| Phil Niekro | 1984 | 4,746 1/3 | |||
| Walter Johnson | 1923 | 4,927 1/3 | |||
Smoltz's favorite foes | |||
Name | Strikeouts | Plate appearances | |
| 1. Craig Biggio | 26 | 115 | |
| 2. Reggie Sanders | 22 | 52 | |
| 3. Steve Finley | 21 | 86 | |
| 4. Benito Santiago | 21 | 62 | |
| 5. Andres Galarraga | 20 | 50 | |
| 6. Eric Karros | 19 | 59 | |
| 7. David Wright | 19 | 52 | |
| 8. Mike Lieberthal | 18 | 39 | |
| 9. Sammy Sosa | 18 | 41 | |
| 10. Matt Williams | 18 | 80 | |
Smoltz's top strikeout seasons | ||||
Year | Strikeouts | Innings pitched | ||
| 1996 | 276 | 253 2/3 | ||
| 1997 | 241 | 256 | ||
| 1992 | 215 | 246 2/3 | ||
| 2006 | 211 | 232 | ||
| 1993 | 208 | 243 2/3 | ||
This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
