WATCH: Clayton Kershaw joins MLB legends after 3,000th strikeout vs. White Sox

Veteran MLB pitcher Clayton Kershaw added another chapter to his baseball legacy after the three-time Cy Young winner reached 3,000 career strikeouts for the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday.

Clayton Kershaw, who started his MLB career with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008, reached the milestone after striking out Chicago White Sox's Vinny Capra in the sixth inning on Wednesday. It came on his 100th pitch of the night.

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Clayton Kershaw becomes only the 20th MLB pitcher to reach 3000 career strikeouts. He is just the fourth left-handed hurler to reach the milestone, joining Steve Carlton, Randy Johnson and CC Sabathia on an elite list.

He is the third active pitcher with 3,000 career strikeouts. Justin Verlander and Max Scherzer are the other two pitchers with more than 3,000 strikeouts under their belts.

Clayton Kershaw's first strikeout victim speaks on facing Dodgers legend

Clayton Kershaw's first MLB strikeout was against St. Louis Cardinals' Skip Schumaker in May 2008. The former outfielder, who has turned to coaching after his playing career, still remembers what it was like facing Kershaw on his major league debut.

"I figured I was going to ambush him and welcome him to the big leagues," Schumaker told USA TODAY Sports' Bob Nightengale. "The first pitch was an elevated fastball. It was harder and faster than I thought, and I swung and missed. Then he threw a curveball. It was something different. It was like nothing I had ever seen before."

The Dodgers prospect made good on his early promise, establishing himself as one of the greatest pitchers over the last two decades.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash