<P> In baseball, a strikeout (or strike - out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat (i.e. the batter fails to hit the ball in three successive pitches). It usually means the batter is out . A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denoted by K . </P> <P> Reggie Jackson holds the record for the most career strikeouts by a batter with 2,597 . Jim Thome (2,548), Adam Dunn (2,379), Sammy Sosa (2,306), Alex Rodriguez (2,287) and Andres Galarraga (2,003) are the only other hitters to strikeout over 2,000 times . </P> <Table> <Tr> <Td> Rank </Td> <Td> Rank amongst leaders in career strikeouts . A blank field indicates a tie . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> Player (2017 Ks) </Td> <Td> Number of strikeouts during the 2017 Major League Baseball season . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> Total career strikeouts . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> * </Th> <Td> Denotes elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame . </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Bold </Th> <Td> Denotes active player . </Td> </Tr> </Table>

Who has the most strikeouts in mlb history by a batter