While it took more than 50 years for the second pitcher in MLB history to reach 3,000 career strikeouts (Bob Gibson in 1974 after Walter Johnson in 1923), eight more pitchers would join that illustrious club in less than a decade between 1978 and 1986. During an era when pitchers routinely threw more than 300 innings per season, nearly all of these new strikeout kings accumulated close to or more than 5,000 career innings pitched – this included a couple of foreign-born hurlers in Dutchman Bert Blyleven and Canadian Ferguson Jenkins. As true workhorse starters, each threw over 4,500 career innings and won over 280 career games to go with the 3,000+ strikeouts, thus making for an interesting comparison between these two Hall of Famers:
Who was better – Bert Blyleven or Ferguson Jenkins?
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