Two nights ago, CC Sabathia entered storied company, to say the least. In his last start against the Twins he struck out his 2,833rd batter, the third-most among left-handed pitchers in major league history. He passed Mickey Lolich, and the only two pitchers above him now are Steve Carlton and Randy Johnson. That also puts him at 18th most all-time among all starters, just a shade below Jim Bunning.
Bunning is a Hall of Famer, as are Carlton and Johnson (Lolich is not). These are different eras, though; Sabathia was one of the best pitchers of an era where starters were easily striking out at least one batter per inning, and now the best pitchers in the game average above that.