List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders
Last updated
Walter Johnson holds the record with 12 different seasons that he was a strikeout leader, including 8 consecutive from 1912 through 1919. Johnson was one of the five charter members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
In baseball, the strikeout is a statistic used to evaluate pitchers. A pitcher earns a strikeout when he puts out the batter he is facing by throwing a ball through the strike zone, "defined as that area over homeplate(sic) the upper limit of which is a horizontal line at the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants, and the lower level is a line at the hollow beneath the kneecap",[2] which is not put in play. Strikeouts are awarded in four situations: if the batter is put out on a third strike caught by the catcher (to "strike out swinging" or "strike out looking"); if the pitcher throws a third strike which is not caught with fewer than two outs; if the batter becomes a baserunner on an uncaught third strike; or if the batter bunts the ball into foul territory with two strikes.[3]
There are several players with a claim to the single-season strikeout record. Among recognized major leagues, Matt Kilroy accumulated the highest single-season total, with 513 strikeouts for the Baltimore Orioles of the American Association in 1886.[20] However, his name does not appear on Major League Baseball's single-season leaders list,[21] since the American Association was independent of the constituent leagues that currently make up Major League Baseball: [22] for the same reason, several other players with high totals, including 1886 American Association runner-up Toad Ramsey (499)[23] and 1884 Union Association leader Hugh Daily (483) also do not appear.[24]
In the National League, Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn struck out 441 batters in 1884 for the Providence Grays;[25] however, the Providence franchise folded after the 1885 season and has no successor.[26] Accordingly, Major League Baseball recognizes the runner-up from 1884, Charlie Buffinton of the Boston Red Sox, as the record-holder with 417 strikeouts.[21] In the American League, Ryan holds the record with 383 strikeouts in 1973.[7]
The largest margin of victory for a champion is 156 strikeouts, achieved in 1883 when Tim Keefe of the American Association's New York Metropolitans posted 359 against Bobby Mathews' 203.[27] The National League's largest margin was achieved in 1999, when Randy Johnson struck out 143 more batters than Kevin Brown.[28] Ryan's 1973 margin of 125 strikeouts over Bert Blyleven is the largest American League victory.[29] Although ties for the championship are rare, they have occurred; Claude Passeau and Bucky Walters each struck out 137 National League batters in 1939,[30] and Tex Hughson and Bobo Newsom tied in the American League with 113 strikeouts each in 1942.[31] Their total is the lowest number of strikeouts accumulated to lead a league in Major League Baseball history (although Jacob deGrom only struck out 104 National League batters in 2020, the season was shortened by a pandemic to 60 games, or 37.04% of a regular season; had that season run a full 162 games, that would have been a net of 281 strikeouts).
Key
Year
Links to the corresponding "year in baseball" or "Major League Baseball season" article
Leader
Player with the highest number of strikeouts in the league
Tommy Bond won the triple crown in 1877, leading the National League in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average.Grover Cleveland Alexander led the National League in strikeouts six times in nine seasons.Amos Rusie led the National League in strikeouts a total of five times with two different teams.From 1903 to 1908, Christy Mathewson led the National League in strikeouts in five of six years.Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax led the National League in strikeouts four times before retiring at the age of 30.Aaron Harang defeated Jake Peavy for the strikeout title in 2006 by one strikeout.Jake Peavy's 240 strikeouts in 2007 led all National League pitchers. Peavy also won the pitching triple crown the same year.Tim Lincecum led the National League in strikeouts in 2008, 2009, and 2010.
Rube Waddell led the American League in strikeouts for six consecutive seasons (1902–1907).In 1908 and 1911, Ed Walsh was the American League strikeout champion.In 1959 and 1960, Jim Bunning led the American League in strikeouts; he finished in second place four times.Nolan Ryan has 5,714 career strikeouts, the most in Major League history. His 11 seasons as a strikeout leader – second only to the 12 of Walter Johnson – includes nine seasons, between 1972 and 1990, as the American League strikeout leader.Three-time strikeout champion Johan Santana won the American League's last pitching triple crown in 2006.Scott Kazmir's 239 strikeouts led the American League in 2007.A. J. Burnett won the American League strikeout title in 2008.Justin Verlander also led the American League in wins and innings pitched in 2009.
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