List of Major League Baseball single-game strikeout leaders

A man wearing a navy blue baseball cap with an interlocking "NY" and grey baseball jersey with "NEW YORK" on the chest prepares to deliver a pitch.
A man in a gray baseball uniform with "ARIZONA" on the chest, a red baseball cap, and a tan baseball glove on his right hand with "51" on its side pitches a baseball with his left hand.
Roger Clemens (left) and Randy Johnson (right) are the only pitchers to strike out 18 or more batters in a nine-inning game on three separate occasions.

In baseball, a strikeout occurs when a pitcher throws three strikes to a batter during his time at bat.[1] Twenty different pitchers have struck out at least 18 batters in a single nine-inning Major League Baseball (MLB) game,[a] the most recent being Max Scherzer of the Washington Nationals on May 11, 2016.[4] Four players have accomplished the feat more than once in their career; no player has ever struck out more than 20 batters in a nine-inning game. Charlie Sweeney was the first player to strike out 18 batters in a single game, doing so for the Providence Grays against the Boston Beaneaters on June 7, 1884.[5] In spite of this, Bob Feller is viewed as the first pitcher to accomplish the feat,[6][7] since his then-record 18 strikeouts was the first to occur during the 20th century and the live-ball era.[8]

Out of the twenty pitchers who have accomplished the feat, fifteen were right-handed and five pitched left-handed. Five of these players have played for only one major league team. Six pitchers—Steve Carlton, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, and Max Scherzer—are also members of the 3,000 strikeout club. Sweeney has the fewest career strikeouts in the group with 505, while Nolan Ryan, with 5,714, struck out more batters than any other pitcher in major league history.[9] Bill Gullickson and Kerry Wood are the only rookies to have achieved the feat.[10][11] Tom Seaver concluded his milestone game by striking out the final ten batters he faced, setting a new major league record for most consecutive strikeouts.[12][13]

Of the eleven players eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame who have struck out 18 batters in a game, six have been elected; all six were elected on the first ballot.[14] Players are eligible for the Hall of Fame if they have played in at least 10 major league seasons, and have either been retired for five seasons or deceased for at least six months.[15]

Players

An elderly almost-bald man wearing a striped button-up shirt and a tie adorned with a pattern of baseballs waves a cap from a convertible.
Bob Feller was the first player to achieve 18 strikeouts in a game during the live-ball era.
A smiling man in a white baseball jersey and dark baseball cap with an interlocked white "LA" on the front.
Sandy Koufax was the first pitcher to achieve multiple games with 18 strikeouts, recording two in his career.
A man sporting a goatee and wearing a dark blue baseball cap with "C" in the middle, a pinstriped jersey and black Nike cleats delivers a pitch.
Kerry Wood tied Roger Clemens' major league record of 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game on May 6, 1998.
A man in white pants and a navy blue baseball jersey with "Nationals" written across the front throws a pitch.
Max Scherzer tied Kerry Wood and Roger Clemens' major league record of 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game in 2016.
Key
Pitcher Name of the pitcher
Date Date of the game
Team The pitcher's team
Opposing team The team against whom the pitcher struck out 18 players
Score Final score of the game, with the pitcher's team score listed first
Strikeouts Number of strikeouts the pitcher recorded
Career Ks Career strikeouts
† Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame
* Player is active
‡ Indicates the player's team lost the game

MLB pitchers with 18 strikeouts in a nine-inning game

MLB pitchers with 18 strikeouts in a nine-inning game (sorted by number of strikeouts, then chronologically)
Pitcher Date Team Opposing team Score Strikeouts Career Ks Refs
Max Scherzer* May 11, 2016 Washington Nationals Detroit Tigers 3–2 20 3,367 [16][17]
Kerry Wood May 6, 1998 Chicago Cubs Houston Astros 2–0 20 1,582 [11][18]
Roger Clemens September 18, 1996 Boston Red Sox Detroit Tigers 4–0 20 4,672 [19][20]
Roger Clemens April 29, 1986 Boston Red Sox Seattle Mariners 3–1 20 4,672 [20][21]
Randy Johnson† August 8, 1997 Seattle Mariners Chicago White Sox 5–0 19 4,875 [22][23]
Randy Johnson† June 24, 1997 Seattle Mariners Oakland Athletics 1–4‡ 19 4,875 [23][24]
David Cone October 6, 1991 New York Mets Philadelphia Phillies 7–0 19 2,668 [25][26]
Nolan Ryan† August 12, 1974 California Angels Boston Red Sox 4–2 19 5,714 [27][28]
Tom Seaver† April 22, 1970 New York Mets San Diego Padres 2–1 19 3,640 [29][30]
Steve Carlton† September 15, 1969 St. Louis Cardinals New York Mets 3–4‡ 19 4,136 [31][32]
Hugh Daily July 7, 1884 Chicago Browns Boston Reds 10–4 19 846 [33][34]
Charlie Sweeney June 7, 1884 Providence Grays Boston Beaneaters 2–1 19 505 [35][36]
Corey Kluber May 13, 2015 Cleveland Indians St. Louis Cardinals 2–0 18 1,725 [37][38]
Ben Sheets May 16, 2004 Milwaukee Brewers Atlanta Braves 4–1 18 1,325 [39][40]
Roger Clemens August 25, 1998 Toronto Blue Jays Kansas City Royals 3–0 18 4,672 [20][41]
Randy Johnson† September 27, 1992 Seattle Mariners Texas Rangers 2–3‡ 18 4,875 [23][42]
Ramón Martínez June 4, 1990 Los Angeles Dodgers Atlanta Braves 6–0 18 1,427 [43][44]
Bill Gullickson September 10, 1980 Montreal Expos Chicago Cubs 4–2 18 1,279 [10][45]
Ron Guidry June 17, 1978 New York Yankees California Angels 4–0 18 1,778 [46][47]
Nolan Ryan† September 10, 1976 California Angels Chicago White Sox 3–2 18 5,714 [28][48]
Don Wilson July 14, 1968 Houston Astros Cincinnati Reds 6–1 18 1,283 [49][50]
Sandy Koufax† April 24, 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers Chicago Cubs 10–2 18 2,396 [51][52]
Sandy Koufax† August 31, 1959 Los Angeles Dodgers San Francisco Giants 5–2 18 2,396 [52][53]
Bob Feller† October 2, 1938 Cleveland Indians Detroit Tigers 1–4‡ 18 2,581 [54][55]
Henry Porter October 3, 1884 Milwaukee Brewers Boston Reds 4–5‡ 18 659 [56][57]
Dupee Shaw July 19, 1884 Boston Reds St. Louis Maroons 0–1‡ 18 950 [58][59]

18 strikeouts in extra-inning games

A man in a white baseball jersey with "ASTROS" on the chest and orange and yellow stripes on his shoulders pitches a baseball with his right hand.
Nolan Ryan amassed 18 or more strikeouts in a nine-inning game twice, as well as 19 strikeouts in extra-inning games three times.

Eight different pitchers have struck out at least 18 batters in an extra-inning Major League Baseball (MLB) game to date. Only Nolan Ryan accomplished the feat more than once in his career and no player has ever struck out more than 21 batters in a game.

The following list is kept separate from the above list of pitchers who have struck out 18 or more batters in a nine-inning game. This is due to the differing number of innings pitched during an extra-inning game, the lack of a definitive endpoint to the game that would otherwise allow for a fair comparison to be made, and the advantage of having more opportunities to strike out players during an extra-inning game as opposed to one lasting nine innings.

Key
IP Innings pitched by the pitcher in the game
MLB pitchers with 18 strikeouts in an extra-inning game
Pitcher Date Team Opposing team Score Strikeouts IP Career Ks Refs
Tom Cheney September 12, 1962 Washington Senators Baltimore Orioles 2–1 21 16 345 [60][61]
Randy Johnson† May 8, 2001 Arizona Diamondbacks Cincinnati Reds 4–3 20 9[b] 4,875 [23][62]
Luis Tiant July 3, 1968 Cleveland Indians Minnesota Twins 1–0 19 10 2,416 [63][64]
Nolan Ryan† June 14, 1974 California Angels Boston Red Sox 4–3 19 13 5,714 [28][65]
Nolan Ryan† August 20, 1974 California Angels Detroit Tigers 0–1‡ 19 11 5,714 [28][66]
Nolan Ryan† June 8, 1977 California Angels Toronto Blue Jays 2–1 19 10 5,714 [28][67]
Jack Coombs September 1, 1906 Philadelphia Athletics Boston Americans 4-1 18 24 1,052 [68]
Warren Spahn† June 14, 1952 Boston Braves Chicago Cubs 1–3‡ 18 15 2,583 [69][70]
Chris Short October 2, 1965 Philadelphia Phillies New York Mets 0–0 18 15 1,629 [71][72]
Jim Maloney June 14, 1965 Cincinnati Reds New York Mets 0–1‡ 18 11 1,605 [73][74]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ 18 strikeouts is utilized as the benchmark as that is normally two-thirds of a nine-inning game's 27 outs (while uncommon, a pitcher can record a strikeout that does not result in an out due to the uncaught third strike rule).[2][3]
  2. ^ Although the game went into extra innings (11 total), Johnson was relieved by Byung-hyun Kim after nine innings.[62]

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