List of Major League Baseball single-game strikeout leaders

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] Nineteen different pitchers have struck out at least 18 batters in a single nine-inning Major League Baseball (MLB) game as of 2015,^[1] the most recent being Corey Kluber of the Cleveland Indians on May 13, 2015.^[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 9 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 nineteen pitchers who have accomplished the feat, fourteen were right-handed and five pitched left-handed. Five of these players have played for only one major league team. Five pitchers—Steve Carlton, Roger Clemens, Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan and Tom Seaver—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] These requirements leave one player ineligible who is active, two players ineligible who are living and have played in the past five seasons, and five who did not play in 10 major league seasons.

Players

Kerry Wood tied Roger Clemens' major league record of 20 strikeouts in a nine-inning game on May 6, 1998.

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Sandy Koufax is one of six pitchers who have 18 strikeouts in a game to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

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Bob Feller was the first player to achieve 18 strikeouts in a game during the live-ball era.

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Corey Kluber is the most recent player to attain 18 strikeouts in one game.

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Nolan Ryan amassed 18 or more strikeouts in a nine-inning game twice, as well as 19 strikeouts in extra-inning games three times.

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18 strikeouts in extra-inning games

Seven 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.

See also

• 3,000 strikeout club

Notes

References

External links

• Top Individual Performances – List Retrosheet (scroll down)