List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders

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]

Major League Baseball recognizes the player or players in each league^[a] with the most strikeouts each season. Jim Devlin led the National League in its inaugural season of 1876; he threw 122 strikeouts for the Louisville Grays.^[4] The American League's first winner was Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who captured the American League Triple Crown in 1901 by striking out 158 batters, along with leading the league in wins and earned run average.^[5] Walter Johnson led the American League in strikeouts twelve times during his Hall of Fame career, most among all players.^[6] He is followed by Nolan Ryan, who captured eleven titles between both leagues (nine in the American League and two in the National League).^[7] Randy Johnson won nine strikeout titles, five coming with the Arizona Diamondbacks.^[8] Three players have won seven strikeout championships: Dazzy Vance, who leads the National League;^[9] Bob Feller;^[10] and Lefty Grove.^[11] Grover Cleveland Alexander and Rube Waddell led their league six times,^[12]^[13] and five-time winners include Steve Carlton,^[14] Roger Clemens,^[15] Sam McDowell,^[16] Christy Mathewson,^[17] Amos Rusie,^[18] and Tom Seaver.^[19]

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).

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[31]

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
K	Number of strikeouts^[b]
Runner-up	Player with the second-best strikeout total in the league
League	Denoted only for players outside of the modern major leagues
†	Member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

Year	Leader	K	Team	Runner-up	K	Ref
1876	Jim Devlin	122	Louisville Grays	George Bradley	103	^[33]
1877	Tommy Bond	170	Boston Red Caps	Jim Devlin	141	^[34]
1878	Tommy Bond	182	Boston Red Caps	Will White	169	^[35]
1879	John Montgomery Ward^†	239	Providence Grays	Will White	232	^[36]
1880	Larry Corcoran	268	Chicago White Stockings	Jim McCormick	260	^[37]
1881	George Derby	212	Detroit Wolverines	Jim McCormick	178	^[38]
1882	Charles Radbourn^†	201	Providence Grays	Jim McCormick	200	^[39]
1883	Jim Whitney	345	Boston Beaneaters	Charles Radbourn^†	315	^[40]
1884	Charles Radbourn^†	441	Providence Grays	Charlie Buffinton	417	^[41]
1885	John Clarkson^†	308	Chicago White Stockings	Mickey Welch^†	258	^[42]
1886	Lady Baldwin	323	Detroit Wolverines	John Clarkson^†	313	^[43]
1887	John Clarkson^†	237	Chicago White Stockings	Tim Keefe^†	189	^[44]
1888	Tim Keefe^†	335	New York Giants	John Clarkson^†	223	^[45]
1889	John Clarkson^†	284	Boston Beaneaters	Tim Keefe^†	225	^[46]
1890	Amos Rusie^†	341	New York Giants	Bill Hutchison	289	^[47]
1891	Amos Rusie^†	337	New York Giants	Bill Hutchison	261	^[48]
1892	Bill Hutchison	314	Chicago White Stockings	Amos Rusie^†	304	^[49]
1893	Amos Rusie^†	208	New York Giants	Brickyard Kennedy	107	^[50]
1894	Amos Rusie^†	195	New York Giants	Ted Breitenstein	140	^[51]
1895	Amos Rusie^†	201	New York Giants	Kid Nichols^†	148	^[52]
1896	Cy Young^†	140	Cleveland Spiders	Pink Hawley	137	^[53]
1897	Doc McJames Cy Seymour	156	Washington Senators New York Giants	Joe Corbett	149	^[54]
1898	Cy Seymour	239	New York Giants	Doc McJames	178	^[55]
1899	Noodles Hahn	145	Cincinnati Reds	Cy Seymour	142	^[56]
1900	Noodles Hahn	132	Cincinnati Reds	Rube Waddell^†	130	^[57]
1901	Noodles Hahn	239	Cincinnati Reds	Bill Donovan	226	^[58]
1902	Vic Willis^†	225	Boston Beaneaters	Doc White	185	^[59]
1903	Christy Mathewson^†	267	New York Giants	Joe McGinnity^†	171	^[60]
1904	Christy Mathewson^†	212	New York Giants	Vic Willis^†	196	^[61]
1905	Christy Mathewson^†	206	New York Giants	Red Ames	198	^[62]
1906	Fred Beebe	171	Chicago Cubs St. Louis Cardinals	Francis "Big Jeff" Pfeffer	158	^[63]
1907	Christy Mathewson^†	178	New York Giants	Bob Ewing	147	^[64]
1908	Christy Mathewson^†	259	New York Giants	Nap Rucker	199	^[65]
1909	Orval Overall	205	Chicago Cubs	Nap Rucker	201	^[66]
1910	Earl Moore	185	Philadelphia Phillies	Christy Mathewson^†	184	^[67]
1911	Rube Marquard^†	237	New York Giants	Grover Cleveland Alexander^†	227	^[68]
1912	Grover Cleveland Alexander^†	195	Philadelphia Phillies	Claude Hendrix	176	^[69]
1913	Tom Seaton	168	Philadelphia Phillies	Jeff Tesreau	167	^[70]
1914	Grover Cleveland Alexander^†	214	Philadelphia Phillies	Jeff Tesreau	189	^[71]
1915	Grover Cleveland Alexander^†	241	Philadelphia Phillies	Jeff Tesreau	176	^[72]
1916	Grover Cleveland Alexander^†	167	Philadelphia Phillies	Larry Cheney	166	^[73]
1917	Grover Cleveland Alexander^†	200	Philadelphia Phillies	Hippo Vaughn	195	^[74]
1918	Hippo Vaughn	148	Chicago Cubs	Wilbur Cooper	117	^[75]
1919	Hippo Vaughn	141	Chicago Cubs	Hod Eller	137	^[76]
1920	Grover Cleveland Alexander^†	173	Chicago Cubs	Burleigh Grimes^† Hippo Vaughn	131	^[77]
1921	Burleigh Grimes	136	Brooklyn Robins	Wilbur Cooper	134	^[78]
1922	Dazzy Vance^†	134	Brooklyn Robins	Wilbur Cooper	129	^[79]
1923	Dazzy Vance^†	197	Brooklyn Robins	Dolf Luque	151	^[80]
1924	Dazzy Vance^†	262	Brooklyn Robins	Burleigh Grimes^†	135	^[81]
1925	Dazzy Vance^†	221	Brooklyn Robins	Dolf Luque	140	^[82]
1926	Dazzy Vance^†	140	Brooklyn Robins	Charlie Root	127	^[83]
1927	Dazzy Vance^†	184	Brooklyn Robins	Charlie Root	145	^[84]
1928	Dazzy Vance^†	200	Brooklyn Robins	Pat Malone	155	^[85]
1929	Pat Malone	166	Chicago Cubs	Watty Clark	140	^[86]
1930	Bill Hallahan	177	St. Louis Cardinals	Dazzy Vance^†	173	^[87]
1931	Bill Hallahan	159	St. Louis Cardinals	Carl Hubbell^†	155	^[88]
1932	Dizzy Dean^†	191	St. Louis Cardinals	Carl Hubbell^†	137	^[89]
1933	Dizzy Dean^†	199	St. Louis Cardinals	Carl Hubbell^†	156	^[90]
1934	Dizzy Dean^†	195	St. Louis Cardinals	Van Mungo	184	^[91]
1935	Dizzy Dean^†	190	St. Louis Cardinals	Carl Hubbell^†	150	^[92]
1936	Van Mungo	238	Brooklyn Dodgers	Dizzy Dean^†	195	^[93]
1937	Carl Hubbell^†	159	New York Giants	Lee Grissom	149	^[94]
1938	Clay Bryant	135	Chicago Cubs	Paul Derringer	132	^[95]
1939	Passeau, Claude; Walters, BuckyClaude Passeau^[c] Bucky Walters^[c]	137	Cincinnati Reds Philadelphia Phillies Chicago Cubs	Mort Cooper	130	^[30]
1940	Kirby Higbe	137	Philadelphia Phillies	Claude Passeau Whit Wyatt	124	^[96]
1941	Johnny Vander Meer	202	Cincinnati Reds	Whit Wyatt	176	^[97]
1942	Johnny Vander Meer	186	Cincinnati Reds	Mort Cooper	152	^[98]
1943	Johnny Vander Meer	174	Cincinnati Reds	Mort Cooper	141	^[99]
1944	Bill Voiselle	161	New York Giants	Max Lanier	141	^[100]
1945	Preacher Roe	148	Pittsburgh Pirates	Hal Gregg	139	^[101]
1946	Johnny Schmitz	135	Chicago Cubs	Kirby Higbe	134	^[102]
1947	Ewell Blackwell	193	Cincinnati Reds	Ralph Branca	148	^[103]
1948	Harry Brecheen	149	St. Louis Cardinals	Rex Barney	138	^[104]
1949	Warren Spahn^†	151	Boston Braves	Don Newcombe	149	^[105]
1950	Warren Spahn^†	191	Boston Braves	Ewell Blackwell	188	^[106]
1951	Don Newcombe Warren Spahn^†	164	Brooklyn Dodgers Boston Braves	Sal Maglie	146	^[107]
1952	Warren Spahn^†	183	Boston Braves	Bob Rush	157	^[108]
1953	Robin Roberts^†	198	Philadelphia Phillies	Carl Erskine	187	^[109]
1954	Robin Roberts^†	185	Philadelphia Phillies	Harvey Haddix	184	^[110]
1955	Sam Jones	198	Chicago Cubs	Robin Roberts^†	160	^[111]
1956	Sam Jones	176	Chicago Cubs	Harvey Haddix	170	^[112]
1957	Jack Sanford	188	Philadelphia Phillies	Moe Drabowsky Dick Drott	170	^[113]
1958	Sam Jones	225	St. Louis Cardinals	Warren Spahn^†	150	^[114]
1959	Don Drysdale^†	242	Los Angeles Dodgers	Sam Jones	209	^[115]
1960	Don Drysdale^†	246	Los Angeles Dodgers	Sandy Koufax^†	197	^[116]
1961	Sandy Koufax^†	269	Los Angeles Dodgers	Stan Williams	205	^[117]
1962	Don Drysdale^†	232	Los Angeles Dodgers	Sandy Koufax^†	219	^[118]
1963	Sandy Koufax^†	306	Los Angeles Dodgers	Jim Maloney	265	^[119]
1964	Bob Veale	250	Pittsburgh Pirates	Bob Gibson^†	245	^[120]
1965	Sandy Koufax^†	382	Los Angeles Dodgers	Bob Veale	276	^[121]
1966	Sandy Koufax^†	317	Los Angeles Dodgers	Jim Bunning^†	252	^[122]
1967	Jim Bunning^†	253	Philadelphia Phillies	Ferguson Jenkins^†	236	^[123]
1968	Bob Gibson^†	268	St. Louis Cardinals	Ferguson Jenkins^†	260	^[124]
1969	Ferguson Jenkins^†	273	Chicago Cubs	Bob Gibson^†	269	^[125]
1970	Tom Seaver^†	283	New York Mets	Bob Gibson^† Ferguson Jenkins^†	274	^[126]
1971	Tom Seaver^†	289	New York Mets	Ferguson Jenkins^†	263	^[127]
1972	Steve Carlton^†	310	Philadelphia Phillies	Tom Seaver^†	249	^[128]
1973	Tom Seaver^†	251	New York Mets	Steve Carlton^†	223	^[129]
1974	Steve Carlton^†	240	Philadelphia Phillies	Andy Messersmith	221	^[130]
1975	Tom Seaver^†	243	New York Mets	John Montefusco	215	^[131]
1976	Tom Seaver^†	235	New York Mets	J. R. Richard	214	^[132]
1977	Phil Niekro^†	262	Atlanta Braves	J. R. Richard	214	^[133]
1978	J. R. Richard	303	Houston Astros	Phil Niekro^†	248	^[134]
1979	J. R. Richard	313	Houston Astros	Steve Carlton^†	213	^[135]
1980	Steve Carlton^†	286	Philadelphia Phillies	Nolan Ryan^†	200	^[136]
1981	Fernando Valenzuela	180	Los Angeles Dodgers	Steve Carlton^†	179	^[137]
1982	Steve Carlton^†	286	Philadelphia Phillies	Mario Soto	274	^[138]
1983	Steve Carlton^†	275	Philadelphia Phillies	Mario Soto	242	^[139]
1984	Dwight Gooden	276	New York Mets	Fernando Valenzuela	240	^[140]
1985	Dwight Gooden	268	New York Mets	Mario Soto	214	^[141]
1986	Mike Scott	306	Houston Astros	Fernando Valenzuela	242	^[142]
1987	Nolan Ryan^†	270	Houston Astros	Mike Scott	233	^[143]
1988	Nolan Ryan^†	228	Houston Astros	David Cone	213	^[144]
1989	José DeLeón	201	St. Louis Cardinals	Tim Belcher	200	^[145]
1990	David Cone	233	New York Mets	Dwight Gooden Ramón Martínez	223	^[146]
1991	David Cone	241	New York Mets	Greg Maddux^†	198	^[147]
1992	John Smoltz^†	215	Atlanta Braves	David Cone	214	^[148]
1993	José Rijo	227	Cincinnati Reds	John Smoltz^†	208	^[149]
1994	Andy Benes	189	San Diego Padres	José Rijo	171	^[150]
1995	Hideo Nomo	236	Los Angeles Dodgers	John Smoltz^†	193	^[151]
1996	John Smoltz^†	276	Atlanta Braves	Hideo Nomo	234	^[152]
1997	Curt Schilling	319	Philadelphia Phillies	Pedro Martínez^†	305	^[153]
1998	Curt Schilling	300	Philadelphia Phillies	Kevin Brown	257	^[154]
1999	Randy Johnson^†	364	Arizona Diamondbacks	Kevin Brown	221	^[28]
2000	Randy Johnson^†	347	Arizona Diamondbacks	Chan Ho Park	217	^[155]
2001	Randy Johnson^†	372	Arizona Diamondbacks	Curt Schilling	293	^[156]
2002	Randy Johnson^†	334	Arizona Diamondbacks	Curt Schilling	316	^[157]
2003	Kerry Wood	266	Chicago Cubs	Mark Prior	245	^[158]
2004	Randy Johnson^†	290	Arizona Diamondbacks	Ben Sheets	264	^[159]
2005	Jake Peavy	216	San Diego Padres	Chris Carpenter	213	^[160]
2006	Aaron Harang	216	Cincinnati Reds	Jake Peavy	215	^[161]
2007	Jake Peavy	240	San Diego Padres	Aaron Harang	218	^[162]
2008	Tim Lincecum	265	San Francisco Giants	Dan Haren Johan Santana Edinson Vólquez	206	^[163]
2009	Tim Lincecum	261	San Francisco Giants	Javier Vázquez	238	^[164]
2010	Tim Lincecum	231	San Francisco Giants	Roy Halladay^†	219	^[165]
2011	Clayton Kershaw	248	Los Angeles Dodgers	Cliff Lee	238	^[166]
2012	R. A. Dickey	230	New York Mets	Clayton Kershaw	229	^[167]
2013	Clayton Kershaw	232	Los Angeles Dodgers	Cliff Lee	222	^[168]
2014	Johnny Cueto Stephen Strasburg	242	Cincinnati Reds Washington Nationals	Clayton Kershaw	239	^[169]
2015	Clayton Kershaw	301	Los Angeles Dodgers	Max Scherzer	276	^[170]
2016	Max Scherzer	284	Washington Nationals	José Fernández	253	^[171]
2017	Max Scherzer	268	Washington Nationals	Jacob deGrom	239	^[172]
2018	Max Scherzer	300	Washington Nationals	Jacob deGrom	269	^[173]
2019	Jacob deGrom	255	New York Mets	Stephen Strasburg	251	^[174]
2020	Jacob deGrom	104	New York Mets	Trevor Bauer	100	^[175]
2021	Zack Wheeler	247	Philadelphia Phillies	Max Scherzer	236	^[176]
2022	Corbin Burnes	238	Milwaukee Brewers	Carlos Rodon	237	^[177]
2023	Spencer Strider	281	Atlanta Braves	Blake Snell	234	^[178]
2024	Chris Sale	225	Atlanta Braves	Dylan Cease Zack Wheeler	224	^[179]
2025	Logan Webb	224	San Francisco Giants	Jesús Luzardo Paul Skenes	216	^[180]

Year	Leader	K	Team	Runner-up	K	Ref
1901	Cy Young^†	158	Boston Americans	Roy Patterson	127	^[184]
1902	Rube Waddell^†	210	Philadelphia Athletics	Cy Young^†	160	^[185]
1903	Rube Waddell^†	302	Philadelphia Athletics	Bill Donovan	187	^[186]
1904	Rube Waddell^†	349	Philadelphia Athletics	Jack Chesbro^†	239	^[187]
1905	Rube Waddell^†	287	Philadelphia Athletics	Eddie Plank^† Cy Young^†	210	^[188]
1906	Rube Waddell^†	196	Philadelphia Athletics	Cy Falkenberg	178	^[189]
1907	Rube Waddell^†	232	Philadelphia Athletics	Ed Walsh^†	206	^[190]
1908	Ed Walsh^†	269	Chicago White Sox	Rube Waddell^†	232	^[191]
1909	Frank Smith	177	Chicago White Sox	Walter Johnson^†	164	^[192]
1910	Walter Johnson^†	313	Washington Senators	Ed Walsh^†	258	^[193]
1911	Ed Walsh^†	255	Chicago White Sox	Joe Wood	231	^[194]
1912	Walter Johnson^†	303	Washington Senators	Joe Wood	258	^[195]
1913	Walter Johnson^†	243	Washington Senators	Cy Falkenberg Vean Gregg	166	^[196]
1914	Walter Johnson^†	225	Washington Senators	Willie Mitchell	179	^[197]
1915	Walter Johnson^†	203	Washington Senators	Red Faber^†	182	^[198]
1916	Walter Johnson^†	228	Washington Senators	Elmer Myers	182	^[199]
1917	Walter Johnson^†	188	Washington Senators	Eddie Cicotte	150	^[200]
1918	Walter Johnson^†	162	Washington Senators	Jim Shaw	129	^[201]
1919	Walter Johnson^†	147	Washington Senators	Jim Shaw	128	^[202]
1920	Stan Coveleski^†	133	Cleveland Indians	Lefty Williams	128	^[203]
1921	Walter Johnson^†	143	Washington Senators	Urban Shocker	132	^[204]
1922	Urban Shocker	149	St. Louis Browns	Red Faber^†	148	^[205]
1923	Walter Johnson^†	130	Washington Senators	Joe Bush Bob Shawkey	125	^[206]
1924	Walter Johnson^†	158	Washington Senators	Howard Ehmke	119	^[207]
1925	Lefty Grove^†	116	Philadelphia Athletics	Walter Johnson^†	108	^[208]
1926	Lefty Grove^†	194	Philadelphia Athletics	George Uhle	159	^[209]
1927	Lefty Grove^†	174	Philadelphia Athletics	Rube Walberg	136	^[210]
1928	Lefty Grove^†	183	Philadelphia Athletics	George Pipgras	139	^[211]
1929	Lefty Grove^†	170	Philadelphia Athletics	George Earnshaw	149	^[212]
1930	Lefty Grove^†	209	Philadelphia Athletics	George Earnshaw	193	^[213]
1931	Lefty Grove^†	175	Philadelphia Athletics	George Earnshaw	152	^[214]
1932	Red Ruffing^†	190	New York Yankees	Lefty Grove^†	188	^[215]
1933	Lefty Gomez^†	163	New York Yankees	Bump Hadley	149	^[216]
1934	Lefty Gomez^†	158	New York Yankees	Tommy Bridges	151	^[217]
1935	Tommy Bridges	163	Detroit Tigers	Schoolboy Rowe	140	^[218]
1936	Tommy Bridges	175	Detroit Tigers	Johnny Allen	165	^[219]
1937	Lefty Gomez^†	194	New York Yankees	Bobo Newsom	166	^[220]
1938	Bob Feller^†	240	Cleveland Indians	Bobo Newsom	226	^[221]
1939	Bob Feller^†	246	Cleveland Indians	Bobo Newsom	192	^[222]
1940	Bob Feller^†	261	Cleveland Indians	Bobo Newsom	164	^[223]
1941	Bob Feller^†	260	Cleveland Indians	Bobo Newsom	175	^[224]
1942	Tex Hughson Bobo Newsom	113	Boston Red Sox Washington Senators	Al Benton Phil Marchildon	110	^[31]
1943	Allie Reynolds	151	Cleveland Indians	Hal Newhouser^†	144	^[225]
1944	Hal Newhouser^†	187	Detroit Tigers	Dizzy Trout	144	^[226]
1945	Hal Newhouser^†	212	Detroit Tigers	Nels Potter	129	^[227]
1946	Bob Feller^†	348	Cleveland Indians	Hal Newhouser^†	275	^[228]
1947	Bob Feller^†	196	Cleveland Indians	Hal Newhouser^†	176	^[229]
1948	Bob Feller^†	164	Cleveland Indians	Bob Lemon^†	147	^[230]
1949	Virgil Trucks	153	Detroit Tigers	Hal Newhouser^†	144	^[231]
1950	Bob Lemon^†	170	Cleveland Indians	Allie Reynolds	160	^[232]
1951	Vic Raschi	164	New York Yankees	Early Wynn^†	133	^[233]
1952	Allie Reynolds	160	New York Yankees	Early Wynn^†	153	^[234]
1953	Billy Pierce	186	Chicago White Sox	Virgil Trucks	149	^[235]
1954	Bob Turley	185	Baltimore Orioles	Early Wynn^†	155	^[236]
1955	Herb Score	245	Cleveland Indians	Bob Turley	210	^[237]
1956	Herb Score	263	Cleveland Indians	Billy Pierce	192	^[238]
1957	Early Wynn^†	184	Cleveland Indians	Jim Bunning^†	182	^[239]
1958	Early Wynn^†	179	Chicago White Sox	Jim Bunning^†	177	^[240]
1959	Jim Bunning^†	201	Detroit Tigers	Camilo Pascual	185	^[241]
1960	Jim Bunning^†	201	Detroit Tigers	Pedro Ramos	160	^[242]
1961	Camilo Pascual	221	Minnesota Twins	Whitey Ford^†	209	^[243]
1962	Camilo Pascual	206	Minnesota Twins	Jim Bunning^†	184	^[244]
1963	Camilo Pascual	202	Minnesota Twins	Jim Bunning^†	196	^[245]
1964	Al Downing	217	New York Yankees	Camilo Pascual	213	^[246]
1965	Sam McDowell	325	Cleveland Indians	Mickey Lolich	226	^[247]
1966	Sam McDowell	225	Cleveland Indians	Jim Kaat^†	205	^[248]
1967	Jim Lonborg	246	Boston Red Sox	Sam McDowell	236	^[249]
1968	Sam McDowell	283	Cleveland Indians	Denny McLain	280	^[250]
1969	Sam McDowell	279	Cleveland Indians	Mickey Lolich	271	^[251]
1970	Sam McDowell	304	Cleveland Indians	Mickey Lolich	230	^[252]
1971	Mickey Lolich	308	Detroit Tigers	Vida Blue	301	^[253]
1972	Nolan Ryan^†	329	California Angels	Mickey Lolich	250	^[254]
1973	Nolan Ryan^†	383	California Angels	Bert Blyleven^†	258	^[29]
1974	Nolan Ryan^†	367	California Angels	Bert Blyleven^†	249	^[255]
1975	Frank Tanana	269	California Angels	Bert Blyleven^† Gaylord Perry^†	233	^[256]
1976	Nolan Ryan^†	327	California Angels	Frank Tanana	261	^[257]
1977	Nolan Ryan^†	341	California Angels	Dennis Leonard	244	^[258]
1978	Nolan Ryan^†	260	California Angels	Ron Guidry	248	^[259]
1979	Nolan Ryan^†	223	California Angels	Ron Guidry	201	^[260]
1980	Len Barker	187	Cleveland Indians	Mike Norris	180	^[261]
1981	Len Barker	127	Cleveland Indians	Britt Burns	108	^[262]
1982	Floyd Bannister	209	Seattle Mariners	Len Barker	187	^[263]
1983	Jack Morris^†	232	Detroit Tigers	Floyd Bannister	193	^[264]
1984	Mark Langston	204	Seattle Mariners	Dave Stieb	198	^[265]
1985	Bert Blyleven^†	206	Cleveland Indians Minnesota Twins	Floyd Bannister	198	^[266]
1986	Mark Langston	245	Seattle Mariners	Roger Clemens	238	^[267]
1987	Mark Langston	262	Seattle Mariners	Roger Clemens	256	^[268]
1988	Roger Clemens	291	Boston Red Sox	Mark Langston	235	^[269]
1989	Nolan Ryan^†	301	Texas Rangers	Roger Clemens	230	^[270]
1990	Nolan Ryan^†	232	Texas Rangers	Bobby Witt	221	^[271]
1991	Roger Clemens	241	Boston Red Sox	Randy Johnson^†	228	^[272]
1992	Randy Johnson^†	241	Seattle Mariners	Mélido Pérez	218	^[273]
1993	Randy Johnson^†	308	Seattle Mariners	Mark Langston	196	^[274]
1994	Randy Johnson^†	204	Seattle Mariners	Roger Clemens	168	^[275]
1995	Randy Johnson^†	294	Seattle Mariners	Todd Stottlemyre	205	^[276]
1996	Roger Clemens	257	Boston Red Sox	Chuck Finley	215	^[277]
1997	Roger Clemens	292	Toronto Blue Jays	Randy Johnson^†	291	^[278]
1998	Roger Clemens	271	Toronto Blue Jays	Pedro Martínez^†	251	^[279]
1999	Pedro Martínez^†	313	Boston Red Sox	Chuck Finley	200	^[280]
2000	Pedro Martínez^†	284	Boston Red Sox	Bartolo Colón	212	^[281]
2001	Hideo Nomo	220	Boston Red Sox	Mike Mussina^†	214	^[282]
2002	Pedro Martínez^†	239	Boston Red Sox	Roger Clemens	192	^[283]
2003	Esteban Loaiza	207	Chicago White Sox	Pedro Martínez^†	206	^[284]
2004	Johan Santana	265	Minnesota Twins	Pedro Martínez^†	227	^[285]
2005	Johan Santana	238	Minnesota Twins	Randy Johnson^†	211	^[286]
2006	Johan Santana	245	Minnesota Twins	Jeremy Bonderman	202	^[182]
2007	Scott Kazmir	239	Tampa Bay Devil Rays	Johan Santana	235	^[287]
2008	A. J. Burnett	231	Toronto Blue Jays	Ervin Santana	214	^[288]
2009	Justin Verlander	269	Detroit Tigers	Zack Greinke	242	^[289]
2010	Jered Weaver	233	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	Félix Hernández	232	^[290]
2011	Justin Verlander	250	Detroit Tigers	CC Sabathia^†	230	^[291]
2012	Justin Verlander	239	Detroit Tigers	Max Scherzer	231	^[292]
2013	Yu Darvish	277	Texas Rangers	Max Scherzer	240	^[293]
2014	David Price	271	Tampa Bay Rays Detroit Tigers	Corey Kluber	269	^[294]
2015	Chris Sale	274	Chicago White Sox	Chris Archer	252	^[295]
2016	Justin Verlander	254	Detroit Tigers	Chris Archer Chris Sale	233	^[296]
2017	Chris Sale	308	Boston Red Sox	Corey Kluber	265	^[297]
2018	Justin Verlander	290	Houston Astros	Gerrit Cole	276	^[298]
2019	Gerrit Cole	326	Houston Astros	Justin Verlander	300	^[299]
2020	Shane Bieber	122	Cleveland Indians	Lucas Giolito	97	^[300]
2021	Robbie Ray	248	Toronto Blue Jays	Gerrit Cole	243	^[301]
2022	Gerrit Cole	257	New York Yankees	Dylan Cease	227	^[302]
2023	Kevin Gausman	237	Toronto Blue Jays	Pablo López	234	^[303]
2024	Tarik Skubal	228	Detroit Tigers	Cole Ragans	223	^[304]
2025	Garrett Crochet	255	Boston Red Sox	Tarik Skubal	241	^[305]

Year	Leader	K	Team	League	Runner-up	K	Ref
1882	Tony Mullane	170	Louisville Eclipse	American Association	Harry Salisbury	135	^[306]
1883	Tim Keefe^†	359	New York Metropolitans	American Association	Bobby Mathews	203	^[27]
1884	Guy Hecker	385	Louisville Eclipse	American Association	Hardie Henderson	346	^[307]
1884	Hugh Daily	483	Chicago Browns Washington Nationals	Union Association	Bill Sweeney	374	^[308]
1885	Ed Morris	298	Pittsburgh Alleghenys	American Association	Bobby Mathews	286	^[309]
1886	Matt Kilroy	513	Baltimore Orioles	American Association	Toad Ramsey	499	^[310]
1887	Toad Ramsey	355	Louisville Eclipse	American Association	Matt Kilroy	217	^[311]
1888	Ed Seward	272	Philadelphia Athletics	American Association	Silver King	258	^[312]
1889	Mark Baldwin	368	Columbus Solons	American Association	Matt Kilroy	217	^[313]
1890	Sadie McMahon	291	Philadelphia Athletics Baltimore Orioles	American Association	Jack Stivetts	289	^[314]
1890	Mark Baldwin	206	Chicago Pirates	Players' League	Silver King	185	^[315]
1891	Jack Stivetts	259	St. Louis Browns	American Association	Phil Knell	228	^[316]
1914	Cy Falkenberg	236	Indianapolis Hoosiers	Federal League	Earl Moseley	205	^[317]
1915	Dave Davenport	229	St. Louis Terriers	Federal League	Al Schulz	160	^[318]

Year	Leader	K	Team	Runner-up	K	Ref
1920	Sam Crawford	106	Kansas City Monarchs	José Leblanc	103	^[319]
1921	Bill Holland	140	Kansas City Monarchs	Bill Drake	136	^[320]
1922	Bill Force	120	Detroit Stars	Bullet Rogan^†	118	^[321]
1923	Bullet Rogan^†	151	Kansas City Monarchs	Rube Curry	119	^[322]
1924	Sam Streeter	128	Birmingham Black Barons	Robert Poindexter	121	^[323]
1925	Bullet Rogan^†	96	Kansas City Monarchs	Steel Arm Tyler	93	^[324]
1926	Logan Hensley	122	St. Louis Stars	Bill Foster^†	111	^[325]
1927	Ted Trent	133	St. Louis Stars	Bill Foster^†	119	^[326]
1928	Satchel Paige^†	121	Birmingham Black Barons	Bill Foster^†	119	^[327]
1929	Satchel Paige^†	189	Birmingham Black Barons	Andy Cooper^†	104	^[328]
1930	Bill Foster^†	133	Chicago American Giants	Army Cooper	104	^[329]
1931	Ray Brown^†	79	Indianapolis ABCs	Willie Powell	56	^[330]

List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders

Key

National League

American League

Other major leagues

Negro Major Leagues

Negro National League I

Eastern Colored League

American Negro League

East–West League

Negro Southern League

Negro National League II

Negro American League

Footnotes

References

Related Articles

Timelines

Top Qs

Fact Checks

Year	Leader	K	Team	Runner-up	K	Ref
1923	Rats Henderson	100	Atlantic City Bacharach Giants	Nip Winters	95	^[331]
1924	Nip Winters	114	Hilldale Club	Dave Brown	107	^[332]
1925	Rats Henderson	125	Atlantic City Bacharach Giants	Claude Grier	103	^[333]
1926	Claude Grier	141	Atlantic City Bacharach Giants	Rats Henderson	100	^[334]
1927	Luther Farrell	138	Atlantic City Bacharach Giants	Phil Cockrell	78	^[335]
1928	Laymon Yokely	103	Baltimore Black Sox	Luther Farrell	87	^[336]

Year	Leader	K	Team	Runner-up	K	Ref
1933	Leroy Matlock	100	Pittsburgh Crawfords	Bertrum Hunter	80	^[340]
1934	Slim Jones	164	Pittsburgh Crawfords	Satchel Paige^†	152	^[341]
1935	Luis Tiant Sr.	64	New York Cubans	Leon Day^†	62	^[342]
1936	Satchel Paige^†	72	Pittsburgh Crawfords	Neck Stanley	62	^[343]
1937	Ray Brown^†	74	Homestead Grays	Barney Morris	54	^[344]
1938	Ray Brown^†	70	Homestead Grays	Henry McHenry	61	^[345]
1939	Neck Stanley	44	New York Black Yankees	Jim Missouri	43	^[346]
1940	Henry McHenry	86	Philadelphia Stars	Edsall Walker	81	^[347]
1941	Dave Barnhill	109	New York Cubans	Terris McDuffie	82	^[348]
1942	Leon Day^†	86	Homestead Grays / Newark Eagles	Barney Brown	77	^[349]
1943	Bill Byrd Johnny Wright	94	Baltimore Elite Giants / Philadelphia Stars Homestead Grays	Dave Barnhill	87	^[350]
1944	Bill Ricks	103	Philadelphia Stars	Bill Byrd	58	^[351]
1945	Bill Byrd	91	Baltimore Elite Giants	Roy Partlow	80	^[352]
1946	Leon Day^†	109	Newark Eagles	Henry McHenry	90	^[353]
1947	Bob Romby	99	Baltimore Elite Giants	Rufus Lewis	81	^[354]
1948	Joe Black	85	Baltimore Elite Giants	Bill Byrd	79	^[355]

Year	Leader	K	Team	Runner-up	K	Ref
1937	Hilton Smith^†	99	Chicago American Giants / Kansas City Monarchs	Jesse Houston	84	^[356]
1938	Hilton Smith^†	88	Kansas City Monarchs	Willie Cornelius	77	^[357]
1939	Hilton Smith^†	85	Kansas City Monarchs	George Walker	63	^[358]
1940	Preacher Henry	63	Cleveland Bears	Hilton Smith^†	57	^[359]
1941	Hilton Smith^†	57	Kansas City Monarchs	Satchel Paige^†	48	^[360]
1942	Satchel Paige^†	56	Kansas City Monarchs	Hilton Smith^†	42	^[361]
1943	Satchel Paige^†	102	Kansas City Monarchs / Memphis Red Sox	Alvin Gipson	62	^[362]
1944	Satchel Paige^†	105	Kansas City Monarchs	Verdell Mathis	56	^[363]
1945	Booker McDaniel	117	Kansas City Monarchs	Jim LaMarque	71	^[364]
1946	Connie Johnson	63	Kansas City Monarchs	Walter McCoy	43	^[365]
1947	Jim LaMarque	85	Kansas City Monarchs	Ted Alexander Dan Bankhead	34	^[366]
1948	Jim LaMarque	80	Kansas City Monarchs	Gene Collins	62	^[367]