The following is a list of annual leaders in shutouts in Major League Baseball (MLB). A shutout occurs when a single pitcher throws a complete game and does not allow the opposing team to score a single run.
Walter Johnson holds the career shutout record with 110. The most shutouts pitched in one season was 16, which was a feat accomplished by both Pete Alexander (1916) and George Bradley (1876). In the dead-ball era and throughout much of the first three-quarters of the twentieth century, starting pitchers were generally expected to perform complete games, and starting pitchers would throw dozens of complete games a year — thereby increasing a pitcher's chances of achieving a shutout. These shutout records are among the most secure records in baseball, as pitchers today rarely earn more than one or two shutouts per season with the heavy emphasis on pitch counts and relief pitching. Pitchers today will often pitch only a few, if any, complete games a season. The 2018 season marked a new low for complete-game shutouts; no pitcher threw for more than one shutout during the season, with eleven American League and seven National League pitchers finishing with only one shutout that season.
* – Denotes a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
‡ – Denotes a pitcher that led the league in shutouts in their rookie year.
* – Denotes a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
‡ – Denotes a pitcher that led the league in shutouts in their rookie year.
Year | Player(s) | Team(s) | Shutouts |
---|---|---|---|
1914 | Cy Falkenberg | Indianapolis Hoosiers | 9 |
1915 | Dave Davenport | St. Louis Terriers | 10 |
Year | Player(s) | Team(s) | Shutouts |
---|---|---|---|
1890 | Silver King | Chicago Pirates | 4 |
Year | Player(s) | Team(s) | Shutouts |
---|---|---|---|
1884 | Jim McCormick | Cincinnati Outlaw Reds | 7 |
* – Denotes a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
‡ – Denotes a pitcher that led the league in shutouts in their rookie year.
Denton True "Cy" Young was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher. Born in Gilmore, Ohio, he worked on his family's farm as a youth before starting his professional baseball career. Young entered the major leagues in 1890 with the National League's Cleveland Spiders and pitched for them until 1898. He was then transferred to the St. Louis Cardinals franchise. In 1901, Young jumped to the American League and played for the Boston Red Sox franchise until 1908, helping them win the 1903 World Series. He finished his career with the Cleveland Naps and Boston Rustlers, retiring in 1911.
Sanford Koufax, nicknamed "the Left Arm of God", is an American former baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, Koufax was the first three-time winner of the Cy Young Award, each time winning unanimously and the only pitcher to do so when a single award was given for both the leagues; he was also named the National League Most Valuable Player in 1963. Retiring at the age of 30 due to chronic pain in his pitching elbow, Koufax was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1972 at the age of 36, the youngest player ever elected.
Gregory Alan Maddux, also known as "Mad Dog" and "the Professor," is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs. He won the 1995 World Series with the Braves over the Cleveland Indians. Maddux was the first pitcher in MLB history to win the Cy Young Award four consecutive years (1992–1995), matched by only one other pitcher, Randy Johnson. During those four seasons, Maddux had a 75–29 record with a 1.98 earned run average (ERA), while allowing less than one baserunner per inning.
Philip Henry Niekro, nicknamed "Knucksie", was an American baseball pitcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays. Niekro is generally regarded as the greatest knuckleball pitcher of all time.
John Scott Morris is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1977 and 1994, mainly for the Detroit Tigers. Morris won 254 games throughout his career.
James Francis "Pud" Galvin was an American Major League Baseball pitcher in the 19th century. He was MLB's first 300-game winner and was posthumously inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1965.
Michael Stephen Lolich is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from 1963 until 1979, almost entirely for the Detroit Tigers. A three-time All-Star, Lolich is most notable for his performance in the 1968 World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals when he earned three complete-game victories, including a win over Bob Gibson in the climactic Game 7. At the time of his retirement in 1979, Lolich held the Major League Baseball record for career strikeouts by a left-handed pitcher.
Rik Aalbert Blyleven is a Dutch-American former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1970 to 1992, primarily with the Minnesota Twins. Blyleven recorded 3,701 career strikeouts, the fifth-most in MLB history. He won 287 games, 27th-most all-time, and pitched 4,970 innings, 14th-most all-time. A renowned curveball pitcher, Blyleven was also a two-time All-Star and World Series champion. Although under-appreciated during his playing career, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2011—his second-to-last year of eligibility.
Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford, nicknamed "the Chairman of the Board", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played his entire 16-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees. He was a 10-time All-Star and six-time World Series champion. In 1961, he won both the Cy Young Award and World Series Most Valuable Player Award. Ford led the American League (AL) in wins three times and in earned run average twice. He is the Yankees franchise leader in career wins (236), shutouts (45), innings pitched, and games started by a pitcher. Ford was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.
George Thomas Seaver, nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cincinnati Reds, Chicago White Sox, and Boston Red Sox from 1967 to 1986. Commonly described as the most iconic player in Mets history, Seaver played a significant role in their victory in the 1969 World Series over the Baltimore Orioles.
John Gibson Clarkson was an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He played from 1882 to 1894. Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Clarkson played for the Worcester Ruby Legs (1882), Chicago White Stockings (1884–1887), Boston Beaneaters (1888–1892), and Cleveland Spiders (1892–1894). Clarkson pitched the first known immaculate inning in MLB history on June 4, 1889 vs the Philadelphia Quakers in the 3rd inning.
Stanley Anthony Coveleski was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for four American League (AL) teams between 1912 and 1928, primarily the Cleveland Indians. The star of the Indians pitching staff, he won over 20 games each year from the war-shortened 1918 season through 1921, leading the AL in shutouts twice and in strikeouts and earned run average (ERA) once each during his nine years with the club. The star of the 1920 World Series, he led the Indians to their first title with three complete-game victories, including a 3–0 shutout in the Game 7 finale. Traded to the Washington Senators after the 1924 season, he helped that club to its second AL pennant in a row with 20 victories against only 5 losses, including a 13-game winning streak, while again leading the league in ERA.
Juan Antonio Marichal Sánchez, nicknamed "the Dominican Dandy", is a Dominican former right-handed pitcher who played 16 seasons in Major League Baseball from 1960 to 1975, mostly with the San Francisco Giants. Known for his high leg kick, variety of pitches, arm angles and deliveries, pinpoint control, and durability, Marichal won 18 games to help the Giants reach the 1962 World Series, and went on to earn 191 victories in the 1960s, the most of any major league pitcher. He won over 20 games six times, on each occasion posting an earned run average (ERA) below 2.50 and striking out more than 200 batters, and became the first right-hander since Bob Feller to win 25 games three times; his 26 wins in 1968 remain a franchise record.
Frank Daryl Tanana is an American former professional baseball left-handed pitcher. In a Major League Baseball career that stretched from 1973 to 1993, he pitched for the California Angels, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, New York Mets, and New York Yankees. He struck out 2,773 batters in his career and twice won playoff-clinching games for the teams he was on, the 1979 Angels and the 1987 Tigers.
Gary Lynn Nolan is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from 1967 through 1977, most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that won four National League pennants and two World Series championships between 1970 and 1976. He played his final season with the California Angels. In 1983, Nolan was inducted into the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame.
Justin Brooks Verlander is an American professional baseball pitcher for the Houston Astros of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Detroit Tigers and New York Mets. A three-time Cy Young Award winner as well as an AL MVP recipient, Verlander is considered one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history.
Matthew Aloysius "Matches" Kilroy was an American left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball. During his rookie season in 1886, he had 513 strikeouts, which remains the MLB single-season record.
Hideaki Wakui is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB). He has previously played in NPB for the Seibu Lions / Saitama Seibu Lions, Chiba Lotte Marines and Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles.
In Major League Baseball, a shutout refers to the act by which a single pitcher pitches a complete game and does not allow the opposing team to score a run. If two or more pitchers combine to complete this act, no pitcher is awarded a shutout, although the team itself can be said to have "shut out" the opposing team.