9 Pitches - 9 Strikes - Side Retired by Baseball Almanac

9 Pitches - 9 Strikes - Side Retired

After a really great game, it might be said of a pitcher that he was throwing "nothing but strikes." Every once in awhile, thirty-nine times to be exact, at least for one inning, this is completely correct. Some pitchers have the idea that a perfect inning consists of three pitches.

Three fly balls, three groundouts, whatever. Just get it over with and let the defense win it for you. But these pitchers realize the beauty of a truly perfect inning. A nine strike inning. You can imagine how it goes...

The first batter comes up, just wanting to get on base. Strike one-he shakes it off, lucky pitch. Strike two-he swings for it, just over anxious, he'll get the next one. Strike three-he returns to the bench, mumbling something about how the pitch was actually inside. Next guy up. He falls prey to the breaking ball, gets him every time. Two outs. Last one comes to the plate. He has a hungry look in his eye, he'll at least battle for a walk. He is mistaken.

No matter how it happens, when a pitcher’s on, he’s on. So here's to Sandy Koufax and Nolan Ryan. To Lefty Grove and Randy Johnson. To the men who redefined just what it means to have a perfect inning.

"(Nolan) Ryan is the only guy who puts fear in me. Not because he can get you out, but because he can kill you." - Reggie Jackson (on Nolan Ryan : a two-time member of the 9 pitch / 9 strike Club)

9 Pitches — 9 Strikes — Side Retired In Chronological Order
Name^(Quantity)	Team	Date / Box	Inning
Rube Waddell⁽¹⁾	Philadelphia Athletics	07-01-1902	3^rd
Sloppy Thurston⁽¹⁾	Chicago White Sox	08-22-1923	12^th
Lefty Grove⁽¹⁾	Philadelphia Athletics	08-23-1928	2^nd
Lefty Grove⁽²⁾	Philadelphia Athletics	09-27-1928	7^th
Billy Hoeft⁽¹⁾	Detroit Tigers	09-07-1953	7^th
Jim Bunning⁽¹⁾	Detroit Tigers	08-02-1959	9^th
Al Downing⁽¹⁾	New York Yankees	08-11-1967	2^nd
Nolan Ryan^{(2 [1 in NL])}	California Angels	07-09-1972	2^nd
Ron Guidry⁽¹⁾	New York Yankees	08-07-1984	9^th
Jeff Montgomery⁽¹⁾	Kansas City Royals	04-29-1990	8^th
Pedro Martinez⁽¹⁾	Boston Red Sox	05-18-2002	1^st
Name^(Quantity)	Team	Date / Box	Inning
9 Pitches — 9 Strikes — Side Retired American League Totals: 10 Pitchers & 11 Instances

9 Pitches — 9 Strikes — Side Retired In Chronological Order
Name^(Quantity)	Team	Date / Box	Inning
John Clarkson⁽¹⁾	Boston Beaneaters	06-04-1889	3^rd
Pat Ragan⁽¹⁾	Brooklyn Dodgers	10-05-1914	8^th
Hod Eller⁽¹⁾	Cincinnati Reds	08-21-1917	9^th
Joe Oeschger⁽¹⁾	Boston Braves	09-08-1921	4^th
Dazzy Vance⁽¹⁾	Brooklyn Dodgers	09-14-1924	2^rd
Sandy Koufax⁽¹⁾	Los Angeles Dodgers	06-30-1962	1^st
Sandy Koufax⁽²⁾	Los Angeles Dodgers	04-18-1964	3^rd
Bob Bruce⁽¹⁾	Houston Colt .45s	04-19-1964	8^th
Nolan Ryan⁽¹⁾	New York Mets	04-19-1968	3^rd
Bob Gibson⁽¹⁾	St. Louis Cardinals	05-12-1969	7^th
Milt Pappas⁽¹⁾	Chicago Cubs	09-24-1971	4^th
Bruce Sutter⁽¹⁾	Chicago Cubs	09-08-1977	9^th
Jeff Robinson⁽¹⁾	Pittsburgh Pirates	09-07-1987	8^th
Rob Dibble⁽¹⁾	Cincinnati Reds	06-04-1989	8^th
Andy Ashby⁽¹⁾	Philadelphia Phillies	06-15-1991	4^th
David Cone⁽¹⁾	New York Mets	08-30-1991	5^th
Pete Harnisch⁽¹⁾	Houston Astros	09-06-1991	7^th
Trevor Wilson⁽¹⁾	San Francisco Giants	06-07-1992	9^th
Mel Rojas⁽¹⁾	Montreal Expos	05-11-1994	9^th
Mike Magnante⁽¹⁾	Houston Astros	08-22-1997	9^th
Randy Johnson⁽¹⁾	Arizona Diamondbacks	08-23-2001	6^th
Jason Isringhausen⁽¹⁾	St. Louis Cardinals	04-13-2002	9^th
Byung-Hyun Kim⁽¹⁾	Arizona Diamondbacks	05-11-2002	8^th
Brian Lawrence⁽¹⁾	San Diego Padres	06-12-2002	3^rd
Brandon Backe⁽¹⁾	Houston Astros	04-15-2004	8^th
Ben Sheets⁽¹⁾	Milwaukee Brewers	06-13-2004	3^rd
LaTroy Hawkins⁽¹⁾	Chicago Cubs	09-11-2004	9^th
Rick Helling⁽¹⁾	Milwaukee Brewers	06-20-2006	1^st
Buddy Carlyle⁽¹⁾	Atlanta Braves	07-06-2007	4^th
Name^(Quantity)	Team	Date / Box	Inning
9 Pitches — 9 Strikes —Side Retired National League Totals: 28 Pitchers & 29 Instances

When Nolan Ryan retired the side on nine pitches / nine strikes with the California Angels he became the first and only player to accomplish this unique feat once during both the American (1972) & National League (1968).

Did you know that the only three pitchers in Major League history to accomplish this feat twice happen to be members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame?

Over one-hundred twenty-five years of Major League Baseball history, millions of pitches thrown by thousands of different pitchers and only forty known / recorded instances by thirty-seven different pitchers — this is truly an amazing feat.

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