4 Strikeouts In 1 Inning : A Baseball Almanac Fabulous Feat

Four Strikeouts in One Inning

It’s one of the most interesting feats in sports. And the most confusing? Three strikeouts in one inning is definitely respectable, even a pitcher’s dream, but FOUR in one inning? Yes, it happens, and more often than you’d think.

Just how is this feat achievable? A batter with two strikes on him takes a swing at strike three; however, the catcher does not field the ball cleanly, and instead of tagging the runner out, the runner reaches. The strikeout is recorded, but not the out.

It takes a special pitcher to shake off the embarrassment of allowing a runner you just struck out to get on base and strikeout the next batter. Ed Crane did it first. Walter Johnson did it first in the American League. Bob Gibson, Phil Niekro, Don Drysdale, and Kerry Wood did too. Here are the men who defied the odds, and struckout four men in one single inning.

"A curve ball is not something you can pick up overnight. It took me years to perfect mine." - Hall of Famer (and the first Cardinal to strike out four batters in one inning) Bob Gibson

Four Strikeouts In One Inning American League Pitchers
Name^(Quantity)	Team^(Quantity)	Date / Box	Inning
Walter Johnson⁽¹⁾	Washington Senators⁽¹⁾	04-15-1911	5^th
Guy Morton⁽¹⁾	Cleveland Indians⁽¹⁾	06-11-1916	7^th
Ryne Duren⁽¹⁾	Los Angeles Angels⁽¹⁾	05-18-1961	7^th
Lee Stange⁽¹⁾	Cleveland Indians⁽²⁾	09-02-1964	7^th
Mike Cuellar⁽¹⁾	Baltimore Orioles⁽¹⁾	05-29-1970	4^th
Mike Paxton⁽¹⁾	Cleveland Indians⁽³⁾	07-21-1978	5^th
Bobby Witt⁽¹⁾	Texas Rangers⁽¹⁾	08-02-1987	2^nd
Charlie Hough⁽¹⁾	Texas Rangers⁽²⁾	07-04-1988	1^st
Matt Young⁽¹⁾	Seattle Mariners⁽¹⁾	09-09-1990	1^st
Paul Shuey⁽¹⁾	Cleveland Indians⁽⁴⁾	05-14-1994	9^th
Kevin Appier⁽¹⁾	Kansas City Royals⁽¹⁾	09-03-1996	4^th
Wilson Álvarez⁽¹⁾	Chicago White Sox⁽¹⁾	07-21-1997	7^th
Blake Stein⁽¹⁾	Oakland Athletics⁽¹⁾	07-27-1998	4^th
Chuck Finley⁽¹⁾	Anaheim Angels⁽²⁾	05-12-1999	3^rd
Tim Wakefield⁽¹⁾	Boston Red Sox⁽¹⁾	08-10-1999	9^th
Chuck Finley⁽²⁾	Anaheim Angels⁽³⁾	08-15-1999	1^st
Chuck Finley⁽³⁾	Cleveland Indians⁽⁵⁾	04-16-2000	3^rd
Erik Hiljus⁽¹⁾	Oakland Athletics⁽²⁾	06-30-2001	7^th
Kazuhiro Sasaki⁽¹⁾	Seattle Mariners⁽²⁾	04-04-2003	9^th
Scott Baker⁽¹⁾	Minnesota Twins⁽²⁾	06-15-2008	3^rd
Scot Shields⁽¹⁾	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim⁽⁴⁾	06-21-2008	8^th
Name^(Quantity)	Team^(Quantity)	Date / Box	Inning
Four Strikeouts In One Inning by A.L. Pitchers

Four Strikeouts In One Inning National League Pitchers
Name^(Quantity)	Team^(Quantity)	Date / Box	Inning
Ed Crane⁽¹⁾	New York Gothams⁽¹⁾	10-04-1888	5^th
Hooks Wiltse⁽¹⁾	New York Giants⁽²⁾	05-15-1906	5^th
Orval Overall⁽¹⁾	Chicago Cubs⁽¹⁾	10-14-1908	1^st
Jim Davis⁽¹⁾	Chicago Cubs⁽²⁾	05-27-1956	6^th
Joe Nuxhall⁽¹⁾	Cincinnati Reds⁽¹⁾	08-11-1959	6^th
Pete Richert⁽¹⁾	Los Angeles Dodgers⁽¹⁾	04-12-1962	3^rd
Don Drysdale⁽¹⁾	Los Angeles Dodgers⁽²⁾	04-17-1965	2^nd
Bob Gibson⁽¹⁾	St. Louis Cardinals⁽¹⁾	06-07-1966	4^th
Bill Bonham⁽¹⁾	Chicago Cubs⁽³⁾	07-31-1974	2^nd
Phil Niekro⁽¹⁾	Atlanta Braves⁽¹⁾	07-29-1977	6^th
Mario Soto⁽¹⁾	Cincinnati Reds⁽²⁾	05-17-1984	3^rd
Mike Scott⁽¹⁾	Houston Astros⁽¹⁾	09-03-1986	5^th
Paul Assenmacher⁽¹⁾	Atlanta Braves⁽²⁾	08-22-1989	5^th
Tim Birtsas⁽¹⁾	Cincinnati Reds⁽³⁾	06-04-1990	7^th
Mark Wohlers⁽¹⁾	Atlanta Braves⁽³⁾	06-07-1995	9^th
Bruce Ruffin⁽¹⁾	Colorado Rockies⁽¹⁾	07-25-1996	9^th
Derek Wallace⁽¹⁾	New York Mets⁽¹⁾	09-13-1996	9^th
Kirt Ojala⁽¹⁾	Florida Marlins⁽¹⁾	09-16-1998	4^th
Archie Corbin⁽¹⁾	Florida Marlins⁽²⁾	04-28-1999	7^th
Jerry Spradlin⁽¹⁾	San Francisco Giants⁽³⁾	07-22-1999	7^th
Steve Kline⁽¹⁾	Montreal Expos⁽¹⁾	08-17-1999	7^th
Frankie Rodriguez⁽¹⁾	Cincinnati Reds⁽⁴⁾	07-22-2001	7^th
A.J. Burnett⁽¹⁾	Florida Marlins⁽³⁾	07-05-2002	1^st
Kerry Wood⁽¹⁾	Chicago Cubs⁽⁴⁾	09-02-2002	4^th
Darren Dreifort⁽¹⁾	Los Angeles Dodgers⁽³⁾	05-22-2003	2^nd
Octavio Dotel⁽¹⁾	Houston Astros⁽²⁾	06-11-2003	8^th
Brad Lidge⁽¹⁾	Houston Astros⁽³⁾	06-13-2004	7^th
Mike Stanton⁽¹⁾	New York Mets⁽²⁾	08-03-2004	8^th
Jon Rauch⁽¹⁾	Washington Nationals⁽²⁾	04-26-2006	8^th
Brad Penny⁽¹⁾	Los Angeles Dodgers⁽⁴⁾	09-23-2006	2^nd
Name^(Quantity)	Team^(Quantity)	Date / Box	Inning
Four Strikeouts In One Inning by N.L. Pitchers

In the American League, the following pitchers struck out all four batters in consecutive order: Scott Baker, Mike Cuellar, Mike Paxton, Bobby Witt, Kevin Appier, Wilson Alvarez, Chuck Finley and Kazuhiro Sasaki.

In the National League, the following pitchers struck out all four batters in consecutive order: Ed Crane, Hooks Wiltse, Jim Davis, Pete Richert, Don Drysdale, Bill Bonham, Kirt Ojala, Steve Kline and Octavio Dotel.

On September 30, 1885, Bobby Mathews became the first and only pitcher in the American Association to accomplish this unique feat. During the 1908 World Series, Orval Overall became the first and only pitcher to accomplish the feat in a Fall Classic.

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