Strikeout Percentage Single Season Leaders on Baseball Almanac

Single Season Leaders for Strikeout Percentage

Each of the following players is a single season leader in strikeout percentage, meaning they each have played in at least a hundred regular season games, each has had at least a hundred at-bats (to ensure we get hitters & not pitchers), and each has struck out less often per at-bat than any other player in history.

Baseball Almanac is pleased to present the top one-hundred (100) all-time single season leaders in Major League strikeout percentage along with raw percentages to further clarify the one-hundred (100) greatest strike to at-bat ratios. Note: A bold faced entry denotes that the player was active during the previous Major League season.

"I hit the ball almost every time I swung at it. I could see a ball leave my bat." - Hall of Famer Joe Sewell in September 2004 Baseball Digest (John Kuenster, Baseball's 11 Greatest Individual Streaks in Major League History)

Strikeout Percentage Single Season Leaders 'Top 100'
Name	Strikeout Percentage	Year	Team	League	Rank
Joe Sewell	0.6 (0.5964)	1932	New York Yankees	AL	1
Joe Sewell	0.7 (0.6579)	1925	Cleveland Indians	AL	2
Joe Sewell	0.7 (0.6920)	1929	Cleveland Indians	AL	3
Joe Sewell	0.8 (0.7634)	1933	New York Yankees	AL	4
Charlie Hollocher	0.8 (0.8446)	1922	Chicago Cubs	NL	5
Joe Sewell	0.8 (0.8499)	1930	Cleveland Indians	AL	6
Joe Sewell	1.0 (1.0381)	1926	Cleveland Indians	AL	7
Lloyd Waner	1.2 (1.2077)	1936	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	8
Joe Sewell	1.2 (1.2302)	1927	Cleveland Indians	AL	9
Pie Traynor	1.3 (1.2963)	1929	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	10
Edd Roush	1.3 (1.3298)	1931	Cincinnati Reds	NL	11
Tommy Holmes	1.4 (1.4151)	1945	Boston Braves	NL	12
Sam Rice	1.5 (1.4610)	1929	Washington Senators	AL	13
Emil Verban	1.5 (1.4815)	1947	Philadelphia Phillies	NL	14
Joe Sewell	1.5 (1.5306)	1928	Cleveland Indians	AL	15
Sam Rice	1.5 (1.5408)	1925	Washington Senators	AL	16
Don Mueller	1.5 (1.5453)	1956	New York Giants	NL	17
Homer Summa	1.5 (1.5491)	1926	Cleveland Indians	AL	18
Mickey Cochrane	1.6 (1.5564)	1929	Philadelphia Athletics	AL	19
Tommy Holmes	1.6 (1.5789)	1949	Boston Braves	NL	20
Lloyd Waner	1.6 (1.6000)	1933	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	21
Lou Boudreau	1.6 (1.6071)	1948	Cleveland Indians	AL	22
Mickey Cochrane	1.6 (1.6204)	1927	Philadelphia Athletics	AL	23
Frankie Frisch	1.6 (1.6207)	1927	St. Louis Cardinals	NL	24
Joe Sewell	1.7 (1.6529)	1931	New York Yankees	AL	25
Debs Garms	1.7 (1.6760)	1940	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	26
Willard Marshall	1.7 (1.6779)	1950	Boston Braves	NL	27
Dale Mitchell	1.7 (1.7188)	1949	Cleveland Indians	AL	28
Tommy Holmes	1.7 (1.7433)	1944	Boston Braves	NL	29
Johnny Bassler	1.7 (1.7442)	1925	Detroit Tigers	AL	30
Freddy Leach	1.7 (1.7476)	1931	New York Giants	NL	31
Pie Traynor	1.8 (1.7575)	1928	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	32
Dale Mitchell	1.8 (1.7613)	1952	Cleveland Indians	AL	33
Clint Courtney	1.8 (1.7632)	1954	Baltimore Orioles	AL	34
Nellie Fox	1.8 (1.7656)	1958	Chicago White Sox	AL	35
Lloyd Waner	1.8 (1.7771)	1938	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	36
Sam Rice	1.8 (1.7825)	1921	Washington Senators	AL	37
Tommy Holmes	1.8 (1.7921)	1942	Boston Braves	NL	38
Ernie Lombardi	1.8 (1.8072)	1935	Cincinnati Reds	NL	39
Jimmy Brown	1.8 (1.8152)	1942	St. Louis Cardinals	NL	40
Frankie Frisch	1.8 (1.8182)	1934	St. Louis Cardinals	NL	41
Nellie Fox	1.8 (1.8212)	1951	Chicago White Sox	AL	42
Sam Rice	1.8 (1.8242)	1927	Washington Senators	AL	43
Lou Boudreau	1.9 (1.8587)	1947	Cleveland Indians	AL	44
Lloyd Waner	1.9 (1.8622)	1935	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	45
Frankie Frisch	1.9 (1.8721)	1923	New York Giants	NL	46
Andy High	1.9 (1.8908)	1926	Boston Braves	NL	47
Nellie Fox	1.9 (1.9017)	1954	Chicago White Sox	AL	48
Edd Roush	1.9 (1.9139)	1921	Cincinnati Reds	NL	49
Pie Traynor	1.9 (1.9197)	1927	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	50
Nellie Fox	1.9 (1.9324)	1962	Chicago White Sox	AL	51
Rip Radcliff	1.9 (1.9417)	1936	Chicago White Sox	AL	52
Lloyd Waner	1.9 (1.9469)	1932	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	53
Jimmy Cooney	1.9 (1.9493)	1926	Chicago Cubs	NL	54
Dave Cash	2.0 (1.9520)	1976	Philadelphia Phillies	NL	55
Lloyd Waner	2.0 (1.9640)	1934	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	56
Billy Southworth	2.0 (1.9724)	1926	New York Giants	NL	57
Billy Southworth	2.0 (1.9724)	1926	St. Louis Cardinals	NL	57
Lloyd Waner	2.0 (1.9727)	1928	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	58
Nellie Fox	2.0 (1.9802)	1961	Chicago White Sox	AL	59
Harvey Kuenn	2.0 (1.9817)	1954	Detroit Tigers	AL	60
Don Mueller	2.0 (1.9835)	1955	New York Giants	NL	61
Yogi Berra	2.0 (2.0101)	1950	New York Yankees	AL	62
Sam Rice	2.0 (2.0168)	1923	Washington Senators	AL	63
Charlie Gehringer	2.0 (2.0281)	1936	Detroit Tigers	AL	64
Jack Tobin	2.0 (2.0408)	1923	St. Louis Browns	AL	65
Sam Rice	2.1 (2.0537)	1922	Washington Senators	AL	66
Nellie Fox	2.1 (2.0833)	1959	Chicago White Sox	AL	67
Sam Rice	2.1 (2.0833)	1932	Washington Senators	AL
Lloyd Waner	2.1 (2.0906)	1942	Philadelphia Phillies	NL	69
Andy High	2.1 (2.0958)	1925	Brooklyn Robins	NL	70
Andy High	2.1 (2.0958)	1925	Boston Braves	NL	70
Nellie Fox	2.1 (2.1002)	1957	Chicago White Sox	AL	71
Lou Boudreau	2.1 (2.1053)	1949	Cleveland Indians	AL	72
Jack Tobin	2.1 (2.1090)	1924	St. Louis Browns	AL	73
Carson Bigbee	2.1 (2.1173)	1922	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	74
Arky Vaughan	2.1 (2.1311)	1943	Brooklyn Dodgers	NL	75
Billy Goodman	2.1 (2.1401)	1953	Boston Red Sox	AL	76
Doc Cramer	2.1 (2.1452)	1943	Detroit Tigers	AL	77
Nellie Fox	2.1 (2.1488)	1960	Chicago White Sox	AL	78
Frank McCormick	2.2 (2.1559)	1941	Cincinnati Reds	NL	79
Nellie Fox	2.2 (2.1572)	1956	Chicago White Sox	AL	80
Nellie Fox	2.2 (2.1605)	1952	Chicago White Sox	AL	81
Ed Busch	2.2 (2.1635)	1945	Philadelphia Athletics	AL	82
Joe Sewell	2.2 (2.1700)	1923	Cleveland Indians	AL	83
Johnny Cooney	2.2 (2.1739)	1939	Boston Bees	NL	84
Joe Sewell	2.2 (2.1886)	1924	Cleveland Indians	AL	85
Heinie Manush	2.2 (2.1944)	1928	St. Louis Browns	AL	86
Jimmy Wasdell	2.2 (2.2000)	1945	Philadelphia Phillies	NL	87
Woody Jensen	2.2 (2.2329)	1935	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	88
Lloyd Waner	2.2 (2.2346)	1937	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	89
Paul Waner	2.2 (2.2472)	1927	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	90
Lefty O'Doul	2.3 (2.2599)	1928	New York Giants	NL	91
Doc Cramer	2.3 (2.2727)	1941	Washington Senators	AL	92
Carey Selph	2.3 (2.2727)	1932	Chicago White Sox	AL
Frankie Frisch	2.3 (2.2770)	1929	St. Louis Cardinals	NL	94
Edd Roush	2.3 (2.2774)	1924	Cincinnati Reds	NL	95
Billy Southworth	2.3 (2.2847)	1921	Boston Braves	NL	96
Edd Roush	2.3 (2.2989)	1918	Cincinnati Reds	NL	97
Red Schoendienst	2.3 (2.3148)	1957	Milwaukee Braves	NL	98
Red Schoendienst	2.3 (2.3148)	1957	New York Giants	NL	98
Johnny Cooney	2.3 (2.3256)	1937	Brooklyn Dodgers	NL	99
Billy Southworth	2.3 (2.3256)	1925	New York Giants	NL	100
Name	Strikeout Percentage	Year	Team	League	Rank
Current Through 2009 Season

Did you know that NOT ONE active player at the Major League level has a career strikeout percentage (criteria: 1,000 games played & 1,000 at-bats) low enough to qualify them for the Top 100?

If you were to reverse the order of this list and still require one-hundred (100) single season games played and one-hundred (100) at-bats, the Major League / American League leader for worst strikeout percentage belongs to Melvin Nieves who had 43.7% in 1997. The National League leader is Dave Kingman who had 40.0% in 1973.

Does strikeout percentage truly measure a player's ability to make contact with the ball? Does it effectively rank some of the greatest single season contact hitters? Share your thoughts on Baseball Fever.

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