Most Strikeouts in a Game

In baseball, nothing can send the crowds roaring as a strikeout can. Often denoted as SO or K, a 'strikeout' or 'strike out' occurs when the batter gets three strikes in a row. In minor league baseball - a competition hierarchically below the Major League Baseball (MLB), the record for the most strikeouts in a game is 27. This baseball record was created by Ron Necciai hailing from Pennsylvania. Ron achieved this feat in a nine inning game on 13th May, 1952, while playing for Bristol Twins against Welch Miners. Impressive performance indeed, but has there been any such impressive performance in the Major League Baseball arena?

Most Strikeouts in a MLB Game

On 12th September, 1962, Tom Cheney - a right-handed pitcher hailing from Georgia, United States, created history by striking out 21 batters from the opposition. Cheney achieved this feat while playing for the Washington Senators against Baltimore Orioles. It was the record for most strikeouts in a single Major League Baseball regular season game in the history of baseball. He struck out 13 Baltimore Orioles in the first nine innings, and eventually took his tally to 21 after 16 innings - in a game which ended with a hard-fought 2-1 victory for the Senators. Even though Cheney had to play 16 innings to achieve this feat, it was still a single game and therefore the record for most strikeouts in a single game of Major League Baseball goes to him.

Most Strikeouts in a Single Nine Innings Game

In baseball history, the record for the most strikeouts in a single game of nine innings is 20, which is held by two players: Roger Clemens hailing from Ohio and Kerry Wood hailing from Texas. In fact, Clemens has achieved this incredible feat twice in his career - in 1986 and 1996 seasons respectively. The first instance of 20 strikeouts in a single game was recorded on 29th April, 1986, when Roger Clemens while playing for Boston Red Sox, struck out 20 batters of the Seattle Mariners side. Clemens repeated this amazing feat on 18th September, 1996 again for the Boston Red Sox, but this time against the Detroit Tigers. He was the only player to strikeout 20 batters in a single nine innings game until Chicago Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood joined him with 20 strikeouts against Houston Astros on 6th May, 1998. While Clemens and Woods have most number of strikeouts in a single nine innings games to their credit at 20, Randy Johnson, David Cone, Nolan Ryan, Tom Seaver, Steve Carlton, Hugh Daily and Charlie Sweeney have 19 strikeouts each to their credit.

Most Strikeouts in a Playoff Game

In Major League Baseball, the games which are played after the regular season are known as the postseason games instead of playoffs. In MLB the term 'playoffs' is reserved for a game which determines which of the two teams tied at the same spot would qualify for the postseason games. The record for the most strikeouts in a postseason game is held by Robert "Bob" Gibson for his 17 strikeouts in Game 1 of the 1968 World Series. Gibson represented defending champions St. Louis Cardinals in this World Series game against the Detroit Tigers.

If there is no restriction on the number of innings, the record for the most strikeouts is held by Tom Cheney for his 21 strikeouts against Baltimore Orioles. But if you restrict the number of innings to nine, this record is held jointly by Roger Clemens and Kerry Wood with 20 strikeouts each. While that was about the pitchers, the record for the most strikeouts for a batter (with the innings factor coming into play yet again) is held by 8 baseball players who have been struck out six times in a 9 innings+ game and 46 players having struck out five times in a 9 innings game.