Baseball pitchers have set all sorts of fascinating records. Prior to the 2021 season, Major League hurlers threw 307 no-hitters and 23 perfect games, the rarest of all pitching achievements.
A lesser known feat is an immaculate inning — in which a pitcher strikes out all three batters in one inning using only nine pitches — which has occurred 101 times in MLB history.
Rarer than that, however, is four strike outs in one inning.
Wait a second, you say. How can there be four strikeouts in one inning? An inning concludes after three outs. After the third out, the pitcher should leave the mound for the dugout.
Here’s how it can happen:
An inning begins as always with no runners on base. The first batter steps up to the plate. He strikes out. It could be a called third strike or a swinging strike or a foul tip into the catcher’s mitt.
The second batter of the inning does the same. That’s two outs.
The third hitter enters the batter’s box. He swings and misses twice for a 0–2 count — or 1–2 or 2–2 or a full count. Called strikes, swinging strikes, foul balls, it doesn’t matter as long as the count includes two strikes.
Then that same batter swings and misses for strike three… but the ball gets past the catcher and goes to the backstop.
If first base is unoccupied, the batter has the opportunity to steal it. If he succeeds and reaches before the catcher can retrieve the ball and throw him out, he’s called safe at first. It’s recorded as a strikeout and a stolen base.
Then the next batter strikes out. That’s four Ks in one inning.
In another scenario, let’s say a runner stands on first base (because he got a hit or walked or was hit by a pitch) and there are two outs in the inning. If a batter swings and misses at strike three for the potential third out and the ball gets away from the catcher, rules state that the batter may attempt to steal first so long as the runner moves up, too — even if the bases are loaded. Again, if successful, it’s recorded as a strikeout and stolen base. Then the inning continues until a fourth strikeout.
The odds of those scenarios occurring seem astronomical. Yet in Major League history, including midway thru the 2021 season, it has occurred 96 times.
Often, the pitcher might give up hits or walks or even runs in that inning. But 30 pitchers in MLB history recorded the strikeouts from the minimum of four consecutive batters.
Every Major League franchise has recorded at least one four strikeout inning in their history with the exceptions of the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Texas Rangers. The Montreal Expos and the old Washington Senators had four-strikeout pitchers. For the Senators, it was Hall of Famer Walter Johnson in 1911.
The first four strikeout inning happened in 1888 with Ed Crane of the New York Gothams. In April 2019, Los Angeles Angels pitcher Luke Bard accomplished the feat. He came on in relief and struck out four in the 14th inning.
In 2021, the feat occurred 4 times: Tyler Glasnow (Tampa Bay) in April, Lance McCullers Jr. (Houston) in May, Jonathan Loaisiga (Yankees) in June, and Domingo German (also of the Yankees) in July.
Orval Overall of the Cubs was the only pitcher to do it during the World Series (1908). The only other player to complete the feat in the postseason was Anibel Sanchez for Detroit in October 2013.
But for some reason none were recorded after 1916 until 1956 — forty full years without an occurrence. By contrast, it has happened 59 times just in the first twenty years of the 21st Century — more than half of all on record. Forty-one of those were thrown in the past decade alone!
On the last day of the 2009 regular season, October 4, two pitchers did it that same afternoon — Ryan Dempster in Chicago and Luke Gregerson in San Diego.
Craig Kimbrel (when he was with the Braves, Red Sox) has accomplished the feat twice in his career. So has Zack Grienke (when he was with the Dodgers, Diamondbacks). Retired pitcher AJ Burnett also did it twice.
The only Major Leaguer to post more than 2 four strikeout innings in his career is Chuck Finley. He did it 3 times… all in the span of one calendar year! The Angels’ ace recorded his first on May 12, 1999. He did it again that same season on August 15. Then, after signing with the Indians during the offseason, he did it again on April 16, 2000.
Check out this video compilation of recent four strikeout innings.
Getting four strikeouts in an inning isn’t necessarily something to boast about. It means a catcher made a mistake or got crossed up to allow the steal of first base. Four strikeouts means extra work for the pitcher. On the other hand, it’s far better to record four Ks in an inning than none.
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