Support Baseball Almanac - Visit One Sponsor Each Visit

Advertise Boxscores Contact Forums Newsletter Search Support This Site

All-Star Games
Autographs
Awards
Ballparks
Book Shelf
Fabulous Feats
Families
Famous Firsts
Game Time
Hall of Fame
Hitting Stats
Humor & Jokes
Legendary Lists
Managers
Movie Time
Pitching Stats
Poetry & Song
Quotations
Record Books
Rules
Scoring
Stats 101
Team by Team
U.S. Presidents
World Series
Year In Review

"A curve ball is not something you can pick up overnight. It took me years to perfect mine." - Bob Gibson

Striking out the side - plus one, is the name of this feat. How is it done? A batter at the plate has a two strike count. The pitch is delivered and the batter takes a swing for strike three (a recorded strikeout); however, in this instance the catcher does not catch the ball cleanly.

Ninety-nine percent of the time we see the catcher simply pick up the ball and tag the batter or throw to first to record the out. The following pitchers had that batter reach first safely and struck out three other batters during the same inning.

4 Strikeouts In 1 Inning

Walter Johnson

American League

Name Team Date Inning
Walter Johnson Washington 04-15-1911 5th
Guy Morton Cleveland 06-11-1916 7th
Ryne Duren Los Angeles 05-18-1961 7th
Lee Stange Cleveland 09-02-1964 7th
Mike Cuellar Baltimore 05-29-1970 4th
Mike Paxton Cleveland 07-21-1978 5th
Bobby Witt Texas 08-02-1987 2nd
Charlie Hough Texas 07-04-1988 1st
Matt Young Seattle 09-09-1990 1st
Paul Shuey Cleveland 05-14-1994 9th
Kevin Appier Kansas City 09-03-1996 4th
Wilson Alvarez Chicago 07-21-1997 7th
Blake Stein Oakland 07-27-1998 4th
Chuck Finley Anaheim 05-15-1999 3rd
Tim Wakefield Boston 08-10-1999 9th
Chuck Finley Anaheim 08-15-1999 1st
Chuck Finley Cleveland 04-16-2000 3rd
Erik Hiljus Oakland 06-30-2001 7th

 

4 Strikeouts In 1 Inning

George Wiltse

National League

Name Team Date Inning
Ed Crane New York 10-04-1888 5th
George Wiltse New York 05-15-1906 5th
Jim Davis Chicago 05-27-1956 6th
Joe Nuxhall Cincinnati 08-11-1959 6th
Pete Richert Los Angeles 04-12-1962 3rd
Don Drysdale Los Angeles 04-17-1965 2nd
Bob Gibson St. Louis 06-07-1966 4th
Bill Bonham Chicago 07-31-1974 2nd
Phil Niekro Atlanta 07-29-1977 6th
Mario Soto Cincinnati 05-17-1984 3rd
Mike Scott Houston 09-03-1986 5th
Paul Assenmacher Atlanta 08-22-1989 5th
Tim Birtsas Cincinnati 06-04-1990 7th
Mark Wohlers Atlanta 06-07-1995 9th
Bruce Ruffin Colorado 07-25-1996 9th
Derek Wallace New York 09-13-1996 9th
Kirt Ojala Florida 09-16-1998 4th
Archie Corbin Florida 04-28-1999 7th
Jerry Spradlin San Francisco 07-22-1999 7th
Steve Kline Montreal 08-17-1999 7th
Frankie Rodriguez Cincinnati 07-22-2001 7th

 

Fast Facts
Fast Fact 1 In the American League, the following pitchers struck out all four batters in consecutive order: Mike Cuellar, Mike Paxton, Bobby Witt, Kevin Appier, Wilson Alvarez, and Chuck Finley!
Fast Fact 2 In the National League, the following pitchers struck out all four batters in consecutive order: Ed Crane, George Wiltse, Jim Davis, Pete Richert, Don Drysdale, Bill Bonham, Kirt Ojala, and Steve Kline!
Fast Fact 3 On September 30, 1885, Bobby Mathews became the first and only pitcher in the American Association to accomplish this unique feat!

Copyright © 2001 Baseball Almanac.
All Rights Reserved.