2026-03-16 Pitchers with 5 or more games of at least fifteen strikeouts

MONDAY  — 16-Mar-2026

Q.  Who was the first American League pitcher to strike out more than three hundred batters in a single season?

Hint: #1  His total the next year still stands as the record for American League strikeout record by a southpaw.

Hint: #2  He threw the first recorded Immaculate Inning.

A.  RUBE WADDELL  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Had 302 K in 1903 for PHA. 

-  #1 K’ed 349 in 1904; Sam McDowell came closest w/325 K in 1965.

-  #2  On 01-Jul-1902, Waddell struck out 3 batters throwing exactly 9 pitches.

FCR -  Mike Clark, Cincinnati

Incorrect guesses:  Lefty Grove, Eddie Plank, Vida Blue, Sam McDowell, John Clarkson, Babe        Ruth, Mickey Lolich

 

 

TUESDAY  — 17-Mar-2026

Q.  Who led his league ineluctably toward the Year of the Pitcher by leading his league with a 2.18 ERA?

Hint: #1  That same season, he also led in WAR, strikeouts and ERA+ & made the All-Star team (Striking out Pete Rose & Frank Robinson and inducing Joe Torre to hit into an inning ending double-play) yet only finished seventeenth (17^th!) in Most Valuable Player voting, including finishing behind four other pitchers.

Hint: #2  He was the subject of one of the most famous trades of his era.

A.  SAM McDOWELL  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  McDowell’s 2.176 was in 1965, and, as omen of things to come, the “Year of the  Pitcher” recognized as 1968.  Three pitchers in the NL posted even lower ERAs that season.  Sandy Koufax 2.038, Juan Marichal 2.133, Vern Law 2.153.

-  #1  The 1965 AL MVP voting.  Alas, he was also listed as the 1965 ASG’s losing pitcher.  McDowell’s league-leading numbers were WAR 8.3, 325 K & an ERA+ of 161.

-  #2  In November 1971, he was traded to the Giants in exchange for future Hall of Famer Gaylord Perry & Frank Duffy.

FCR -  Howard Johnson, Norman, Oklahoma

Incorrect guesses:  Catfish Hunter, Milt Pappas, Joel Horlen

 

 

TUESDAY TWICE — 17-Mar-2026

Q.  Which Hall of Famer pitcher led the National League in strikeouts for seven straight seasons, five of those also leading the majors?

Hint: #1  His nickname “Dead Shot”, although it easily could have been, was not about his pitching accuracy.

Hint: #2  His ERA title one season was so dominant that it eclipsed the number of the second-place finisher by more than a run and a quarter.

A.  DAZZY VANCE  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  From 1922 to 1928, Vance struck out 134,.197, 262, 221, 140, 184 & 200 batters respectively.  The margin of his leads in those years, over the second-place  NL strikeout artists, was by an average of more than fifty strikeouts, to be precise, 50.857 Ks.

-  #1  Vance was so confident of his marksmanship with a revolver that he made boasts that seemed impossible, than backed them up.  A couple of examples were slicing a card in 2 edgewise & shooting through the bottom of a bottle w/o breaking the neck.

-  #2  Vance’s 2.61 ERA in 1930 led contender Carl Hubbell’s 3.87 by an amazing 1.26 runs.

FCR -  Dan Silverberg, Aventura, Florida

Incorrect guesses:  Bob Gibson, Lefty Grove, Randy Johnson, Nolan Ryan, Walter Johnson

 

 

WEDNESDAY  — 18-Mar-2026

Q.  Who was the last pitcher to earn a win at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum?

Hint: #1  He and Willie Mays hit their first home runs in the majors off the same Hall of Fame pitcher, but eleven years apart.

Hint: #2  The teams of Mays, the pitcher and this major leaguer had all moved to new cities by the time he hit his first.

A.  SANDY KOUFAX  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Koufax pitched a complete game on 20-Sep-1961.  The Dodgers finished the season on the road then started 1962 in Dodger Stadium.

-  #1  Mays homered off  Warren Spahn on 28-May-1951 whereas Koufax took Spahn deep on 13-Jun-1962 (Story here.).

-  #2  in 1951 Spahn’s Braves were in Boston.  By the time Koufax hit his HR, Spahn’s Braves worked out of Milwaukee.  Mays’s New York Giants had moved to San Francisco and Koufax’ Dodgers had migrated from the borough of Brooklyn to Los Angeles.

FCR -  Victor Piacentile, Yorktown Heights, New York

Incorrect guesses:  Don Drysdale, Warren Spahn, Stan Williams, Johnny Podres

 

 

MIDWEEK BONUS  — 18-Mar-2026

Q.  Who was the last National League pitcher with thirty complete games in a season?

Hint: #1  He holds the record for the most wins visiting wins by a visiting pitcher in the Astrodome

Hint: #2  He struck out exactly four thousand National League batters

A.  STEVE CARLTON  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Carlton had exactly 30 CG in 1972 w/PHI.  (Catfish Hunter had 30 CG for NYY in 1975.)

-  #1  He won 17 games against the Astros in their home dome.

-  #2  Carlton also had 136 American League strikeouts.

FCR -  Brian Nunnally, Holly Springs, North Carolina

Incorrect guesses:   Nolan Ryan, Catfish Hunter

 

 

THURSDAY  — 19-Mar-2026

Q.  Which former Tiger, a two hundred game-winning pitcher, just signed a one-year contract with the  Toronto Blue Jays?

Hint: #1  He has pitched in four World Series for four different teams, bring home two championships.

Hint: #2  He is one of the most intense competitors in baseball.

A.  MAX SCHERZER  [B-R Bio]

-  Ans.  Scherzer ended the 2025 season with 221 pitching wins.  His contract with TOR specifies $3,000,000 base plus performance bonuses: $1M each for 65, 75, 85, 95, 105, 115, 125, 135, 145 & 155 innings pitched.  He pitched for DET from 2010 to 2014.

-  #1  He pitched for the Tigers against the Giants in 2012 (L); for the Nationals against the Astros in 2019 (W); for the Rangers against the Diamondbacks in 2023 (W); for the Toronto Blue Jays against the Dodgers in 2025 (L).

-  #2  Examples.

FCR -  Matt Van Hoose*, Springfield, Virginia

*Matt is the organist for the Washington Nationals.

Incorrect guesses:  Justin     Verlander

 

 

FRIDAY  — 20-Mar-2026

Q.  Which pitcher’s nickname was derived from the title of a popular motion picture involving daring action during World War II?

Hint: #1  The only teams he played for in the majors were originally the first four teams of major league expansion.

Hint: #2  He was the national spokesman for Athletes Through with Chew.

A.  NOLAN RYAN  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  “Von Ryan’s Express” starring Frank Sinatra was released in 1965.  Nolan Ryan debuted in the majors in 1966.  “The Ryan Express” or variations thereof, were soon attached to Ryan, not the least because of his fastball.

-  #1  He played for:

NYM 1966, 1968-1971; First season 1962

CAL 1972-1979; first season 1961 as the Los Angeles Angels

HOU 1980-1988; began as the Houston Colt .45’s in 1962

TEX 1989-1993; began as the Washington Senators II in 1961.  Moved to Arlington, Texas as the Rangers in 1972.

Ryan is the only player who played for all 4 & only these 4.

-  #2  Ryan had more credibility as a spokesman for ATWC because he had been a user of smokeless tobacco early in his career.  He quit for good while still pitching & became known as an advocate of a healthy approach to an athletic profession.  His record 27 years as a major leaguer further added to his credibility.

FCR -  Chuck Murr, Olmstead Falls, Ohio

Incorrect guesses:  Joe Garagiola, Bennie Daniels, Paul Derringer

 

 

EQUINOX SPECIAL  — 20-Mar-2026

Q.  Who was the first pitcher to strike out ten consecutive batters in one game?

Hint: #1  He notched his 300^th career pitching win on the day Rod Carew collected his 3,000^th career hit.

Hint: #2  He attended the same high school as a Hall of Famer who was there seventy years prior.

A.  TOM SEAVER  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  The final 10 SDP batters on 22-Apr-1970 all went down via strikeout, 5 looking, 5 swinging.  Al Ferrara was the 1^st & 10^th.  Seaver already had 9 Ks when the streak began at the end of the 6^th.  Aaron Nola (25-Jun-2021) & Corbin Burnes (11-Aug-2021[1]) have equaled Seaver’s feat.

-  #1  Both round milestones were achieved 04-Aug-1985.

-  #2  Seaver & Frank Chance both attended Fresno High School & are both members of the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame.

FCR -  Dan Greder, Ames, Iowa

Incorrect guesses: 

 

 

SATURDAY  — 21-Mar-2026

Q.  Who was the second pitcher to strike out at least twenty batters in a single major league game?

Hint: #1  He was the first pitcher to start a season with a record of twenty pitching wins with only a single loss.

Hint: #2  He was the winner of the seventh game of the 1983 NCAA College World Series.

A.  ROGER CLEMENS  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Clemens struck out 20 Seattle Mariners on 29-Apr-1986.  He was the first to K 20 in a 9-inning game, but the Washington Senators’ Tom Cheney struck out 21 Baltimore Orioles in a 16-inning effort on 12-Sep-1962.

-  #1  Clemens started 20-1 for NYY in 2001, the only pitcher ever to  do so.  His final record was 20-3 that season.

-  #2  Pitching for the University of Texas, he helped the Longhorns capture the college flag in 1983.  Clemens threw a complete game in the final against Alabama Crimson Tide baseball, securing Texas’s title and capping off a dominant postseason run.

FCR -  Tom Hablitzel, Hudson, Ohio

Incorrect guesses:  Burt Hooton, Kerry Wood,

 

 

SUNDAY  — 22-Mar-2026

Q.  Whom did Nolan Ryan designate as the obvious heir to the his position as the fastest and scariest pitcher in the majors?

Hint: #1  He is the only National League relief pitcher to strike out seven consecutive batters in a game.

Hint: #2  His immaculate inning was numerically possibly, the most immaculate ever.

A.  RANDY JOHNSON  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Ryan didn’t hesitate to give this answer when a reporter asked this silly question.

-  #1  Johnson came into the game in the 3^rd inning and struck out 5 of the 1^st 6 batters he faced.  Then in the 6^th, 7^th & 8^th innings struck out 7 in a row.

-  #2  On a 9-pitch, 3-K inning, the 3^rd victim of the inning was his 300^th batter of a season.  Pirates Tory McKnight, Gary Mathews & Jack Wilson were the victims.

FCR -  Charlie Harris, Chappaqua, New York

Incorrect guesses:  Aroldis Chapman, Rob Dibble, Billy Wagner, JR Richard

 

 

WEEK’S FINALE  — 22-Mar-2026

Q.  Who was the first Dodgers P to appear in 60+ games in his rookie season?

Hint: #1  His triple off a future two-time All-Star was the first of only two he had in his entire 24-year career.

Hint: #2  He ended the twentieth century with a bang.  His seventh and eighth years in the majors are considered by many to be the best-pitched consecutive seasons in major league history.

A.  PEDRO MARTINEZ  [SABR Bio]

-  Ans.  Martinez pitched in 65 Dodger games in 1993.  His brother Ramon started 32 games, also for LAD that same season.

-  #1  His 3B of PIT’s Denny Naegle on 22-May-1994 was also Pedro’s 3^rd win of the 11 he got before the strike in August.

-  #2  In 1999 & 2000, pitching for BOS, Martinez posted:

- A combined w/l record of 41-10,

- An 80.4% winning percentage

- WARs of 9.8 & 11.4,

- ERAs of 2.07 & 1.74,

- 597 combined strikeouts,

- ERA+’s of 243 & 291*,

- The 1999 & 2000 AL Cy Young Awards, both unanimously,

- 2^nd & 5^th places in AL MVP voting, (Seriously?!)

- An AL All-Star both seasons,

- In the 1999 ASG he was the starting pitcher & the Game’s MVP after striking out the game’s 1^st 3 batters

- Etc., etc.

FCR -  Brett Moore ,Studio City, California

*Best in Organized Baseball in the Modern Era.

Incorrect guesses: 

 

 

 

WEEKLY THEME – Pitchers with 5 or more games of at least fifteen strikeouts

 

Career totals

Pitcher            # of 15K G           Ks             ERA            WAR                        List of games

Johnson................. 29.............. 4,875........... 3.29.......... 101.1................... johnsra05

Ryan....................... 26.............. 5,714........... 3.19............ 81.3.................... ryanno01

Clemens................. 10.............. 4,672........... 3.12.......... 139.2.................. clemero02

Martinez................. 10.............. 3,154........... 2.93............ 83.9................... martipe02

Koufax...................... 8.............. 2,396........... 2.76............ 48.9.................. koufasa01

Waddell.................... 7.............. 2,316........... 2.16............ 58.4................. wadderu01

McDowell................. 6.............. 2,453........... 3.17............ 41.8................ mcdowsa01

Scherzer.................. 6.............. 3,489........... 3.22............ 75.6................. scherma01

Vance....................... 5.............. 2,045........... 3.24............ 60.4................. vanceda01

Carlton..................... 5.............. 4,136........... 3.22............ 90.2..................... carltst01

Seaver..................... 5.............. 3,640........... 2.86.......... 109.9.................. seaveto01

[N.B.  In spite of retiring with the record for the most career strikeouts, Walter Johnson only had 2 games with at least 15K.]

 

First Correct Respondent identifying theme – Too tough I guess

 

Horsehide Trivia thanks Warren Kent for suggesting this theme and Ed Baranoski for verifying the data.

 

Incorrect theme guesses:

 

Tues    -  Southpaws who struck out 300 in a season

            -  Pitchers whose nicknames included their own name

            -  Hall of Fame pitchers who were traded for other Hall of Fame pitchers

 

Fri        -  Pitchers who have thrown multiple immaculate innings

-   Pitchers who led their league in strikeouts and ERA in the same year

-   Pitchers who have led the league in Ks 4 or more times

 

 

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