List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders

In baseball, the strikeout is a statistic used to evaluate pitchers. A pitcher earns a strikeout when he puts out the batter he is facing by throwing a ball through the strike zone, "defined as that area over homeplate (sic) the upper limit of which is a horizontal line at the midpoint between the top of the shoulders and the top of the uniform pants, and the lower level is a line at the hollow beneath the kneecap", which is not put in play. Strikeouts are awarded in four situations: if the batter is put out on a third strike caught by the catcher (to "strike out swinging" or "strike out looking"); if the pitcher throws a third strike which is not caught with fewer than two outs; if the batter becomes a baserunner on an uncaught third strike; or if the batter bunts the ball into foul territory with two strikes.

Major League Baseball recognizes the player or players in each league with the most strikeouts each season. Jim Devlin led the National League in its inaugural season of 1876; he threw 122 strikeouts for the Louisville Grays. The American League's first winner was Hall of Fame pitcher Cy Young, who captured the American League Triple Crown in 1901 by striking out 158 batters, along with leading the league in wins and earned run average.Walter Johnson led the American League in strikeouts 12 times during his Hall of Fame career, most among all players. He is followed by Nolan Ryan, who captured 11 titles between both leagues (9 American League and 2 National League).Randy Johnson won nine strikeout titles, including five with his home state Arizona Diamondbacks. Three players have won seven strikeout championships: Dazzy Vance, who leads the National League;Bob Feller; and Lefty Grove.Grover Cleveland Alexander and Rube Waddell led their league six times, and five-time winners include Steve Carlton,Roger Clemens,Sam McDowell,Christy Mathewson,Amos Rusie, and Tom Seaver.

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