Pete Alexander (along with George Bradley) holds the single-season shutout record with 16. His career total of 90 is ranked second all-time to Walter Johnson's 110 shutouts.
The following is a list of annual leaders in shutouts in Major League Baseball (MLB). A shutout occurs when a single pitcher throws a complete game and does not allow the opposing team to score a single run.
Walter Johnson holds the career shutout record with 110. The most shutouts pitched in one season was 16, which was a feat accomplished by both Pete Alexander (1916) and George Bradley (1876). In the dead-ball era and throughout much of the first three-quarters of the twentieth century, starting pitchers were generally expected to perform complete games, and starting pitchers would throw dozens of complete games a year — thereby increasing a pitcher's chances of achieving a shutout. These shutout records are among the most secure records in baseball, as pitchers today rarely earn more than one or two shutouts per season with the heavy emphasis on pitch counts and relief pitching. Pitchers today will often pitch only a few, if any, complete games a season. The 2018 season marked a new low for complete-game shutouts; no pitcher threw for more than one shutout during the season, with eleven American League and seven National League pitchers finishing with only one shutout that season.
American League
Jack Coombs pitched an American League record 13 shutouts for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1910, although he only pitched 35 shutouts total in his 14-season career.Ed Walsh, who holds a career record 1.82 ERA, is the only American League pitcher to record 10 or more shutouts on two occasions.Walter Johnson tied or led the American League a record seven times in shutouts. He holds the all-time MLB record with 110 career shutouts.During his early pitching days, Babe Ruth, who is most known for his hitting prowess, led the American League with nine shutouts for the Boston Red Sox in 1916.Jim Palmer was the last American League pitcher to record 10 shutouts in one season when he did so for the Baltimore Orioles in 1975.Jeremy Sowers for the Cleveland Indians in 2006 became the second American League pitcher (after Hod Lisenbee in 1927) to lead the league in shutouts in their rookie season.CC Sabathia is the only player to have led both leagues in shutouts in the same year (2008). He had two shutouts for the Cleveland Indians and led the American League when he was traded in the middle of the season to the Milwaukee Brewers of the National League and accumulated three more shutouts to lead that league as well.
* – Denotes a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. ‡ – Denotes a pitcher that led the league in shutouts in their rookie year.
Pete Alexander led the National League in shutouts seven times, including a record-tying 16 in 1916. He is the only National League pitcher to lead the league with 10 or more on two occasions.Old Hoss Radbourn's 11 shutouts in 1884 is the highest number of shutouts to not have led the league. Pud Galvin led the league with 12 shutouts.Cy Young led the National League four times and the American League three times in shutouts. His career total of 76 is ranked fourth all time.Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax, led the NL three timesOrel Hershiser's league leading eight shutouts in 1988 for the Los Angeles Dodgers included a Major League record 59 consecutive innings pitched without allowing a run.Hideo Nomo became the first Asian pitcher to lead the league in shutouts with three on the Los Angeles Dodgers in his rookie season of 1995.
* – Denotes a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. ‡ – Denotes a pitcher that led the league in shutouts in their rookie year.
