nolan ryan had the most strikeouts for a pitcher in a season.
nolan ryan had the most strikeouts for a pitcher in a season.
most strikeouts for a pitcher in a season?
nolan ryan
by now richard was among the best pitchers in baseball. when asked in 2012 who was the "toughest pitcher to get a hit off of" during his career, dale murphy answered "anybody that played in the late 70's or early 80's will probably give you the same answer: jr richard". in 1980, richard was now teamed with seven-time american league strikeout champion nolan ryan, who had joined the astros as a free agent. during the first half of the season, richard was virtually unhittable, starting the year with five straight wins, 48 strikeouts (including two starts with 12 and 13 strikeouts), and a sub-2.00 era. he was named national league pitcher of the month for april. at one point, richard threw three straight complete-game shutouts, two against the giants and one against the cubs. on july 3, he broke dierker's team record of 1487 career strikeouts in a 5–3 win over the braves; it was to be richard's last major league victory. after finishing the first half of the season with a 10–4 record, 115 strikeouts and a 1.96 era, richard was selected to be the national league's starting pitcher in the all-star game on july 8, but he pitched just two innings due to various back and shoulder problems. as the season progressed, richard began to complain of a "dead arm", citing discomfort in his shoulder and forearm. his concerns fell on deaf ears. some in the media even interpreted these complaints as whining or malingering, citing richard's reputation for moodiness. others hypothesized that richard was egotistical and could not handle the pressure of pitching for the astros, while others suggested he was jealous of ryan's $4.5 million contract.
j. r. richard
on january 11, 2019, the tigers avoided arbitration with boyd, agreeing on a one-year, $2.6 million contract. on april 3, 2019, against the new york yankees, boyd recorded a career-high 13 strikeouts. boyd posted 10 strikeouts in his first start, becoming the first tigers pitcher since 1908 to start the season with consecutive double-digit strikeout games. boyd also set a record for the most strikeouts by a visiting pitcher at the current yankee stadium. his 13 strikeouts were the most by any tigers pitcher since max scherzer recorded 14 in august 2014. on july 4 against the chicago white sox, boyd became the first pitcher in the live-ball era to record 13 strikeouts and zero walks in six innings or fewer in a game. he finished the first half of the season with 142 strikeouts, the most strikeouts by a tigers left-handed pitcher prior to the all-star break since mickey lolich struck out 156 in 1972.
matthew boyd (baseball)