The following is a list of annual leaders in

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

(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 Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887 – December 10, 1946), nicknamed "Barney" and "The Big Train", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in Major League Baseball as a right-ha ...

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 Grover Cleveland Alexander (February 26, 1887 – November 4, 1950), nicknamed "Old Pete", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He played from 1911 through 1930 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, and St. Louis Cardinals. He ...

(1916) and

George Bradley George Washington Bradley (July 13, 1852 – October 2, 1931), nicknamed "Grin", was an American professional baseball player who was a pitcher and infielder. He played for multiple teams in the early years of the National League, the oldest le ...

(1876). In the

dead-ball era In baseball, the dead-ball era was the period from around 1900 to the emergence of Babe Ruth as a power hitter in 1919, when he hit a then-major league record 29 home runs; only three players since 1890 had even hit 20. This era was characterized ...

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 count In baseball statistics, pitch count is the number of pitches thrown by a pitcher in a game. Pitch counts are especially a concern for young pitchers, pitchers recovering from injury, or pitchers who have a history of injuries. The pitcher wants ...

s and

relief pitching In baseball and softball, a relief pitcher or reliever is a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher is removed because of fatigue, ineffectiveness, injury, or ejection, or for other strategic reasons, such as inclement weather d ...

. 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

* – ''Denotes a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.''
^‡ – ''Denotes a pitcher that led the league in shutouts in their rookie year.''

National League

* – ''Denotes a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.''
^‡ – ''Denotes a pitcher that led the league in shutouts in their rookie year.''

American Association

Federal League

Players' League

Union Association

National Association

* – ''Denotes a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame.''
^‡ – ''Denotes a pitcher that led the league in shutouts in their rookie year.''

References

Baseball-Reference.com
{{Major League Baseball records Shutout champions

Shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...