List of Major League Baseball pitchers who have thrown an immaculate inning
In baseball, a strikeout occurs when a pitcher throws three strikes to a batter during his time at bat. An immaculate inning occurs when a pitcher strikes out all three batters he faces in one inning, using the minimum possible number of pitches—nine. Ninety-three different pitchers have struck out three batters on nine consecutive pitches in a half-inning of a Major League Baseball game as of 2019, the most recent being Will Harris of the Houston Astros on September 27, 2019. Seven have accomplished the feat more than once in their career, and no player has ever struck out four batters on twelve pitches in an inning. John Clarkson was the first player to strike out three batters on nine pitches, doing so in the third inning for the Boston Beaneaters against the Philadelphia Quakers on June 4, 1889.
Of the 93 pitchers who have accomplished the feat, 71 were right-handed and 22 left-handed. Eight of these have played for only one major league team. Four—Bob Gibson, Randy Johnson, Pedro Martínez and Nolan Ryan—are also members of the 3,000 strikeout club. Sloppy Thurston, Ryan, Wade Miley, and Thomas Pannone are the only rookies to have attained the milestone. Ryan struck out three batters on nine pitches in the American League and National League, becoming the first player to achieve the feat in both. Danny Jackson is the sole player to pitch an immaculate inning in the World Series.
Of the 23 players eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame who pitched an immaculate inning, 13 have been elected and five were elected on the first ballot. Players are eligible for the Hall of Fame if they have played in at least 10 major league seasons and have either been retired for five seasons or deceased for at least six months. These requirements leave 26 players ineligible who are active, four who are living and have played in the past five seasons, and eight who did not play in 10 major league seasons.
Players
| Pitcher | Date | Team | Opposing team | Inning | Batters faced | Box |
| Boston Beaneaters | Philadelphia Quakers | Jim Fogarty, Sam Thompson, Sid Farrar | n/a | |||
| Philadelphia Athletics | Baltimore Orioles | Billy Gilbert, Harry Howell, John Cronin | n/a | |||
| Brooklyn Dodgers | Boston Braves | Possum Whitted, Butch Schmidt, Red Smith | n/a | |||
| Boston Braves | Philadelphia Phillies | Bevo LeBourveau, Cy Williams, Ed Konetchy | n/a | |||
| Chicago White Sox | Philadelphia Athletics | Beauty McGowan, Chick Galloway, Sammy Hale | n/a | |||
| Brooklyn Robins | Cincinnati Reds | Sam Bohne, Bubbles Hargrave, Eppa Rixey | n/a | |||
| Philadelphia Athletics | Cleveland Indians | Ed Morgan, Luther Harvel, Martin Autry | n/a | |||
| Philadelphia Athletics | Chicago White Sox | Moe Berg, Tommy Thomas, Johnny Mostil | n/a | |||
| Detroit Tigers | Chicago White Sox | Jim Rivera, Mike Fornieles, Chico Carrasquel | ||||
| Philadelphia Phillies | Brooklyn Dodgers | Carl Furillo, Charlie Neal, Sandy Amorós | ||||
| Detroit Tigers | Boston Red Sox | Sammy White, Jim Mahoney, Ike Delock | ||||
| Los Angeles Dodgers | New York Mets | Richie Ashburn, Rod Kanehl, Félix Mantilla | ||||
| Los Angeles Dodgers | Houston Colt.45s | Bob Aspromonte, Jim Campbell, Turk Farrell | ||||
| Milwaukee Braves | Philadelphia Phillies | Tony González, Clay Dalrymple, Rubén Amaro | ||||
| Los Angeles Dodgers | Cincinnati Reds | Leo Cárdenas, Johnny Edwards, Jim Maloney | ||||
| Houston Colt.45s | St. Louis Cardinals | Bill White, Charlie James, Ken Boyer | ||||
| New York Yankees | Cleveland Indians | Tony Horton, Don Demeter, Duke Sims | ||||
| New York Mets | Los Angeles Dodgers | Claude Osteen, Wes Parker, Zoilo Versalles | ||||
| St. Louis Cardinals | Los Angeles Dodgers | Len Gabrielson, Paul Popovich, John Miller | ||||
| Philadelphia Phillies | Atlanta Braves | Darrell Evans, Hal King, Earl Williams | ||||
| Montreal Expos | Philadelphia Phillies | Mike Ryan, Woodie Fryman, Denny Doyle | ||||
| Chicago Cubs | Philadelphia Phillies | Greg Luzinski, Don Money, Mike Anderson | ||||
| California Angels | Boston Red Sox | Carlton Fisk, Bob Burda, Juan Beníquez | ||||
| Chicago Cubs | Montreal Expos | Ellis Valentine, Gary Carter, Larry Parrish | ||||
| Cincinnati Reds | San Francisco Giants | Mike Sadek, Gary Lavelle, Billy North | ||||
| Chicago Cubs | San Francisco Giants | Larry Herndon, Joe Strain, Jack Clark | ||||
| Atlanta Braves | San Francisco Giants | Larry Herndon, Greg Johnston, Johnnie LeMaster | ||||
| New York Yankees | Chicago White Sox | Carlton Fisk, Tom Paciorek, Greg Luzinski | ||||
| Kansas City Royals | St. Louis Cardinals | Terry Pendleton, Tom Nieto, Brian Harper | ||||
| Pittsburgh Pirates | Chicago Cubs | Leon Durham, Andre Dawson, Rafael Palmeiro | ||||
| Cincinnati Reds | San Diego Padres | Carmelo Martínez, Mark Parent, Garry Templeton | ||||
| Kansas City Royals | Texas Rangers | Pete Incaviglia, Geno Petralli, Thad Bosley | ||||
| Philadelphia Phillies | Cincinnati Reds | Hal Morris, Todd Benzinger, Jeff Reed | ||||
| New York Mets | Cincinnati Reds | Herm Winningham, Randy Myers, Mariano Duncan | ||||
| Houston Astros | Philadelphia Phillies | Wes Chamberlain, Dickie Thon, José DeJesús | ||||
| San Francisco Giants | Houston Astros | Jeff Bagwell, Eric Anthony, Rafael Ramírez | ||||
| Montreal Expos | New York Mets | David Segui, Todd Hundley, Jeff McKnight | ||||
| Kansas City Royals | Seattle Mariners | Eric Anthony, Chris Howard, Luis Sojo | ||||
| Los Angeles Dodgers | Pittsburgh Pirates | Mark Johnson, Angelo Encarnación, Steve Pegues | ||||
| Houston Astros | Colorado Rockies | Ellis Burks, Harvey Pulliam, Jeff Reed | ||||
| Toronto Blue Jays | Boston Red Sox | Nomar Garciaparra, John Valentin, Mo Vaughn | ||||
| Milwaukee Brewers | Kansas City Royals | Johnny Damon, Scott Cooper, Rod Myers | ||||
| Baltimore Orioles | Chicago White Sox | Robin Ventura, Magglio Ordóñez, Ray Durham | ||||
| Baltimore Orioles | Tampa Bay Devil Rays | Fred McGriff, Paul Sorrento, Rich Butler | ||||
| San Francisco Giants | Colorado Rockies | Ellis Burks, Vinny Castilla, Todd Helton | ||||
| Houston Astros | Atlanta Braves | Javy López, Andruw Jones, Greg Colbrunn | ||||
| Florida Marlins | Atlanta Braves | Tony Graffanino, Greg Maddux, Walt Weiss | ||||
| Houston Astros | Detroit Tigers | Juan Encarnación, Brad Ausmus, Bobby Higginson | ||||
| Baltimore Orioles | Cleveland Indians | Manny Ramirez, Jim Thome, Richie Sexson | ||||
| Arizona Diamondbacks | Pittsburgh Pirates | Tony McKnight, Gary Matthews Jr., Jack Wilson | ||||
| St. Louis Cardinals | Houston Astros | Daryle Ward, José Vizcaíno, Julio Lugo | ||||
| Arizona Diamondbacks | Philadelphia Phillies | Scott Rolen, Mike Lieberthal, Pat Burrell | ||||
| Boston Red Sox | Seattle Mariners | Ichiro Suzuki, Mark McLemore, Rubén Sierra | ||||
| San Diego Padres | Baltimore Orioles | Brook Fordyce, Jerry Hairston, Jr., Melvin Mora | ||||
| Houston Astros | Milwaukee Brewers | Bill Hall, Scott Podsednik, Craig Counsell | ||||
| Milwaukee Brewers | Houston Astros | Pete Munro, Craig Biggio, José Vizcaíno | ||||
| Chicago Cubs | Florida Marlins | Jeff Conine, Juan Encarnación, Álex González | ||||
| Milwaukee Brewers | Detroit Tigers | Curtis Granderson, Plácido Polanco, Iván Rodríguez | ||||
| Atlanta Braves | San Diego Padres | Khalil Greene, Russell Branyan, José Cruz, Jr. | ||||
| Oakland Athletics | Los Angeles Angels | Maicer Izturis, Howie Kendrick, Garret Anderson | ||||
| Seattle Mariners | Florida Marlins | Jeremy Hermida, Jorge Cantú, Mike Jacobs | ||||
| New York Yankees | Florida Marlins | Josh Johnson, Chris Coghlan, Emilio Bonifacio | ||||
| Pittsburgh Pirates | St. Louis Cardinals | Khalil Greene, Julio Lugo, Jason LaRue | ||||
| Tampa Bay Rays | Los Angeles Angels | Erick Aybar, Mike Napoli, Peter Bourjos | ||||
| Washington Nationals | Florida Marlins | Giancarlo Stanton, Greg Dobbs, John Buck | ||||
| Philadelphia Phillies | Atlanta Braves | Jason Heyward, Nate McLouth, Wilkin Ramírez | ||||
| Boston Red Sox | Baltimore Orioles | Adam Jones, Matt Wieters, Chris Davis | ||||
| Arizona Diamondbacks | Colorado Rockies | Jonathan Herrera, Drew Pomeranz, Josh Rutledge | ||||
| New York Yankees | New York Mets | Ike Davis, Mike Baxter, Rubén Tejada | ||||
| Toronto Blue Jays | Oakland Athletics | Adam Rosales, Coco Crisp, Chris Young | ||||
| Tampa Bay Rays | Baltimore Orioles | Steve Pearce, Jonathan Schoop, Caleb Joseph | ||||
| Philadelphia Phillies | Cincinnati Reds | Zack Cozart, Brandon Phillips, Todd Frazier | ||||
| Cleveland Indians | Boston Red Sox | Jonny Gomes, Grady Sizemore, Stephen Drew | ||||
| Los Angeles Angels | Houston Astros | Jon Singleton, Matt Dominguez, Chris Carter | ||||
| Colorado Rockies | San Francisco Giants | Michael Morse, Brandon Crawford, Gregor Blanco | ||||
| Cincinnati Reds | Pittsburgh Pirates | Jordy Mercer, Jeff Locke, Gregory Polanco | ||||
| New York Yankees | Tampa Bay Rays | Wil Myers, Nick Franklin, Matt Joyce | ||||
| Milwaukee Brewers | Los Angeles Dodgers | Enrique Hernández, Carlos Frías, Joc Pederson | ||||
| San Francisco Giants | Cincinnati Reds | Marlon Byrd, Brandon Phillips, Jay Bruce | ||||
| Pittsburgh Pirates | St. Louis Cardinals | Stephen Piscotty, Jhonny Peralta, Yadier Molina | ||||
| Cincinnati Reds | Baltimore Orioles | Jonathan Schoop, J. J. Hardy, Hyun-soo Kim | ||||
| Boston Red Sox | Milwaukee Brewers | Hernán Pérez, Travis Shaw, Domingo Santana | ||||
| Washington Nationals | Philadelphia Phillies | César Hernández, Odúbel Herrera, Aaron Altherr | ||||
| Los Angeles Dodgers | Miami Marlins | Derek Dietrich, J. T. Riddle, Ichiro Suzuki | ||||
| Cleveland Indians | Detroit Tigers | Nicholas Castellanos, Mikie Mahtook, José Iglesias | ||||
| New York Yankees | Detroit Tigers | Jim Adduci, Justin Upton, Miguel Cabrera | ||||
| Tampa Bay Rays | Milwaukee Brewers | Travis Shaw, Jesús Aguilar, Hernán Pérez | ||||
| Boston Red Sox | Tampa Bay Rays | Trevor Plouffe, Wilson Ramos, Mallex Smith | ||||
| Baltimore Orioles | Cleveland Indians | Yonder Alonso, Yan Gomes, Bradley Zimmer | ||||
| Washington Nationals | Tampa Bay Rays | Johnny Field, Christian Arroyo, Daniel Robertson | ||||
| Colorado Rockies | Pittsburgh Pirates | Corey Dickerson, Starling Marte, Gregory Polanco | ||||
| Los Angeles Dodgers | Seattle Mariners | Kyle Seager, Ryon Healy, Cameron Maybin | ||||
| Milwaukee Brewers | St. Louis Cardinals | Tyler O'Neill, Dexter Fowler, Yairo Muñoz | ||||
| Toronto Blue Jays | Tampa Bay Rays | Avisaíl García, Brandon Lowe, Daniel Robertson | ||||
| Boston Red Sox | Baltimore Orioles | Hanser Alberto, Dwight Smith Jr., Steve Wilkerson | ||||
| Boston Red Sox | Kansas City Royals | Kelvin Gutierrez, Nicky Lopez, Martin Maldonado | ||||
| Washington Nationals | Miami Marlins | Garrett Cooper, Neil Walker, Starlin Castro | ||||
| Cincinnati Reds | St Louis Cardinals | Yairo Muñoz, Dexter Fowler, Tommy Edman | ||||
| Atlanta Braves | Philadelphia Phillies | César Hernández, Jay Bruce, Logan Morrison | ||||
| Houston Astros | Los Angeles Angels | Kaleb Cowart, Matt Thaiss, Michael Hermosillo |