Year by Year Leaders for Games Started

Ever wonder who started the most games the year you were born? How about pitchers from you favorite team — have they ever led the league in games started? Baseball Almanac is pleased to present a year-by-year leaderboard in Major League games started for every season since 1876. Note: A bold faced entry denotes that the player was active during the previous Major League season.

"A Yankee pitcher never should hold out, because he might be traded, and then he would have to pitch against them." - Waite Hoyt

Games Started Year-by-Year Leaders \| '1876 - 2025'
Year	American League	Games	Team(s)	Year	National League	Games	Team(s)
1876	-	-	-	1876	Jim Devlin	68	Louisville
1877	-	-	-	1877	Jim Devlin	61	Louisville
1878	-	-	-	1878	Tommy Bond	59	Boston
1879	-	-	-	1879	Will White	75	Cincinnati
1880	-	-	-	1880	Jim McCormick	74	Cleveland
1881	-	-	-	1881	Jim Whitney	63	Boston
1882	-	-	-	1882	Jim McCormick	67	Cleveland
1883	-	-	-	1883	Pud Galvin	75	Buffalo
1884	-	-	-	1884	Old Hoss Radbourn	73	Providence
1885	-	-	-	1885	John Clarkson	70	Chicago
1886	-	-	-	1886	Tim Keefe	64	New York
1887	-	-	-	1887	John Clarkson	59	Chicago
1888	-	-	-	1888	Ed Morris	55	Pittsburgh
1889	-	-	-	1889	John Clarkson	72	Boston
1890	-	-	-	1890	Bill Hutchison	66	Chicago
1891	-	-	-	1891	Bill Hutchison	58	Chicago
1892	-	-	-	1892	Bill Hutchison	70	Chicago
1893	-	-	-	1893	Amos Rusie	52	New York
1894	-	-	-	1894	Theodore Breitenstein	50	St. Louis
1894	-	-	-	1894	Amos Rusie	50	New York
1895	-	-	-	1895	Theodore Breitenstein	50	St. Louis
1895	-	-	-	1895	Pink Hawley	50	Pittsburgh
1896	-	-	-	1896	Frank Killen	50	Pittsburgh
1897	-	-	-	1897	Red Donahue	42	St. Louis
1897	-	-	-	1897	Win Mercer	42	Washington
1898	-	-	-	1898	Jack Taylor	47	St. Louis
1899	-	-	-	1899	Bill Carrick	43	New York
1899	-	-	-	1899	Jack Powell	43	St. Louis
1900	-	-	-	1900	Bill Carrick	41	New York
1901	Joe McGinnity	43	Baltimore	1901	Dummy Taylor	43	New York
1902	Cy Young	43	Boston	1902	Vic Willis	46	Boston
1903	Eddie Plank	40	Philadelphia	1903	Joe McGinnity	48	New York
1904	Jack Chesbro	51	New York	1904	Christy Mathewson	46	New York
1905	George Mullin	41	Detroit	1905	Irv Young	42	Boston
1905	Eddie Plank	41	Philadelphia	1905	Irv Young	42	Boston
1906	Jack Chesbro	42	New York	1906	Irv Young	41	Boston
1907	Ed Walsh	46	Chicago	1907	Stoney McGlynn	39	St. Louis
1908	Ed Walsh	49	Chicago	1908	Christy Mathewson	44	New York
1909	Frank Smith	40	Chicago	1909	Vic Willis	35	Pittsburgh
1910	Walter Johnson	42	Washington	1910	Nap Rucker	39	Brooklyn
1911	Jack Coombs	40	Philadelphia	1911	Bob Harmon	41	St. Louis
1912	Ed Walsh	41	Chicago	1912	Rube Benton	39	Cincinnati
1913	Jim Scott	38	Chicago	1913	Jeff Tesreau	38	New York
1914	Walter Johnson	40	Washington	1914	Larry Cheney	40	Chicago
1914	Walter Johnson	40	Washington	1914	Jeff Tesreau	40	New York
1915	Walter Johnson	39	Washington	1915	Dick Rudolph	43	Boston
1916	Babe Ruth	41	Boston	1916	Grover Alexander	45	Philadelphia
1917	Dave Davenport	39	St. Louis	1917	Grover Alexander	44	Philadelphia
1918	Scott Perry	36	Philadelphia	1918	Hippo Vaughn	33	Chicago
1919	Lefty Williams	40	Chicago	1919	Hippo Vaughn	37	Chicago
1920	Red Faber	39	Chicago	1920	Grover Alexander	40	Chicago
1921	Stan Coveleski	40	Cleveland	1921	Wilbur Cooper	38	Pittsburgh
1922	George Uhle	40	Cleveland	1922	Eppa Rixey	38	Cincinnati
1923	George Uhle	44	Cleveland	1923	Wilbur Cooper	38	Pittsburgh
1923	George Uhle	44	Cleveland	1923	Burleigh Grimes	38	Brooklyn
1924	Walter Johnson	38	Washington	1924	Burleigh Grimes	36	Brooklyn
1925	Slim Harriss	33	Philadelphia	1925	Pete Donohue	38	Cincinnati
	Earl Whitehill		Detroit
	Tom Zachary		Washington
1926	George Uhle	36	Cleveland	1926	Pete Donohue	36	Cincinnati
1927	Tommy Thomas	36	Chicago	1927	Lee Meadows	38	Pittsburgh
1928	George Pipgras	38	New York	1928	Burleigh Grimes	37	Pittsburgh
1928	George Pipgras	38	New York	1928	Eppa Rixey	37	Cincinnati
1929	Sam Gray	37	St. Louis	1929	Watty Clark	36	Brooklyn
1929	Lefty Grove	37	Philadelphia	1929	Watty Clark	36	Brooklyn
1930	George Earnshaw	39	Philadelphia	1930	Ray Kremer	38	Pittsburgh
1931	Sam Gray	37	St. Louis	1931	Heinie Meine	35	Pittsburgh
1932	Alvin Crowder	39	Washington	1932	Watty Clark	36	Brooklyn
1933	Earl Whitehill	37	Washington	1933	Boom-Boom Beck	35	Brooklyn
					Freddie Fitzsimmons		New York
					Larry French		Pittsburgh
1934	Tommy Bridges	35	Detroit	1934	Van Mungo	38	Brooklyn
1935	Wes Ferrell	38	Boston	1935	Dizzy Dean	36	St. Louis
1936	Tommy Bridges	38	Detroit	1936	Paul Derringer	37	Cincinnati
	Wes Ferrell		Boston		Van Mungo		Brooklyn
	Bobo Newsom		Washington		Van Mungo		Brooklyn
1937	Bobo Newsom	37	Boston	1937	Cy Blanton	34	Pittsburgh
			Washington		Claude Passeau		Philadelphia
					Bucky Walters		Philadelphia
					Bob Weiland		St. Louis
1938	George Caster	40	Philadelphia	1938	Paul Derringer	37	Cincinnati
1938	Bobo Newsom	40	St. Louis	1938	Bill Lee	37	Chicago
1939	Bobo Newsom	37	Detroit	1939	Luke Hamlin	36	Brooklyn
			St. Louis		Bill Lee		Chicago
			St. Louis		Bucky Walters		Cincinnati
1940	Bob Feller	37	Cleveland	1940	Paul Derringer	37	Cincinnati
1941	Bob Feller	40	Cleveland	1941	Kirby Higbe	39	Brooklyn
1942	Jim Bagby	35	Cleveland	1942	Al Javery	37	Boston
1943	Jim Bagby	33	Cleveland	1943	Johnny Vander Meer	36	Cincinnati
1943	Early Wynn	33	Washington	1943	Johnny Vander Meer	36	Cincinnati
1944	Dizzy Trout	40	Detroit	1944	Bill Voiselle	41	New York
1945	Hal Newhouser	36	Detroit	1945	Bill Voiselle	35	New York
1946	Bob Feller	42	Cleveland	1946	Dave Koslo	35	New York
1947	Bob Feller	37	Cleveland	1947	Ralph Branca	36	Brooklyn
1948	Bob Feller	38	Cleveland	1948	Johnny Sain	39	Boston
1949	Vic Raschi	37	New York	1949	Ken Raffensberger	38	Cincinnati
1949	Vic Raschi	37	New York	1949	Warren Spahn	38	Boston
1950	Bob Lemon	37	Cleveland	1950	Vern Bickford	39	Boston
					Robin Roberts		Philadelphia
					Warren Spahn		Boston
1951	Bob Lemon	34	Cleveland	1951	Robin Roberts	39	Philadelphia
	Vic Raschi		New York
	Early Wynn		Cleveland
1952	Mike Garcia	36	Cleveland	1952	Robin Roberts	37	Philadelphia
1952	Bob Lemon	36	Cleveland	1952	Robin Roberts	37	Philadelphia
1953	Harry Byrd	37	Philadelphia	1953	Robin Roberts	41	Philadelphia
1954	Early Wynn	36	Cleveland	1954	Robin Roberts	38	Philadelphia
1955	Frank Sullivan	35	Boston	1955	Robin Roberts	38	Philadelphia
1956	Frank Lary	38	Detroit	1956	Bob Friend	42	Pittsburgh
1957	Early Wynn	37	Cleveland	1957	Bob Friend	38	Pittsburgh
1958	Pedro Ramos	37	Washington	1958	Bob Friend	38	Pittsburgh
1959	Paul Foytack	37	Detroit	1959	Lew Burdette	39	Milwaukee
1959	Early Wynn	37	Chicago	1959	Lew Burdette	39	Milwaukee
1960	Frank Lary	36	Detroit	1960	Larry Jackson	38	St. Louis
	Jim Perry		Cleveland
	Pedro Ramos		Washington
1961	Whitey Ford	39	New York	1961	Don Cardwell	38	Chicago
1962	Ralph Terry	39	New York	1962	Don Drysdale	41	Los Angeles
1963	Whitey Ford	37	New York	1963	Don Drysdale	42	Los Angeles
1963	Ralph Terry	37	New York	1963	Jack Sanford	42	San Francisco
1964	Jim Bouton	37	New York	1964	Don Drysdale	40	Los Angeles
1965	Jim Kaat	42	Minnesota	1965	Don Drysdale	42	Los Angeles
1966	Jim Kaat	41	Minnesota	1966	Jim Bunning	41	Philadelphia
1966	Jim Kaat	41	Minnesota	1966	Sandy Koufax	41	Los Angeles
1967	Dean Chance	39	Minnesota	1967	Jim Bunning	40	Philadelphia
1967	Jim Lonborg	39	Boston	1967	Jim Bunning	40	Philadelphia
1968	Denny McLain	41	Detroit	1968	Fergie Jenkins	40	Chicago
1969	Denny McLain	41	Detroit	1969	Fergie Jenkins	42	Chicago
1970	Mike Cuellar	40	Baltimore	1970	Gaylord Perry	41	San Francisco
	Chuck Dobson		Oakland
	Catfish Hunter		Oakland
	Dave McNally		Baltimore
	Jim Perry		Minnesota
1971	Mickey Lolich	45	Detroit	1971	Fergie Jenkins	39	Chicago
1971	Mickey Lolich	45	Detroit	1971	Bill Stoneman	39	Montreal
1972	Wilbur Wood	49	Chicago	1972	Steve Carlton	41	Philadelphia
1973	Wilbur Wood	48	Chicago	1973	Jack Billingham	40	Cincinnati
					Steve Carlton		Philadelphia
					Jerry Reuss		Houston
1974	Wilbur Wood	42	Chicago	1974	Don Sutton	40	Los Angeles
1975	Wilbur Wood	43	Chicago	1975	Andy Messersmith	40	Los Angeles
1976	Jim Palmer	40	Baltimore	1976	Randy Jones	40	San Diego
1977	Dave Goltz	39	Minnesota	1977	Phil Niekro	43	Atlanta
1977	Jim Palmer	39	Baltimore	1977	Phil Niekro	43	Atlanta
1978	Mike Flanagan	40	Baltimore	1978	Phil Niekro	42	Atlanta
1978	Dennis Leonard	40	Kansas City	1978	Phil Niekro	42	Atlanta
1979	Dennis Martinez	39	Baltimore	1979	Phil Niekro	44	Atlanta
1980	Dennis Leonard	38	Kansas City	1980	Steve Carlton	38	Philadelphia
					Phil Niekro		Atlanta
					Rick Reuschel		Chicago
1981	Dennis Leonard	26	Kansas City	1981	Mike Krukow	25	Chicago
					Mario Soto		Cincinnati
					Fernando Valenzuela		Los Angeles
1982	Jim Clancy	40	Toronto	1982	Steve Carlton	38	Philadelphia
1983	Dan Petry	38	Detroit	1983	Joe Niekro	38	Houston
1984	Jim Clancy	36	Toronto	1984	Joe Niekro	38	Houston
	Charlie Hough		Texas
	Mike Smithson		Minnesota
1985	Bert Blyleven	37	Cleveland	1985	Rick Mahler	39	Atlanta
	Bert Blyleven		Minnesota
	Chris Codiroli		Oakland
	Mike Smithson		Minnesota
1986	Mike Moore	37	Seattle	1986	Tom Browning	39	Cincinnati
1986	Frank Viola	37	Minnesota	1986	Rick Mahler	39	Atlanta
1987	Charlie Hough	40	Texas	1987	Shane Rawley	36	Philadelphia
					Mike Scott		Houston
					Zane Smith		Atlanta
1988	Dave Stewart	37	Oakland	1988	Tom Browning	36	Cincinnati
1988	Dave Stewart	37	Oakland	1988	Rick Reuschel	36	San Francisco
1989	Mark Gubicza	36	Kansas City	1989	Tom Browning	37	Cincinnati
	Bob Milacki		Baltimore
	Dave Stewart		Oakland
1990	Jack Morris	36	Detroit	1990	Tom Browning	35	Cincinnati
	Dave Stewart		Oakland		Greg Maddux		Chicago
	Dave Stewart		Oakland		Frank Viola		New York
1991	Roger Clemens	35	Boston	1991	Greg Maddux	37	Chicago
	Bill Gullickson		Detroit
	Jack McDowell		Chicago
	Jack Morris		Minnesota
	Dave Stewart		Oakland
	Bob Welch		Oakland
1992	Mike Moore	36	Oakland	1992	Steve Avery	35	Atlanta
	Rick Sutcliffe		Baltimore		Greg Maddux		Chicago
	Rick Sutcliffe		Baltimore		John Smoltz		Atlanta
1993	Cal Eldred	36	Milwaukee	1993	Tom Glavine	36	Atlanta
	Mike Moore		Detroit		Greg Maddux		Atlanta
	Mike Moore		Detroit		Jose Rijo		Cincinnati
1994	Tim Belcher	25	Detroit	1994	Jose Rijo	26	Cincinnati
	Kevin Brown		Texas
	Ron Darling		Oakland
	Jim Deshaies		Minnesota
	Cal Eldred		Milwaukee
	Chuck Finley		California
	Juan Guzman		Toronto
	Jimmy Key		New York
	Jack McDowell		Chicago
	Mike Moore		Detroit
1995	Mark Gubicza	33	Kansas City	1995	Andy Ashby	31	San Diego
					Doug Drabek		Houston
					Esteban Loaiza		Pittsburgh
					Denny Neagle		Pittsburgh
					Mark Portugal		Cincinnati
					Mark Portugal		San Francisco
1996	Mike Mussina	36	Baltimore	1996	Tom Glavine	36	Atlanta
1997	Jeff Fassero	35	Seattle	1997	Curt Schilling	35	Philadelphia
	Pat Hentgen		Toronto		John Smoltz		Atlanta
	Andy Pettitte		New York
	Brad Radke		Minnesota
1998	Scott Erickson	36	Baltimore	1998	Kevin Brown	35	San Diego
					Darryl Kile		Colorado
					Shane Reynolds		Houston
					Curt Schilling		Philadelphia
1999	Rick Helling	35	Texas	1999	Kevin Brown	35	Los Angeles
					Tom Glavine		Atlanta
					Randy Johnson		Arizona
					Jose Lima		Houston
					Shane Reynolds		Houston
2000	Rick Helling	35	Texas	2000	Tom Glavine	35	Atlanta
	David Wells		Toronto		Randy Johnson		Arizona
					Jon Lieber		Chicago
					Greg Maddux		Atlanta
					Kevin Millwood		Atlanta
2001	Tim Hudson	35	Oakland	2001	Tom Glavine	35	Atlanta
	Barry Zito		Oakland		Chan Ho Park		Los Angeles
	Barry Zito		Oakland		Curt Schilling		Arizona
2002	Barry Zito	35	Oakland	2002	Tom Glavine	36	Atlanta
2003	Roy Halladay	36	Toronto	2003	Greg Maddux	36	Atlanta
2004	Mark Buehrle	35	Chicago	2004	Livan Hernandez	35	Montreal
	Kenny Rogers		Texas		Randy Johnson		Arizona
					Roy Oswalt		Houston
					Brandon Webb		Arizona
2005	Rodrigo Lopez	35	Baltimore	2005	Chris Capuano	35	Milwaukee
	Barry Zito		Oakland		Doug Davis		Milwaukee
					Livan Hernandez		Washington
					Jon Lieber		Philadelphia
					Derek Lowe		Los Angeles
					Greg Maddux		Chicago
					Roy Oswalt		Houston
2006	Jeremy Bonderman	34	Detroit	2006	Bronson Arroyo	35	Cincinnati
	Dan Haren		Oakland		Aaron Harang		Cincinnati
	Kevin Millwood		Texas		Tim Hudson		Atlanta
	Johan Santana		Minnesota		Andy Pettitte		Houston
	Barry Zito		Oakland		John Smoltz		Atlanta
2007	Joe Blanton	34	Oakland	2007	Dontrelle Willis	35	Florida
	Daniel Cabrera		Baltimore
	Chad Gaudin		Oakland
	Dan Haren		Oakland
	Scott Kazmir		Tampa Bay
	Gil Meche		Kansas City
	Andy Pettitte		New York
	CC Sabathia		Cleveland
2008	Mark Buehrle	34	Chicago	2008	Bronson Arroyo	34	Cincinnati
	A.J. Burnett		Toronto		Matt Cain		San Francisco
	Gil Meche		Kansas City		Ubaldo Jimenez		Colorado
	Mike Mussina		New York		Ted Lilly		Chicago
					Derek Lowe		Los Angeles
					Oliver Pérez		New York
					Johan Santana		New York
					Brandon Webb		Arizona
2009	Justin Verlander	35	Detroit	2009	Doug Davis	34	Arizona
					Jair Jurrjens		Atlanta
					Braden Looper		Milwaukee
					Derek Lowe		Atlanta
					Adam Wainwright		St. Louis
					Randy Wolf		Los Angeles
2010	Felix Hernández	34	Seattle	2010	Chris Carpenter	35	St. Louis
	CC Sabathia		New York
	Jered Weaver		Los Angeles
2011	Trevor Cahill	34	Oakland	2011	Chris Carpenter	34	St. Louis
	Dan Haren		Los Angeles		Ryan Dempster		Chicago
	David Price		Tampa Bay		Derek Lowe		Atlanta
	Justin Verlander		Detroit
	C.J. Wilson		Texas
2012	Bruce Chen	34	Kansas City	2012	Tim Lincecum	34	San Francisco
	Justin Masterson		Cleveland
	C.J. Wilson		Los Angeles
2013	R.A. Dickey	34	Toronto	2013	Adam Wainwright	34	St. Louis
	James Shields		Kansas City
	Justin Verlander		Detroit
2014	R.A. Dickey	34	Toronto	2014	A.J. Burnett	34	Philadelphia
	Felix Hernández		Seattle		Johnny Cueto		Cincinnati
	Corey Kluber		Cleveland		Stephen Strasburg		Washington
	David Price		Detroit
	David Price		Tampa Bay
	James Shields		Kansas City
	Chris Tillman		Baltimore
	Jered Weaver		Los Angeles
2015	Chris Archer	34	Tampa Bay	2015	Jake Arrieta	33	Chicago
					Clayton Kershaw		Los Angeles
					John Lackey		St. Louis
					Shelby Miller		Atlanta
					Tyson Ross		San Diego
					Max Scherzer		Washington
					James Shields		San Diego
					Julio Teheran		Atlanta
					Jordan Zimmermann		Washington
2016	David Price	35	Boston	2016	Madison Bumgarner	34	San Francisco
2016	David Price	35	Boston	2016	Max Scherzer	34	Washington
2017	Chris Archer	34	Tampa Bay	2017	Gerrit Cole	33	Pittsburgh
	Kevin Gausman		Baltimore		Zach Davies		Milwaukee
					Lance Lynn		St. Louis
					Dan Straily		Miami
2018	Dallas Keuchel	34	Houston	2018	Jhoulys Chacín	35	Milwaukee
2018	Justin Verlander	34	Houston	2018	Jhoulys Chacín	35	Milwaukee
2019	Marco Gonzales	34	Seattle	2019	Madison Bumgarner	34	San Francisco
	Ivan Nova		Chicago		Aaron Nola		Philadelphia
	Eduardo Rodriguez		Boston
	Justin Verlander		Houston
2020	Lance Lynn	13	Texas	2020	Kyle Freeland	13	Colorado
					Germán Márquez		Colorado
					Brandon Woodruff		Milwaukee
2021	José Berríos	32	Minnesota	2021	Sandy Alcantara	33	Miami
	José Berríos		Toronto		Walker Buehler		Los Angeles
	Dylan Cease		Chicago		Luis Castillo		Cincinnati
	Nathan Eovaldi		Boston		Kevin Gausman		San Francisco
	Cole Irvin		Oakland		Tyler Mahle		Cincinnati
	Sean Manaea		Oakland		Charlie Morton		Atlanta
	Frankie Montas		Oakland		Marcus Stroman		New York
	Robbie Ray		Toronto		Marcus Stroman		New York
2022	Gerrit Cole	33	New York	2022	Corbin Burnes	33	Milwaukee
2022	Nick Pivetta	33	Boston	2022	Merrill Kelly	33	Arizona
2023	Chris Bassitt	33	Toronto	2023	Miles Mikolas	35	St. Louis
	Luis Castillo		Seattle
	Dylan Cease		Chicago
	Gerrit Cole		New York
	Kyle Gibson		Baltimore
	Lucas Giolito		Los Angeles
			Chicago
			Cleveland
2024	Kutter Crawford	33	Boston	2024	Dylan Cease	33	San Diego
	Logan Gilbert		Seattle		Jake Irvin		Washington
	George Kirby		Seattle		Aaron Nola		Philadelphia
	Seth Lugo		Kansas City		Logan Webb		San Francisco
2025	Yusei Kikuchi	33	Los Angeles	2025	Logan Webb	34	San Francisco
	Carlos Rodón		New York
	Will Warren		New York
Year	American League	Games	Team(s)	Year	National League	Games	Team(s)
Current Through End of 2025 Regular Season

Did you know that hall of famer Cy Young holds the Major League record for career games started with eight-hundred fifteen?

The single season record for games started (click the link if you want to see the top one-hundred) does not appear on this page as it occurred during the 1879 season.

Robin Roberts holds the record for consecutive seasons leading the league in games started with six — from 1950 through 1955.