Washington Nationals Set MLB Record for Single-Season Strikeout-to-Walk Rate

The Washington Nationals pitching staff finished the regular season with 3.66 strikeouts for every walk allowed, breaking the 2012 Philadelphia Phillies' major-league record of a 3.39 strikeout-to-walk ratio, per MLB Stat of the Day.

In baseball's lowest-scoring season since the early 1980s, the New York Yankees posted the second-best mark in major-league history by finishing the year with a 3.44 K/BB rate.

On the individual side, Minnesota Twins pitcher Phil Hughes set a new major-league record for a starter with his 11.64 K/BB.

Of the top-25 all-time individual K/BB seasons by a starter, four occurred in 2014, with Hughes joined by 18th-place Clayton Kershaw (7.71), 21st-place Hisashi Iwaukuma (7.33) and 24th-place David Price (7.13), per baseball-reference.com.

The Nationals' record-setting charge was led by right-handed starter Jordan Zimmerman, whose 6.28 K/BB was good for 45th place on the all-time list. The 28-year-old recorded a career-high 182 strikeouts over 199.2 innings on his way to a 2.66 ERA and 14-5 record.

And, of course, Zimmerman finished his season in the best way possible, tossing his franchise's first no-hitter since moving to Washington in Sunday's regular-season finale against the Miami Marlins.

Nearly important as Zimmerman for setting the record, fellow right-hander Stephen Strasburg posted a 5.63 K/BB, good for the 65th-best mark on the all-time list. Strasburg led the team in strikeouts (242), innings (215.0) and starts (34).

The starting rotation was rounded out by Doug Fister (4.08 K/BB), Tanner Roark (3.54) and Gio Gonzalez (2.89), with Drew Storen (4.18), Craig Stammen (4.00) and Tyler Clippard (3.57) the key contributors to the record out of the bullpen.