Complete game
Rank Name Complete games
1 Justin Verlander 26
2 Félix Hernández 25
3 Clayton Kershaw 25
4 Adam Wainwright 22
5 Johnny Cueto 17
5 Cole Hamels 17
5 Corey Kluber 17
5 David Price 17
9 Zack Greinke 16
9 Chris Sale 16
Active career leaders
Through March 2 , 2020 , the top 10 active players who lead MLB in career complete games were : [ 11 ]
In baseball, a complete game (denoted by CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played - pitchers who throw an entire official game that is shortened by rain will still be credited with a complete game, while starting pitchers who are relieved in extra innings after throwing nine or more innings will not be credited with a complete game. A starting pitcher who is replaced by a pinch hitter in the final half inning of a game will still be credited with a complete game. The frequency of complete games has evolved since the early days of baseball. The complete game was essentially an expectation in the early 20th century and pitchers completed almost all of the games they started. In modern baseball, the feat is much more rare and no pitcher has reached 30 complete games in a season since 1975; in the 21st century, a pitcher has thrown 10 or more complete games in a season only twice.