I watched Clubhouse Confidential on MLB TV yesterday and in one of the segments host Brian Kenny talked about the climbing rate of the strikeout per 9 innings ratio (K/9) over the years. It was a very interesting piece and Kenny pointed out how last year the leader was Atlanta Braves closer Craig Kimbrel who had an amazing 16.66 strikeouts for every nine innings pitched, that is a truly crazy number and he accomplished that while throwing 14.9 pitches per inning. The top starter K/9 ratio belonged to Washington Nationals pitcher Stephen Strasburg who had a mark of 11.13 and he was followed closely by Detroit Tiger starter Max Scherzer who posted a 11.08 mark. The best K/9 ratio for a Twins pitcher in 2012? That honor goes to closer Glen Perkins at 9.98.
The Twins top ten career K/9 leaders with a minimum of 500 innings pitched are:
| Rank | Name | W/L | Innings | K/9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Johan Santana | 93-44 | 1,308.2 | 9.50 |
| 2. | Francisco Liriano | 50-52 | 783.1 | 9.05 |
| 3. | Eddie Guardado | 37-48 | 704.2 | 7.79 |
| 4. | Rick Aguilera | 40-47 | 694 | 7.60 |
| 5. | Dick Stigman | 37-37 | 643.2 | 7.52 |
| 6. | Dave Boswell | 67-54 | 1,036.1 | 7.51 |
| 7. | Mike Trombley | 30-34 | 645.2 | 7.36 |
| 8. | Scott Baker | 63-48 | 958 | 7.23 |
| 9. | Bert Blyleven | 149-138 | 2,566.2 | 7.14 |
| 10. | Jim Merritt | 37-41 | 686.2 | 6.91 |
The players on the above list that were originally drafted or signed by Minnesota are Guardado, Boswell, Trombley, Baker and Blyleven, the remainder were acquired in some fashion.