Strikeout
In baseball or softball, a strikeout occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safely as a result. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is usually denoted by the letter K, or sometimes by the initialism SO. A "strikeout looking"—in which the batter does not swing and the third strike is called by the umpire—may be denoted by an inverted K.
Although a strikeout suggests that the pitcher dominated the batter, the free-swinging style that generates home runs also leaves batters susceptible to striking out. Some of the most prolific home run hitters of all time were notorious for striking out often. Notably, Jackson and Thome respectively hold the major league records for most and second most times struck out in a career. Conversely, Tony Gwynn who is notorious for his strikeout statistics amassing only 434 strikeouts in 10,232 plate appearances over his 20-year playing career, was also noted for his lack of home runs.
Rules and jargon
A pitched ball is ruled a ball by the umpire if the batter did not swing at it and, in that umpire's judgement, it does not pass through the strike zone. Any pitch at which the batter swings unsuccessfully or, that in that umpire's judgement passes through the strike zone, is ruled a strike. Each ball and strike affects the count, which is incremented for each pitched ball with the exception of a foul ball on any count with two strikes. That is, a third strike may only occur by the batter swinging and missing at a pitched ball, or the pitched ball being ruled a strike by the umpire with no swing by the batter. A pitched ball that is struck by the batter with the bat on any count, and is not a foul ball or foul tip, is in play. A batter may also strike out by bunting, even if the ball is hit into foul territory.A pitcher receives credit for a strikeout on any third strike, but a batter is out only if one of the following is true:
- The third strike is pitched and caught in flight by the catcher ;
- On any third strike, if a baserunner is on first and there are at most 1 out;
- The third strike is bunted foul and is not caught by a fielder.
It is also possible for a strikeout to result in a fielder's choice. With the bases loaded and two strikes with two outs, the catcher drops the ball or catches it on the bounce. The batter-runner is obliged to run for first base and other base-runners are obliged to attempt to advance one base. Should the catcher field the ball and step on home plate before the runner from third base can score, then the runner from third base is forced out.
In baseball scorekeeping, a swinging strikeout is recorded as a K or a K-S. A strikeout looking is often scored with a backwards K, and sometimes as a K-L, CK, or Kc. In terms of gameplay, swinging and looking strikeouts are exactly equivalent; the difference in notation is simply to record this aspect of the time at bat. Official MLB records began to differentiate swinging and looking strikeouts during the 1987 season. Despite the scorekeeping custom of using "K" for strikeout, "SO" is the official abbreviation used by Major League Baseball.
"K" is still commonly used by fans and enthusiasts for purposes other than official record-keeping. One baseball ritual involves fans attaching a succession of small "K" signs to the nearest railing, one added for every strikeout notched by the home team's pitcher, following a tradition started by New York Mets fans in honor of "Dr. K", Dwight Gooden. The "K" may be reversed in cases where the batter strikes out looking, just as it would appear on a scorecard. Virtually every televised display of a high-strikeout major league game will include a shot of a fan's strikeout display, and if the pitcher continues to strike out batters, the display may be shown following every strikeout.
The use of "K" for a strikeout was invented by Henry Chadwick, a newspaper journalist who is widely credited as the originator of the box score and the baseball scorecard. As is true in much of baseball, both the box score and scorecard remain largely unchanged to this day. Chadwick decided to use "K", the last letter in "struck", since the letter "S" was used for "sacrifice". Chadwick was responsible for several other scorekeeping conventions, including the use of numbers to designate player positions.
Those unaware of Chadwick's contributions have speculated that "K" was derived from the last name of 19th-century pitcher Matt Kilroy. If not for the evidence supporting Chadwick's earlier use of "K", this explanation would be reasonable. Kilroy raised the prominence of the strikeout, setting an all-time single-season record of 513 strikeouts in 1886, only two years after overhand pitching was permitted. His record, however, is limited to its era since the pitcher's mound was only from the batter during that season. It was moved to its current distance of 60'6" in 1893. The modern record is 383 strikeouts, held by Nolan Ryan, one better than Sandy Koufax's 382.
For 55 years, Walter Johnson held the career strikeout record, at 3,508. That record fell in 1982 to Nolan Ryan, who was then passed by Steve Carlton, before Ryan took the career strikeout record for good at 5,714.
History
Early rules stated that "three balls being struck at and missed and the last one caught, is a hand-out; if not caught is considered fair, and the striker bound to run." The modern rule has changed very little. The addition of the called strike came in 1858.In 1880, the rules were changed to specify that a third strike had to be caught on the fly. A later adjustment to the dropped third strike rule specified that a batter is automatically out when there are fewer than two out and a runner on first base. In 1887, the number of strikes for an out was changed to four, but it was promptly changed back to three the next season.
The rule that a third strike must be caught originates in the concept that a third strike is not an automatic out, but rather puts the ball in play. The rule was described at least as early as Johann Christoph Friedrich GutsMuths' 1793 book Gymnastik für die Jugend and has remained in effect since. After the third strike, the ball being in play, the batter must be put out. This is almost always done immediately after the strike is made, by the catcher, but if the ball is not caught on the fly by the catcher, the batter/runner must be put out by the same means as any other runner who puts a ball in play which is not caught on the fly—by soaking, or by being tagged out, or by leaving the baseline, or by force out at first base.
Slang
A swinging strikeout is often called a whiff, while a batter who is struck out by a fastball is often said to have been blown away. A batter who strikes out on a swung third strike is said to have fanned, whereas if he takes a called third strike it is called a punch out. However, sometimes these words are used as general synonyms for a strikeout, irrespective of whether it was swinging or looking. The announcer Ernie Harwell called a batter who took a called third strike, usually on the other team, "out for excessive window-shopping" or having "stood like the house by the side of the road".On a called third strike, it is said that the batter was caught looking, or that he looked at a strike. Typically, a called third strike can be somewhat more embarrassing for a batter, as it shows that he was either fooled by the pitcher or, even worse, had a moment of hesitation.
For example, Carlos Beltrán was caught looking at strike 3 to end the 2006 NLCS, and the season, for the New York Mets. Sports commentators have also been known to refer to it as browsing if the batter did not move his bat at all.
A pitcher is said to striking out the side when he retires all three batters in a half-inning by striking them out. This term is also used when all three outs were caused by strikeouts, regardless of how other batters in the inning fared. If a pitcher strikes out three batters on nine pitches, he is said to have pitched an immaculate inning. A batter that takes the third strike looking, especially on a breaking pitch like a slider or a curveball that appears to be out of the strike zone but drops in before he can get the bat off his shoulders, can be said to have been frozen.
In slang, when a batter strikes out three times in a game, he is said to have completed a hat trick. If he strikes out four times, it is called a golden sombrero. He receives a platinum sombrero if he strikes out five times, and this dishonor is also known as the Olympic rings.
Striking out six times is a rare occurrence, which in the history of major league play has only occurred in games that went to extra innings, with Sam Horn of the Baltimore Orioles being one of the few to do this. The slugger's then-teammate, pitcher Mike Flanagan, told reporters after that 1991 event that six strikeouts would thereafter be known as a Horn. He added that if anyone ever strikes out seven times in one game, it will be a Horn of Plenty.
Some pitchers who specialize in strikeouts have acquired nicknames including the letter "K". Dwight Gooden was known as "Doctor K". Francisco Rodríguez is known as "K-Rod". Roger Clemens has taken the "K" name to an extreme by naming his four sons Koby, Kory, Kacy, and Kody. Tim Lincecum is nicknamed "The Say 'K' Kid", alluding to former Giants player Willie Mays who was called "The Say Hey Kid". Daisuke Matsuzaka is known as "Dice-K", a term that was used as a pronunciation guide for his name when he first arrived in MLB.
Hall of Fame strikeout artist Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers coincidentally has a last name starting with "K", and in his call of the pitcher's perfect game in 1965, Dodgers announcer Vin Scully commented that Koufax's name "will always remind you of strikeouts".