Strikeout

For the typographical mode indicating deleted text, see Strikethrough.

Then Cincinnati Reds outfielder Adam Dunn strikes out swinging to Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz (not pictured). Smoltz recorded 10 strikeouts in this game, three against Dunn.

In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out (denoted by K) occurs when a batter is charged with three strikes during his time at bat. It is a type of out in most circumstances. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters.

Although strikeouts are associated with dominance on the part of the pitcher, it is recognized that the style of swing that generates a home run also leaves batters somewhat susceptible to striking out. Some of the greatest home run hitters of all time – such as Reggie Jackson and Sammy Sosa – were notorious for striking out.

Rules

A pitcher receives credit for (and a batter is charged with) a strikeout on any third strike, but a batter is out only if one of the following is true:

1. The third strike is pitched and caught in flight by the catcher (including foul tips);
2. On any third strike, if a baserunner is on first and there are zero or one outs;
3. The third strike is bunted foul and is not caught by a fielder.

Thus, it is possible for a batter to strike out, but still become a runner and reach base safely if the catcher is unable to catch the third strike cleanly, and he then does not either tag out the batter or force him out at first base. In Japan, this is called furinige (振り逃げ), or "swing and escape." In Major League Baseball, it is known as an uncaught third strike. When this happens, pitchers will occasionally be able to record four strikeouts in one half-inning.

In baseball scorekeeping, a swinging strikeout is recorded as a K, or a K-S. A strikeout looking (where the batter does not swing at a pitch that the umpire then calls strike three) is often scored with a Backwards K, and sometimes as a K-L, CK, or Kc (the 'c' for 'called' strike). 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. The "K" may be placed backwards 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 50 feet (15 m) from the batter during that season. It was moved to its current distance of 60'6" in 1893. The modern record (1901–present) 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.

Jargon and slang

Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax

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 (as in a fanning motion), whereas if he takes a called third strike it is called a punchout (describing the plate umpire's punching motion on a called third strike).

But sometimes these descriptive words are used generally as synonyms for strikeouts, irrespective of whether they were swinging or looking (e.g. Tim Lincecum has punched out nine batters tonight or Ryan Howard has been fanned six times in this series).

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 Beltran 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 strike out the side when he retires all three batters in a half-inning by striking them out. 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" (back-referencing basketball star Julius Erving a.k.a. "Dr. J"). Francisco Rodriguez 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", referencing former Giants player Willie Mays.

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." Boston Red Sox pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka is known as "Dice-K", a term which was used as a pronunciation guide for his name when he first arrived in MLB.

More than three strikeouts in an inning

See also: Uncaught third strike

If a third strike is not caught cleanly by the catcher, it is still recorded as a strikeout for both the pitcher and the batter. Under certain situations, however, the batter is not ruled out and the play is still alive. This occurs under the following circumstances:

1. First base is not occupied or there have already been two outs recorded.
2. The catcher fails to cleanly catch the ball that led to the third strike.

The batter becomes a batter-runner and may proceed to first base as soon as he gets three strikes and the pitch is not caught in flight by the catcher. If he makes it to first base without being tagged or forced out, the out is not recorded. Since a strikeout is awarded in such cases while the play that does not result in an out, it is possible for a pitcher to record more than three strikeouts in one standard half-inning. Recording four strikeouts in one inning has occurred 66 times in Major League history. The first Major League player credited with this rare feat was Ed "Cannonball" Crane of the New York Giants on October 4, 1888.

Prior to 1960, the event was extremely rare, having taken place only eight times. Although more common since then, it remains one of the most rare single-game achievements. Chuck Finley accomplished the feat on May 12 and August 15, 1999, with the Anaheim Angels and again on April 16, 2000, with the Cleveland Indians. Pete Richert of the Los Angeles Dodgers is the only pitcher to do it in his MLB debut (April 12, 1962, against the Cincinnati Reds). The most recent player to achieve the feat is Alex Cobb of the Tampa Bay Rays in the Third inning of a game at Tropicana Field against the San Diego Padres on May 11, 2013.

Five strikeouts in one inning has never occurred in a regulation Major League Baseball game. It has occurred at least three times at the minor league level. Mike Schultz of the Lancaster JetHawks struck out five batters in one inning on July 16, 2004, and Garrett Bauer of the Rockford RiverHawks struck out five batters in one inning on July 1, 2008.

Houston Astros pitcher Joe Niekro struck out five Minnesota Twins batters in the first inning of an exhibition spring training game, April 7, 1976 at New Orleans. Niekro's catcher, Cliff Johnson, was charged with five passed balls in the inning. Exhibition games are not recorded in official statistics.

Strikeout records

Pitchers

The Top 20 Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders (active players in bold) (since 1901):

1. Nolan Ryan – 5,714
2. Randy Johnson – 4,875
3. Roger Clemens – 4,672
4. Steve Carlton – 4,136
5. Bert Blyleven – 3,701
6. Tom Seaver – 3,640
7. Don Sutton – 3,574
8. Gaylord Perry – 3,534
9. Walter Johnson – 3,509
10. Greg Maddux – 3,371
11. Phil Niekro – 3,342
12. Ferguson Jenkins – 3,192
13. Pedro Martínez – 3,154
14. Bob Gibson – 3,117
15. Curt Schilling – 3,116
16. John Smoltz – 3,084
17. Jim Bunning – 2,855
18. Mickey Lolich – 2,832
19. Mike Mussina – 2,813
20. Cy Young – 2,803

Active pitchers with over 2,000 K's:

1. Andy Pettitte – 2,347
2. CC Sabathia – 2,258
3. Roy Halladay – 2,101
4. A.J. Burnett - 2,037

The Top 10 Major League Baseball career strikeout-per-nine innings leaders (since 1900, minimum 1,000 IP):

1. Randy Johnson – 10.61
2. Kerry Wood – 10.32
3. Pedro Martínez – 10.04
4. Tim Lincecum - 9.76
5. Nolan Ryan – 9.55
6. Trevor Hoffman – 9.36
7. Sandy Koufax – 9.28
8. Óliver Pérez – 9.07
9. Sam McDowell – 8.86
10. Johan Santana – 8.83

The Top 5 Major League Baseball single season strikeout-per-nine innings leaders (since 1900, minimum 1.0 IP per team game):

1. Randy Johnson, 2001 – 13.41
2. Pedro Martínez, 1999 – 13.20
3. Kerry Wood, 1998 – 12.58
4. Randy Johnson, 2000 – 12.56
5. Randy Johnson, 1995 – 12.35

The Top 10 Major League Baseball single season strikeout totals (since 1900):

Pitcher	Strikeouts	Season	Team	League	Overall Rank
Nolan Ryan	383	1973	California Angels	AL	8
Sandy Koufax	382	1965	Los Angeles Dodgers	NL	9
Randy Johnson	372	2001	Arizona Diamondbacks	NL	11
Nolan Ryan	367	1974	California Angels	AL	14
Randy Johnson	364	1999	Arizona Diamondbacks	NL	15
Rube Waddell	349	1904	Philadelphia Athletics	AL	18
Bob Feller	348	1946	Cleveland Indians	AL	19
Randy Johnson	347	2000	Arizona Diamondbacks	NL	20
Nolan Ryan	341	1977	California Angels	AL	25
Randy Johnson	334	2002	Arizona Diamondbacks	NL	30

The Top 10 Major League Baseball single season strikeout totals (all time):

Pitcher	Strikeouts	Season	Team	League	Overall Rank
Matt Kilroy	513	1886	Baltimore Orioles	AA	1
Toad Ramsey	499	1886	Louisville Colonels	AA	2
Hugh Daily	483	1884	Chicago Browns/Pittsburgh Stogies/Washington Nationals	UA	3
Dupee Shaw	451	1884	Detroit Wolverines/Boston Reds	NL/UA	4
Old Hoss Radbourn	441	1884	Providence Grays	NL	5
Charlie Buffington	417	1884	Boston Beaneaters	NL	6
Guy Hecker	385	1884	Louisville Eclipse	AA	7
Nolan Ryan	383	1973	California Angels	AL	8
Sandy Koufax	382	1965	Los Angeles Dodgers	NL	9
Bill Sweeney	374	1884	Baltimore Monumentals	UA	10

Progression of major league strikeout record for one nine-inning game, regular season (partial listing):

• 18 – Dupee Shaw, Boston Reds (UA), July 19, 1884; and by Henry Porter, Milwaukee Brewers (UA), October 3, 1884.

Modern era:

• 16 – Rube Waddell, July 29, 1908
• 18 – Bob Feller, October 2, 1938; matched by Sandy Koufax, August 31, 1959, and again on April 24, 1962; and by Don Wilson, July 14, 1968.
• 19 – Steve Carlton, September 15, 1969; matched by Tom Seaver, April 22, 1970; and Nolan Ryan, August 12, 1974.
• 20 – Roger Clemens, April 29, 1986 – matched by Clemens again, September 18, 1996; by Kerry Wood, May 6, 1998; by Randy Johnson, May 8, 2001 (the first nine innings of an extra-inning game); and by Los Angeles Angels (five pitchers), September 25, 2012

• Note: Tom Cheney struck out 21 batters overall, in a 16-inning game, September 12, 1962. He had 13 strikeouts through the first nine innings.

See also List of pitchers who have struck out 18 or more batters in a nine-inning MLB game

Progression of strikeout record for one game, World Series:

• 10 – 1903 (first modern Series), Game 1, Deacon Phillippe
• 11 – 1903, Game 2, Bill Dinneen
• 12 – 1906, Game 3, Ed Walsh
• 13 – 1929, Game 1, Howard Ehmke
• 14 – 1953, Game 3, Carl Erskine
• 15 – 1963, Game 1, Sandy Koufax
• 17 – 1968, Game 1, Bob Gibson

Progression of major league strikeout record for a relief pitcher, regular season (partial listing)

• 15 - Walter Johnson, July 25, 1915
• 16 - Randy Johnson, July 18, 2001

Batters

The Top 15 Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders:

1. Reggie Jackson – 2,597
2. Jim Thome – 2,548
3. Sammy Sosa – 2,306
4. Alex Rodriguez – 2,032
5. Adam Dunn – 2,031
6. Andrés Galarraga – 2,003
7. José Canseco – 1,942
8. Willie Stargell – 1,936
9. Mike Cameron – 1,901
10. Mike Schmidt – 1,883
11. Fred McGriff – 1,882
12. Tony Pérez – 1,867
13. Bobby Abreu - 1,819
14. Dave Kingman – 1,816
15. Manny Ramirez - 1,813

Active batters with over 1,400 K's:

1. Jim Thome – 2,548
2. Alex Rodriguez – 2,032
3. Adam Dunn – 2,031
4. Bobby Abreu – 1,819
5. Andruw Jones – 1,748
6. Derek Jeter – 1,743
7. Alfonso Soriano – 1,576
8. Jason Giambi – 1,504
9. Carlos Peña – 1,474
10. Torii Hunter – 1,434
11. Scott Rolen – 1,410

Single season strikeout records (batters):

Rank	Player	Team	Strikeouts	Year
1	Mark Reynolds	Arizona Diamondbacks	223	2009
2	Adam Dunn	Chicago White Sox	222	2012
3	Mark Reynolds	Arizona Diamondbacks	211	2010
4	Drew Stubbs	Cincinnati Reds	205	2011
5	Mark Reynolds	Arizona Diamondbacks	204	2008
6	Ryan Howard	Philadelphia Phillies	199	2007
	Ryan Howard	Philadelphia Phillies	199	2008
	Adam Dunn	Washington Nationals	199	2010
9	Jack Cust	Oakland Athletics	197	2008
10	Mark Reynolds	Baltimore Orioles	196	2011

See also

• Baseball statistics
• List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions
• List of Major League Baseball pitchers with 18 strikeouts in one game
• Pitchers who have struck out three batters on nine pitches
• Top 100 Major League Baseball strikeout pitchers
• 3,000 strikeout club

External links

• Career Leaders & Records for Strikeouts (batters)
• Career Leaders & Records for Strikeouts (pitchers)
• Four Strikeouts in 1 Inning