Baseball Strikeout

In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denoted by 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.

Rules

A pitched ball is ruled a ball by the umpire if the batter did not swing at it and, in that umpire's judgment, it does not pass through the strike zone. Any pitch at which the batter swings or, that in that umpire's judgment 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 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:

The third strike is pitched and caught in flight by the catcher (including foul tips);
On any third strike, if a baserunner is on first and there are zero or one outs;
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, a strikeout is recorded for both the pitcher and the batter, but no out is recorded. Because of this, a pitcher may occasionally be able to record more than three 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 backward 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, following a tradition started by New York Mets fans in honor of "Dr. K", Dwight Gooden. The "K" may be placed backward 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.

Jargon and 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 (as in a fanning motion), whereas if he takes a called third strike it is called a punchout (describing the plate umpire's dramatic punching motion on a called third strike). However, sometimes these words are used as general synonyms for a strikeout, irrespective of whether it was swinging or looking.

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 strike 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 strike outs, regardless of how other batters in the inning fared. 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 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", referencing former Giants player Willie Mays who was called "The Say Hey Kid." 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.

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."

Outline

SPORTS WORLD

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of nine players each who take turns batting and fielding. The batting team attempts to score runs by hitting a ball that is thrown by the pitcher with a bat swung by the batter, then running counter-clockwise around a series of four bases: first, second, third, and home plate.

Rules and gameplay: A game is played between two teams, each comprising nine players, that take turns playing offense (batting and baserunning) and defense (pitching and fielding).

Baseball field: A baseball field, also called a ball field or a baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played.

Equipment: A rounded, solid wooden or hollow aluminum bat. Wooden bats are traditionally made from ash wood, though maple and bamboo is also sometimes used.

Player rosters: Roster, or squad, sizes differ between different leagues and different levels of organized play. Major League Baseball teams maintain 25-player active rosters.

Non players: In the game of baseball, the official scorer is a person appointed by the league to record the events on the field, and to send the official scoring record of the game back to the league offices.

Distinctive elements: Baseball has certain attributes that set it apart from the other popular team sports in the countries where it has a following, including American and Canadian football, basketball, ice hockey, and soccer.

Defensive Play: Baseball is unlike most other competitive sports in that the defense is given control of the ball.

Offensive Play: Batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher.

Batting order (1-9): The batting order or batting lineup is the sequence in which the members of the offense take their turns in batting against the pitcher.

Strategy and tactics: Many of the pre-game and in-game strategic decisions in baseball revolve around a fundamental fact: in general, right-handed batters tend to be more successful against left-handed pitchers and, to an even greater degree, left-handed batters tend to be more successful against right-handed pitchers.
Baseball Positions

SPORTS WORLD

Baseball Positions

At the beginning of each half-inning, the nine players on the fielding team arrange themselves around the field. One of them, the pitcher, stands on the pitcher's mound.

Defensive Players

Pitcher (P): The pitcher is the player who throws the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk.

Catcher (C): When a batter takes his/her turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher.

First Baseman (1B): First base, or 1B, is the first of four stations on a baseball diamond which must be touched in succession by a baserunner in order to score a run for that player's team.

Second Baseman (2B): The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must be able to make the pivot on a double play.

Third Baseman (3B): The third baseman requires good reflexes in reacting to batted balls, as he or she is often the closest infielder (roughly 90–120 feet) to the batter.

Shortstop (SS): The position is mostly filled by defensive specialists, so shortstops are generally relatively poor batters who bat later in the batting order, with some exceptions.

Left Fielder (LF): Outfielders must cover large distances - speed, instincts, and quickness in reacting to the ball are key. They must be able to catch fly balls above their head and on the run.

Center Fielder (CF): A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field.

Right Fielder (RF): Right field is the area of the outfield to the right of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound.

Offensive Players

Batter: A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher. The three main goals of batters are to become a baserunner, drive runners home, or advance runners along the bases for others to drive home.

Runner: In general, base running is a tactical part of the game with the goal of eventually reaching home to score a run.

Designated Hitter: The rule allows teams to have one player, known as the designated hitter (abbreviated DH), to bat in place of the pitcher.

Pinch Hitter: Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute.

Pinch Runner: The pinch runner may be faster or otherwise more skilled at base-running than the player for whom the pinch runner has been substituted.

Lead Off: A lead or lead off is the short distance that a player stands away from their current base.

Lead Off Hitter: Leadoff hitters must possess certain traits to be successful: they must reach base at a proficient on-base percentage rate and be able to steal bases.

Cleanup Hitter: Cleanup hitters often have the most power on the team and are typically the team's best power hitter; their job is to "clean up the bases", hence the name.

SPORTS

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of nine players each who take turns batting and fielding. The batting team attempts to score runs by hitting a ball that is thrown by the pitcher with a bat swung by the batter, then running counter-clockwise around a series of four bases: first, second, third, and home plate.