Strikeout

What is a Strikeout?

A strikeout occurs in baseball when a hitter receives his third strike in a plate appearance before putting the ball in play or receiving four balls. On his third strike, the hitter is ruled out and his plate appearance ends

How is the term Strikeout used?

Strikeouts are a key component for judging baseball players. For pitchers, a strikeout is the most direct way for them to get a hitter out. While some pitchers are good at inducing the kind of weak contact that is easier to field, a strikeout is the only way for a pitcher to virtually guarantee the out.

On the other hand, a hitter wants to avoid the strikeout for the same reason. A common baseball truism is that “good things happen when you put the ball in play,” meaning that while a strikeout basically always results in an out, putting the ball in play could result in a number of good outcomes. However, over the last 25 years, hitters have become more accepting of strikeouts, as part of a strategy to increase the number of walks and home runs.

In swinging for the fences, hitters have come to see an increase in strikeouts as a necessary evil in order to maximize the number of home runs they hit. On the other side of the game, pitchers have spent more time than ever increasing their velocity and spin rate, in order to increase their ability to get strikeouts.

Note that through most of the article, we’ve said that strikeouts virtually guarantee an out. That’s because there is a way for a hitter to reach base after a strikeout. If the catcher drops the third strike, the hitter becomes a runner and has the chance to reach first base, the same as if he put the ball in play.

How to calculate strikeouts?

Strikeouts are one of the main counting stats that are tracked through every game. When keeping score, a strikeout is usually denoted with either a K or SO

Strikeout Examples

Players can strike out a few ways. A swinging strikeout is when the player swings and misses on strike through. They can also take strike three, thinking the pitch is a ball. Lastly, they can tip the ball into the catcher’s mitt.

For an example of what this looks like, please enjoy this video Shohei Ohtani striking out Mike Trout

Interesting Strikeout Stats

On Baseball Reference, you can see the leaders in strikeouts by pitchers, for both single-seasons and full careers.

If you’re looking for hitters, we have that too. Both the single-season and full career leaders.

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