Whether you’re just a fan of baseball or an aspiring player you may come up with this query sooner or later “what is a strikeout in baseball.”
Strikeouts are basically a play where the batter is announced out of the game. To consider it a legal strikeout, a batter should at least have 3 separate strikes in a single game.
The strikeout game is governed by the rules mentioned in MLB 9.15 section. Strikeouts first came into the scene in 1858. However, over time there have been some changes in 1880, 1887, and 1888.
Nolan Ryan got the maximum number of strikeouts (5,714) in the history of Major League baseball.
Just like these, there are lots of interesting insights regarding strikeout rules, history, and records. In this post, I’m gonna share all my findings to feed your knowledge cravings.
What Is A Strikeout Meaning In Baseball?
The term “Strikeout” means the batter is out as he missed hitting 3 successful pitches. These 3 missed shots don’t need to be in a row.
As a result, the hitter is considered out of the game. The strikeout will count for both the pitcher and the hitter.
You may have heard about the strikeout K signs. On the scoreboard, it’s represented by the capital “K.” There’s also another term for the strikeout called “Strikeout Looking.” It means the hitter didn’t swing his bat at the time of the 3rd strike.
This is denoted by the flipped capital “ꓘ.” It’s also considered a strikeout but writing the score this way allows people to understand how the third strike happened.
In addition, both foul and fair balls are counted for a strikeout pitch. However, in terms of foul balls, it’s counted only if it’s 1st or 2nd pitch of 3 pitches, meaning they aren’t counted for the strikeout at the last pitch.
“The career strikeout record is achieved by Nolan Ryan. His total number of strikeouts is 5,714.”
Types of Strikeouts in Baseball
In baseball, you’ll witness 2 types of strikeouts – Swinging strikeouts and Called strikeouts. The core difference between both strikeouts is the hitter’s batting action during the play. In brief,
- Swinging strikeouts occur if the hitter swings his bat but fails to hit the ball and gets out of the game due to 3rd strike.
- Called strikeouts occur when the hitter doesn’t swing his bat, as expected, fails to hit the ball, and gets out of the game because of the 3rd strike confirmation. In CS contexts, the umpire calls and confirms the strike. Thus, it’s named the Called strikeout.
However, there’s another type of swinging strikeout called “Uncaught Third Strike.” To consider a swing strikeout an uncaught 3rd strike, it should meet the below conditions.
- The hitter swings but can’t hit the ball
- Umpire calls the pitch a strike (3rd strike)
- The catcher is unable to catch the ball or it touches the ground before he catches it
“The interesting fact is in this situation, the hitter can run toward first base and the catcher can try to tag him to get him out of the game. However, if the hitter successfully reaches the base, he won’t be considered out. “
7 Strikeout Rules Beginner Baseball Players Should Know
Hopefully, the above information gave you an idea of the baseball strikeout. But apply it to the game, you should get a thorough idea about the rules of strikeouts given below:
- Criteria of Strikeouts
If the hitter swings at the pitch and doesn’t make contact with the ball, it’s a strike. Occurring this 3 times results in the batter going out.
In the situation where the hitter swings and fails to contact the ball through the bat and crosses the home plate, it’s considered a strike. If this happens three times, the batter is out.
The umpire calls it a fair ball if the hitter is unable to swing a strike ball.
- Strike Counts Can Be Affected If It’s a Foul Ball
If a batter has 2 strikes against them and hits a foul ball, the strike count doesn’t increase. However, if there are fewer than 2 strikes against the hitter and they hit a foul ball, the count does increase.
- Bunting vs. Strikeout
The strikeout is counted in terms of bunting also. So, if a hitter attempts to bunt (both into fair and foul territory), it counts as a strikeout.
“Bunting is a technique in baseball batting where the hitter holds the bat in a still position and tries to lightly tap the ball.”
- Pitchers Always Get the Strikeout Score
A hitter may not be out if the conditions save them. But all 3rd strikes are counted in the scoresheet of the pitcher even though the hitter isn’t out in the below scenes:
- If the 3rd strike is a foul tip (the ball that’s caught by the catcher after being hit by the hitter.)
- If during the 3rd strike, there’s a first baseman and there is less than 1 out.
- If hitters bunt the 3rd strike pitch and no offensive players are able to catch it.
- Hitter Can Advance in a Strikeout
At the 3rd strike, the hitter can run for the next base to advance the score if he’s safe from the tag-out or force-out.
- 3rd Strike Can Turn Into a Fielder’s Choice
It’s possible to occur a Fielder’s Choice during the 3rd strikeout. For example, if the 3rd base runner tries to advance to home plate, the catcher can force him out while the pitch is already considered a strikeout.
- Abbreviation Rules
“K” and “K-S” is used to denote a swinging strikeout. Henry Chadwick first discovered the abbreviation.
First-timers often get confused and ask themselves why is strikeout K backward sometimes. Backward K or “ꓘ” or “K-L” is used to denote a strikeout looking (called strikeout).
History of Strikeout – Changes in Rule From 1793 to 1887
Johann Christoph Friedrich GutsMuths first mentioned strikeout in his book, Gymnastics for Youth (originally named Gymnastik für die Jugend.)
He mentioned the general rule as a whole, stating if a hitter gets 3 strikes, he’s out. However, the catcher should be able to catch the 3rd strike. Dropping the catch counts the ball in play and allows the hitter to advance to the next base.
In addition to that, the catcher can still try to force out the runner-hitter by throwing the ball to the first baseman before the hitter tags the base.
There was a further addition to the rule in 1858. The rule update states that if the 3rd strike gets caught, it’s a fair ball. Therefore, the hitter can run to score. Called Strikes were introduced this year also.
At last, in 1880, the final changes came – what we see in the modern baseball strikeout rule. The changes are given below:
- 3rd strike should be caught by any offensive player
- If there are fewer than 2 outs or the first base runner is alive, even though it’s a dropped 3rd strike, the hitter will be out
“In a slight rule update in 1887, the total number of strikes was set to 4. But it was again set to 3 in 1888.”
Strikeout Records of Pitchers in Major League Baseball
In this section, I’m gonna share all the MLB strikeout records based on a single season, per 9-innings and all-time leaders.
10 Single-Season All-Time Strikeout Leaders in MLB
With a total of 513 strikeouts in 1886, Matt Kilroy holds the title of all-time strikeout leader in Major League Baseball (AA – American Association of Baseball Clubs.) At that time, he was playing for the Baltimore Orioles.
| Rank | Pitchers’ Names | Team | Scores | League | Year |
| 1 | Matt Kilroy | Baltimore Orioles | 513 | AA | 1886 |
| 2 | Toad Ramsey | Louisville Colonels | 499 | AA | 1886 |
| 3 | Hugh Daily | Chicago Browns/Pittsburgh Stogies/Washington Nationals | 483 | UA | 1884 |
| 4 | Dupee Shaw | Detroit Wolverines/Boston Reds | 451 | NL/UA | 1884 |
| 5 | Old Hoss Radbourn | Providence Grays | 441 | NL | 1884 |
| 6 | Charlie Buffington | Boston Beaneaters | 417 | Da | 1884 |
| 7 | Guy Hecker | Louisville Eclipse | 385 | AA | 1884 |
| 8 | Nolan Ryan | California Angels | 383 | AL | 1973 |
| 9 | Sandy Koufax | Los Angeles Dodgers | 382 | NL | 1965 |
| 10 | Bill Sweeney | Baltimore Monumentals | 374 | UA | 1884 |
Top 10 Single-Season Strikeout Players
The below ranking chart represents the best strikeout scorers in a single season. The top guy was Nolan Ryan because of his incredible performance in the 1973 season.
However, the ranking will change if you consider overall top scorers in Major League Baseball history.
| Rank | Pitchers’ Names | Team | Scores | League | Year |
| 1 | Nolan Ryan | California Angels | 383 | AL | 1973 |
| 2 | Sandy Koufax | Los Angeles Dodgers | 382 | NL | 1965 |
| 3 | Randy Johnson | Arizona Diamondbacks | 372 | NL | 2001 |
| 4 | Nolan Ryan | California Angels | 367 | AL | 1974 |
| 5 | Randy Johnson | Arizona Diamondbacks | 364 | NL | 1999 |
| 6 | Rube Waddell | Philadelphia Athletics | 349 | AL | 1904 |
| 7 | Bob Feller | Cleveland Indians | 348 | AL | 1946 |
| 8 | Randy Johnson | Arizona Diamondbacks | 347 | NL | 2000 |
| 9 | Nolan Ryan | California Angels | 341 | AL | 1977 |
| 10 | Randy Johnson | Arizona Diamondbacks | 334 | NL | 2002 |
Top 20 Career Strikeout Leaders in MLB
The ranking is based on the performance of baseball players from 1901 to 2022. Among these 20 players only Max Scherzer, Justin Verlander, and Zack Greinke are currently active in their professional baseball careers. To help you differentiate the active players, I’ve made them bold.
| Rank | Players’ Names | Strikeout Scores |
| 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 | Max Scherzer | 3,193 |
| 13 | Ferguson Jenkins | 3,192 |
| 14 | Justin Verlander | 3,188 |
| 15 | Pedro Martínez | 3,154 |
| 16 | Bob Gibson | 3,117 |
| 17 | Curt Schilling | 3,116 |
| 18 | CC Sabathia | 3,093 |
| 19 | John Smoltz | 3,084 |
| 20 | Zack Greinke | 2,882 |
8 Pitchers with 2,000+ Strikeouts
Among the current active players, only eight baseball pitchers scored more than 2000 strikeouts. The ranking was updated on 3rd October 2022.
| Rank | Pitchers’ Names | Strikeout Scores |
| 1 | Max Scherzer | 3,193 |
| 2 | Justin Verlander | 3,188 |
| 3 | Zack Greinke | 2,882 |
| 4 | Clayton Kershaw | 2,798 |
| 5 | Adam Wainwright | 2,147 |
| 6 | David Price | 2,076 |
| 7 | Chris Sale | 2,064 |
| 8 | Madison Bumgarner | 2,060 |
Top 10 Career Strikeouts Leaders Per 9 Innings
If considering the last century MLB record book, Chris Sale is the strikeout leader with an 11.7 score in his pocket. There are 9 more players following his score who’ve pitched in more than 1000 innings.
| Rank | Pitchers’ Names | Strikeout Scores |
| 1 | Chris Sale | 11.07 |
| 2 | Robbie Ray | 11.03 |
| 3 | Jacob deGrom | 10.90 |
| 4 | Yu Darvish | 10.81 |
| 5 | Max Scherzer | 10.71 |
| 6 | Randy Johnson | 10.60 |
| 7 | Stephen Strasburg | 10.54 |
| 8 | Gerrit Cole | 10.51 |
| 9 | Kerry Wood | 10.31 |
| 10 | Aaron Nola | 10.11 |
Top 5 Single-Season Strikeout Leaders Per 9 Innings
From 1900 to 2022 Major League Baseball seasons, Shane Bieber is the only player to reach 14 strikeouts (in 9 innings). He reached this milestone in 2020.
To make this ranking a little less competitive, MLB allowed any player who pitched at least 1 inning.
| Rank | Pitchers’ Names | Scores | Year |
| 1 | Shane Bieber | 14.19 | 2020 |
| 2 | Gerrit Cole | 13.81 | 2019 |
| 3 | Jacob deGrom | 13.76 | 2020 |
| 4 | Randy Johnson | 13.40 | 2001 |
| 5 | Pedro Martínez | 13.20 | 1999 |
Strikeout Records of Batter in Major League Baseball
As mentioned in the strikeout rule section, some strikeouts are counted on the batter’s side. Let’s take a quick look at them one by one.
Top 15 Career Strikeout Leaders in MLB
With 2,597 throughout his career, Reggie Jackson got the maximum strikeouts as a batter in the history of Major League Baseball. The ranking is based on the last updated data on 2nd October 2022.
| Rank | Batters’ Names | Scores |
| 1 | Reggie Jackson | 2,597 |
| 2 | Jim Thome | 2,548 |
| 3 | Adam Dunn | 2,379 |
| 4 | Sammy Sosa | 2,306 |
| 5 | Alex Rodriguez | 2,287 |
| 6 | Miguel Cabrera | 2,030 |
| 7 | Andrés Galarraga | 2,003 |
| 8 | Justin Upton | 1,971 |
| 9 | José Canseco | 1,942 |
| 10 | Willie Stargell | 1,937 |
| 11 | Mark Reynolds | 1,927 |
| 12 | Curtis Granderson | 1,916 |
| 13 | Mike Cameron | 1,901 |
| 14 | Mike Schmidt | 1,883 |
| 15 | Fred McGriff | 1,882 |
10 Active Hitters with 1,300+ Strikeouts
The below chart consists of the 10 currently active batters (as of the 2022 season) who got more than 1300 strikeouts in their career.
Miguel Cabrera holds the first rank in this chart. Right now, the most valuable baseball card is also of Miguel. You can check out more information about his autographed card in the most valuable baseball cards of the 2000s.
| Rank | Batters’ Names | Scores |
| 1 | Miguel Cabrera | 2,030 |
| 2 | Justin Upton | 1,971 |
| 3 | Nelson Cruz | 1,870 |
| 4 | Giancarlo Stanton | 1,694 |
| 5 | Evan Longoria | 1,623 |
| 6 | Joey Votto | 1,578 |
| 7 | Paul Goldschmidt | 1,544 |
| 8 | Andrew McCutchen | 1,542 |
| 9 | J.D. Martinez | 1,422 |
| 10 | Freddie Freeman | 1,414 |
Frequently Asked Questions
What are 3 strikeouts in a game called?
3 strikeouts in a game are called a “Hat Trick”. This slang is used to dishonor the batter. There are some more like if there are 4 strikeouts, it’s called “Golden Sombrero.” For 5 strikes, people use “Platinum Sombrero” or “Olympic Rings” as slang.
Is it OK to strike out in baseball?
Well, it’s an integral part of baseball. Whether it’s an MLB pro or a Little League fellow, everyone experiences strike-outs in their career. So, it’s fine to strike out in baseball.
Who has the most MLB strikeout?
Nolan Ryan has the most strikeouts in the history of baseball with 5,714 Ks. Among the active players, Justin Verlander has the maximum MLB strikeouts of 3,198 Ks.
What is the meaning of strikeout swinging figurative?
A strike out swinging figurative means there have been 3 strikes for a hitter who tried to swing the bat but missed hit. This is just another way of referring to the baseball strikeout.
What is meant by swing for the fences in baseball?
Basically, this idiom is used for say the batter’s gonna make a big shot. More specially, by using swing for the fences, people refer to the batter swinging his bat to make a home run.
Wrapping Up
Hopefully, that gave you all the answers about what is a strikeout in baseball. A strikeout is a common and integral part of baseball. The play itself is a bit cumbersome. But for any aspiring baseball learners, it’s vital to get friendly with this term and the related rules whether it’s a pitcher or batter.
If you find this informative article helpful, please give me a shout-out on your social media. It may guide other novices regarding baseball strikeouts.
Check out more interesting baseball terminologies:
What Is A Double Play In Baseball?
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Hello everyone. My name is Jason Butler, and I live in California, America. I was a professional AAA Minor League Baseball player. I lost my chance of playing MLB for injury issues, but I did not lose my love for baseball. I attended the coaching training program and am now working as a coach in a small school in San Diego.
I always love to share my experience and knowledge if that can help you. Play baseball, and stay fit.