Strikeout looking
In baseball or softball,[1] a strikeout looking is a strikeout in which the batter does not swing on their third strike called by the umpire. In scorekeeping, strikeouts are a statistic denoted by the initial K, with strikeouts looking being sometimes denoted by an inverted K (ꓘ).[2] As the pitcher strikes out the batter looking, it can also be said that the batter was "caught looking".[3]
History and analysis
[edit]The letter "K" was chosen to denote strikeouts by baseball writer Henry Chadwick, who first used it in 1859 in his box scores, which he is also credited with creating.[4][5] Chadwick had already chosen "S" to denote a sacrifice in his scorekeeping, so he opted to use "K", as it was the final letter in "struck", which was the common way to refer to a batter being out after three strikes.[4][6] Speaking to the Longview News-Journal, Cassidy Lent, a National Baseball Hall of Fame reference librarian, shared that the Hall of Fame knows of no single person who can be credited with first using the "ꓘ" to denote a strikeout looking.[5] Lent added that "this might have to do with the fact that there are several different ways to record strikeouts", as not all scorekeepers use the backwards K, "and it probably did just evolve with scorekeeping".[5]
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In 2013, CBS Sports writer Matt Snyder examined Major League Baseball (MLB)'s pitchers with the most strikeouts looking that season. Snyder wrote that pitchers who possessed "great command" or "great stuff" were likely to be on the list; he described the former as pitchers who were able to "[hit] a spot low and outside that barely registers as a strike", with the latter being the skill to "fool the hitter into taking an obvious strike".[8] Writing for MLB.com about the ways to cause an out, Chris Landers wrote that "it takes something truly special to cause a Major League hitter—a man who has dedicated his entire life to swinging a bat—to let strike three sail on by".[9]
In 2021, ESPN writer Tim Kurkjian wrote that strikeouts looking had increased, detailing that in previous eras, "hitters wanted to put the ball in play as much as the pitchers wanted them to put it in play. Today, hitters wait and wait and wait for that one pitch they can drive".[10] Kurkjian added that, "in 2004, Adam Dunn struck out looking 66 times, which was more times than Ted Williams struck out in any season, looking or swinging. In 2018, the White Sox's Yoan Moncada struck out looking 85 times.[10]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Saturday Sees Tech Drop Final Game of the Series Against Syracuse". Georgia Tech Yellowjackets. April 5, 2025. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
- ^ Baccellieri, Emma (March 9, 2023). "MLB's Rule Changes Bring New Quirks to the Timeless Art of Scorekeeping". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
- ^ Castrovince, Anthony (July 6, 2019). "From ace to yakker, a glossary of baseball slang". MLB.com. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
- ^ a b Augustyn, Adam (September 21, 2016). "Why Does "K" Stand for a Strikeout in Baseball?". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
- ^ a b c "Answer Line: Baseball's backwards K a mystery". Longview News-Journal. March 30, 2020 [March 28, 2018]. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
- ^ DiFranza, Lenny. ""K" as in Cain". National Baseball Hall of Fame. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
- ^ "Kelly Johnson homers as Toronto Blue Jays beat Minnesota Twins 4-3". CityNews. October 2, 2012. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
- ^ Snyder, Matt (November 23, 2013). "Leaderboarding: Artists of the looking strikeout". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
- ^ Landers, Chris (July 10, 2018). "Every way to make an out, ranked". Cut4. MLB.com. Retrieved June 13, 2025.
- ^ a b Kurkjian, Tim (March 19, 2021). "How the 'K' became the most destructive letter in Major League Baseball". ESPN. Retrieved June 13, 2025.