Golden sombrero

In baseball, a golden sombrero is a player's inglorious feat of striking out four times in a single game.

Ryan Howard had four strikeouts in a game a total of 27 times during his major league career.

Origin of the term
Sam Horn, namesake of a term for six strikeouts in a single game

The term derives from hat trick, and since four is bigger than three, the rationale was that a four-strikeout performance should be referred to by a bigger hat, such as a sombrero.[1] The term was coined by San Diego Padres player Carmelo Martínez in the 1980s[2] and first appeared in print when Leon Durham was quoted as using it in 1984.[3][4]

The "Olympic Rings" or platinum sombrero applies to a player striking out five times in a game.[5]

A horn refers to a player striking out six times in a game; the term was coined by pitcher Mike Flanagan after teammate Sam Horn of the Baltimore Orioles accomplished the feat in an extra-inning game in 1991.[6][7] Alternate names for this accomplishment are titanium sombrero or double platinum sombrero.[8]

Major League Baseball

Notable four-strikeout games

On August 4, 2009, Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria went 2-for-6, recording a golden sombrero and 2 home runs. The second home run was a walk off home run. This feat was also accomplished by Brandon Moss of the Oakland Athletics on April 30, 2013 in a 19-inning game against the Los Angeles Angels.[9]

On May 29, 2015, San Diego Padres catcher Derek Norris struck out swinging in his first four plate appearances, then hit a walk-off grand slam, becoming the first MLB player in the modern era to achieve a golden sombrero and a walk-off grand slam in the same game.[10]

On July 30, 2016, New York Yankees player Alex Rodriguez became the first MLB player to earn a golden sombrero after the age of 40 while having earned one before the age of 20.[11]

On October 11, 2017, Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant went 0-for-4, recording a golden sombrero, on the same day as New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge, who went 0-for-5 and recorded his own golden sombrero, his third in the ALDS and making him the only player since 1903 to accomplish this. Prior to the start of the 2017 World Series, golden sombreros in the 2017 postseason had already tied the record set in 1997. An increase in the use of starting pitchers as relievers has been suggested as a cause.[12]

Major league players with the most four-strikeout games[13]
PlayerGamesMajor teams
Ryan Howard27Philadelphia Phillies
Chris Davis26Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles
Reggie Jackson23Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, California Angels, Baltimore Orioles
Giancarlo Stanton21Miami Marlins, New York Yankees
Jim Thome20Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins
Adam Dunn19Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals, Arizona Diamondbacks
Bo Jackson19Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox
Mark Reynolds18Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Colorado Rockies
Rob Deer17Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers
Joey Gallo17Texas Rangers
Sammy Sosa17Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers
Key
Member of the Baseball Hall of Fame
Denotes player who is active

Notable five-strikeout games

Sammy Sosa and Ray Lankford are the only players to earn a platinum sombrero more than twice.[7]

On March 31, 1996, Ron Karkovice became the first (and so far only) player to earn a platinum sombrero on Opening Day.[14]

On June 22, 2016, Washington Nationals outfielder Michael A. Taylor recorded a platinum sombrero in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers.[15] In a performance one sportswriter suggested might be "the worst game in baseball history",[16] Taylor went 0 for 5 while leaving five men on base, and committed an error in the ninth inning that lost his team the game.[17]

On June 4, 2018, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge earned a platinum sombrero and struck out a total of eight times over the course of a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers, setting an MLB record.[18]

On May 26, 2019, Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story recorded a platinum sombrero in a nine-inning game against the Baltimore Orioles.[19] The next day, May 27, Chicago Cubs shortstop Javier Baez also recorded a platinum sombrero against the Houston Astros, his second.[20]

On June 18, 2019, Boston Red Sox designated hitter J. D. Martinez recorded a platinum sombrero in a seventeen-inning game against the Minnesota Twins, going 0-for-8 in the game, along with Miguel Sano, also recording a platinum sombrero, going 0-for-7.[21]

On September 30, 2020, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Harrison Bader earned his platinum sombrero in Game One of the 2020 National League Wild Card Series between the Cardinals and the San Diego Padres, joining George Pipgras of the 1932 New York Yankees and Reggie Sanders of the 1995 Cincinnati Reds as the only players in MLB history to accomplish this feat in the playoffs.[22] He finished 0-5 with 6 men left on base, though his Cardinals won 7-4.[23]

Major league players with six strikeouts in a game

Only eight players have had six strikeouts, as listed in the following table.[7] All eight players who accomplished a "Horn" needed extra innings to do it; the record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game is five.[24]

PlayerDateInningsTeamBox score
Carl WeilmanJuly 25, 191315St. Louis Browns[25]
Don HoakMay 2, 195617Chicago Cubs[26]
Rick ReichardtMay 31, 196617California Angels[27]
Billy CowanJuly 9, 197120California Angels[28]
Cecil CooperJune 14, 197415Boston Red Sox[29]
Sam HornJuly 17, 199115Baltimore Orioles[30]
Alex GonzalezSeptember 9, 199813Toronto Blue Jays[31]
Geoff JenkinsJune 8, 200417Milwaukee Brewers[32]

Minor League Baseball

The professional baseball record for strikeouts in a single game belongs to Khalil Lee, who as a member of the minor league Lexington Legends, Class A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals, struck out eight times in a 21-inning game in 2017.[33][34]

References
  1. "Baseball Reference – "Golden Sombrero"".
  2. "On Cans Of Corn And The Origin Of Baseball Terms". baseballhotcorner.com. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  3. Dickson, Paul (2009). The Dickson Baseball Dictionary (3rd ed.). W. W. Norton & Company. p. 374. ISBN 0393066819.
  4. Daley, Steve (April 14, 1984). "An uneasy feeling around first base". Chicago Tribune. p. 21. Retrieved June 27, 2019 – via newspapers.com.
  5. Michael, Matt (April 9, 2005). "Extra bases". Syracuse Post-Standard.
  6. Tom Verducci article, Sports Illustrated, July 29, 1991
  7. Rob Neyer article at Baseball Nation
  8. "ESPN – More amazing stories to watch for – MLB".
  9. "Jayson Stark Blog".
  10. "Derek Norris hits walkoff grand slam after striking out four times".
  11. Feinsand, Mark. "Alex Rodriguez sports Golden Sombrero in return to Yankees' lineup". New York Daily News. Retrieved August 1, 2016.
  12. Baer, Bill (October 11, 2017). "There have been a lot of players wearing golden sombreros this postseason". NBCSports. Retrieved October 14, 2017.
  13. "Batting Game Finder". Stathead.com. Retrieved 26 January 2021.
  14. "Chicago White Sox at Seattle Mariners Box Score, March 31, 1996". Baseball Reference. Retrieved August 25, 2020.
  15. "Where do Michael A. Taylor and the Nationals go from here?". The Washington Post. June 23, 2016. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  16. "Nationals' Michael Taylor Might Have Had The Worst Game In Baseball History". NESN.com. 2016-06-23. Retrieved 2020-09-04.
  17. "Michael Taylor goes 0 for 5 with 5 strikeouts then loses the game with an error, a breakdown". Jomboy Media channel on YouTube. June 15, 2020. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  18. "Aaron Judge struck out 8 times Monday, setting new MLB record". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved June 5, 2018.
  19. https://www.si.com/mlb/game/2105084
  20. https://www.si.com/mlb/game/2105079
  21. "Red Sox vs. Twins - Box Score". ESPN. June 18, 2019. Retrieved June 21, 2019.
  22. https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/2020/09/30/harrison-bader-cardinals-strikeouts-mlb-playoffs/5875191002/
  23. https://www.mlb.com/gameday/cardinals-vs-padres/2020/09/30/635884/final/wrap
  24. "Strikeout Records for Hitters by Baseball Almanac".
  25. "July 25, 1913 St. Louis Browns at Washington Senators Box Score and Play by Play - Baseball-Reference.com".
  26. "May 2, 1956 New York Giants at Chicago Cubs Play by Play and Box Score - Baseball-Reference.com".
  27. "May 31, 1966 Cleveland Indians at California Angels Play by Play and Box Score - Baseball-Reference.com".
  28. "July 9, 1971 California Angels at Oakland Athletics Box Score and Play by Play - Baseball-Reference.com".
  29. "June 14, 1974 Boston Red Sox at California Angels Play by Play and Box Score - Baseball-Reference.com".
  30. "July 17, 1991 Baltimore Orioles at Kansas City Royals Box Score and Play by Play - Baseball-Reference.com".
  31. "September 9, 1998 Cleveland Indians at Toronto Blue Jays Play by Play and Box Score - Baseball-Reference.com".
  32. "June 8, 2004 Milwaukee Brewers at Anaheim Angels Play by Play and Box Score - Baseball-Reference.com".
  33. "July 13, 2017". milb.com. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  34. Townsend, Mark (July 15, 2017). "Minor leaguer strikes out record eight times during 21-inning game". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
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