Inbaseball, agolden sombrero is when abatterstrikes out four times in a game.
The term derives from "hat trick," and since four is bigger than three, the rationale was that a four-strikeout performance should be represented by a bigger hat, such as asombrero.[1]
From the late 1970s to late 1980s, the exact definition was in flux. A (non-golden) "sombrero" was in use to describe a four-strikeout game at least as early as 1977,[2] and "golden sombrero" was defined as five strikeouts in a 1979 article about slang used by the minor leagueJackson Mets.[3] InKeith Hernandez's 1987 memoirIf at First..., he defined a "hat trick" as three strikeouts, "sombrero" as four strikeouts, and "golden sombrero" as five strikeouts.[4]
In modern usage, a "golden sombrero" is four strikeouts, and a "platinum sombrero" (also known as the "Olympic rings," a term coined byBaltimore Orioles pitcherBill Scherrer) is five strikeouts.[5]
A "horn" refers to a player striking out six times in a game; the term was coined by pitcherMike Flanagan after teammateSam 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." Flanagan quipped that a hypothetical seven-strikeout game would be called a "horn-a-plenty."[8]
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On August 4, 2009,Tampa Bay Rays third basemanEvan Longoria went 2-for-6, recording a golden sombrero and two home runs. The second home run was awalk off home run. This feat was also accomplished byBrandon Moss of theOakland Athletics on April 30, 2013 in a 19-inning game against theLos Angeles Angels.[9][10]
On May 29, 2015,San Diego Padres catcherDerek 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 playerAlex 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 basemanKris Bryant (0-for-4) and New York Yankees right fielderAaron Judge (0-for-5) each recorded golden sombreros. Judge's sombrero was his third in theALDS; he became the only player since 1903 to have three four-strikeout games in the same postseason.[12] Prior to the start of the2017 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.[13]
On October 22, 2023,Texas Rangers outfielderAdolis García became the first player to strike out four times and hit a grand slam in a postseason game. Garcia's sombrero came against theHouston Astros in Game 6 of the2023 ALCS.[14]
On April 16, 2025, theAtlanta Braves notably achieved two golden sombreros in the same game, as the first two batters in their lineup,Michael Harris II andAustin Riley, both achieved the mark against theToronto Blue Jays. They became the first top-2 hitters in MLB history to go a combined 0 for 8 with 8 strikeouts.[15]
| † | Member of theBaseball Hall of Fame |
|---|---|
| ‡ | Denotes player who is active |
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Sammy Sosa,Ray Lankford,Javier Baez, andAaron Judge are the only players to earn a platinum sombrero more than twice.[7]
On March 31, 1996,Ron Karkovice became the first player to earn a platinum sombrero onOpening Day.[18] On March 30, 2023, Max Muncy of the Los Angeles Dodgers recorded five strikeouts in an opening day game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. On March 27, 2025,Jackson Chourio of the Milwaukee Brewers struck out five times against the Yankees on opening day.
On July 25, 2017,Chicago Cubs infielder Javier Baez went 0-for-5, recording a platinum sombrero. On the same day,Seattle Mariners designated hitterNelson Cruz went 0-for-6 with five strikeouts, also recording a platinum sombrero. This marked the first time in major league history in which two players from two different games achieved platinum sombreros on the same day.
On April 3, 2018,Giancarlo Stanton recorded a platinum sombrero in his home debut for the New York Yankees. Stanton was booed as he left the field after his fifth strikeout. Five days later, he became the first player to record two platinum sombreros in one season when he went 0-for-7 and struck out to end the game with two runners on and the Yankees down by one run. Stanton later recorded a golden sombrero in Game 1 of the2018 American League Division Series, his second career playoff game.
On June 22, 2016,Washington Nationals outfielderMichael A. Taylor recorded a platinum sombrero in a game against theLos Angeles Dodgers.[19] In a performance one sportswriter suggested might be "the worst game in baseball history",[20] Taylor went 0-for-5 with five strikeouts while leaving fivemen on base, and committed anerror in the ninth inning that lost his team the game.[21]
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.[22]
On May 26, 2019,Colorado Rockies shortstopTrevor Story recorded a platinum sombrero in a nine-inning game against theBaltimore Orioles.[23] The next day,Chicago Cubs shortstop Javier Báez also recorded a platinum sombrero against theHouston Astros, his second.[24]
On June 18, 2019,Boston Red Sox designated hitterJ.D. Martinez andMinnesota Twins third basemanMiguel Sanó recorded platinum sombreros in a seventeen-inning game.[25]
On September 30, 2020,St. Louis Cardinals outfielderHarrison Bader earned his platinum sombrero in Game 1 of theNational League Wild Card Series against theSan Diego Padres, joiningGeorge Pipgras of the1932 New York Yankees andReggie Sanders of the 1995Cincinnati Reds as the only players in MLB history to accomplish this feat in the playoffs.[26] Bader finished 0-for-5 with six men left on base, though his Cardinals won 7–4.[27] On October 8, 2022,Andrés Giménez of theCleveland Guardians andJose Siri of theTampa Bay Rays matched that dubious accomplishment in a 15-inning playoff game, the only known occasion in which two players each had five strikeouts in one playoff game. Giménez finished 0-for-5 and was on deck whenOscar González hit a walkoff home run.[28][29]
On April 1, 2023,Baltimore Orioles second basemanRamón Urías recorded a platinum sombrero against theBoston Red Sox on exclusively swinging strikeouts, three times against starting pitcherChris Sale, a fourth against relieverJosh Winckowski, and the fifth against relieverChris Martin.[30]
On July 30, 2023, New York Yankees first basemanAnthony Rizzo earned his first platinum sombrero in a 9–3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in which Yankees batters struck out 18 times. This was one of the lowest points of a slump reaching back to May 29. During this stretch, Rizzo batted .168/.272/.224 with only one home run and nine RBIs over 44 games.[31][32]
In August 2024, the Seattle Mariners had a pair of platinum sombreros occur in the same week. First, on August 11, outfielderJulio Rodríguez earned a platinum sombrero in a 12–1 victory over theNew York Mets. This was Rodríguez's first game back in the lineup after suffering a right ankle sprain.[33] Then, on August 17, outfielderRandy Arozarena recorded a platinum sombrero in a 7–2 loss to thePittsburgh Pirates.[34]
Only eight players have had six strikeouts in one game, as listed in the following table.[7] All eight instances occurred in games that were completed inextra innings; the record for strikeouts in a nine-inning game is five.[35]
| Player | Date | Innings | Team | Box score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Carl Weilman | July 25, 1913 | 15 | St. Louis Browns | [36] |
| Don Hoak | May 2, 1956 | 17 | Chicago Cubs | [37] |
| Rick Reichardt | May 31, 1966 | 17 | California Angels | [38] |
| Billy Cowan | July 9, 1971 | 20 | California Angels | [39] |
| Cecil Cooper | June 14, 1974 | 15 | Boston Red Sox | [40] |
| Sam Horn | July 17, 1991 | 15 | Baltimore Orioles | [41] |
| Alex Gonzalez | September 9, 1998 | 13 | Toronto Blue Jays | [42] |
| Geoff Jenkins | June 8, 2004 | 17 | Milwaukee Brewers | [43] |
The professional baseball record for strikeouts in a single game belongs toKhalil Lee, who as a member of theminor leagueLexington Legends,Class A affiliate of theKansas City Royals, struck out eight times in a 21-inning game in 2017.[44][45]
University of Texas catcherCameron Rupp struck out six times in the Longhorns' record-setting 25-inning game againstBoston College on May 30, 2009.[46][47]
Sombrero—striking out four times in a game.
If he strikes out three times in a game, it's a 'hat trick.' Four times is a 'sombrero' (bigger than a hat). Five is a 'golden sombrero.'
