In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out (denoted by SO or K) occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters. Pitchers want to throw as many strikeouts as possible, while batters attempt to minimize striking out themselves.

Although strikeouts are associated with dominance on the part of the pitcher, it is recognized that the style of swing that generates a home run also leaves batters somewhat susceptible to striking out. Some of the greatest home run hitters of all time – such as Reggie Jackson and Sammy Sosa – were notorious for striking out.

A pitcher receives credit for (and a batter is charged with) a strikeout on any third strike, but a batter is out only if one of the following is true:

Thus, it is possible for a batter to strike out, but still become a runner and reach base safely if the catcher is unable to catch the third strike cleanly, and he then does not either tag out the batter or force him out at first base. In Japan, this is called furinige (振り逃げ^?), or "swing and escape." In Major League Baseball, it is known as an uncaught third strike. As a result, pitchers have occasionally been able to record four strikeouts in one half-inning.

Gerald Norman "Jerry" Springer (born February 13, 1944) is an American television presenter, best known as host of the tabloid talk show The Jerry Springer Show since its debut in 1991. He is a former Democratic mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio,news anchor, and musician.

Springer was born in Highgate tube station in London, England, while the station was in use as a shelter from German bombing during World War II and grew up on Chandos Road, East Finchley. His parents, Margot (née Kallmann; a bank clerk) and Richard Springer (owner of a shoe shop), were Jewish refugees who escaped from Landsberg an der Warthe, Germany (now Gorzów Wielkopolski, Poland). His maternal grandmother Marie Kallmann, who was left behind, died in the gas trucks of Chelmno extermination camp. His paternal grandmother, Selma Springer, died at the Theresienstadt concentration camp. In January 1949, Springer immigrated with his parents to the United States, settling in Kew Gardens, Queens, New York and attended Forest Hills High School. He and his sister Evelyn were raised in a small four-room apartment. One of his earliest memories about current events was when he was 12 and watching the 1956 Democratic convention on television where he saw and was impressed by John F. Kennedy. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Tulane University in 1965, majoring in political science. He earned a Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree from Northwestern University in 1968.

Yu Darvish (also spelled Yū Darvish) (Japanese: ダルビッシュ 有; born August 16, 1986, in Habikino, Osaka) is a Japanese starting pitcher for the Texas Rangers.

Darvish pitched in the 2008 Beijing Olympics as well as the 2009 World Baseball Classic as a member of the Japanese national team. He was considered by many to be the best pitcher in Japanese professional baseball prior to his arrival in Major League Baseball in 2012.

Darvish was born in Habikino, Osaka, to an Iranian father, Farsad Darvishsefat, and a Japanese mother, Ikuyo. His parents met at Eckerd College, a liberal arts school in St. Petersburg, Florida, where his father played for the college soccer team. His grandfather was a travel agent in Iran, and sent Farsad to the United States in 1977 to attend high school in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, where he also raced competitively in motocross.

Darvish began playing baseball in second grade and led his team to the quarter-finals of the national tournament as well as a third-place finish in the international tournament as a member of the Habikino Boys. He was scouted by over 50 high schools while in junior high, but opted to attend Tohoku High School, a noted baseball powerhouse that produced players such as former Seattle Mariners and Yokohama BayStars closer Kazuhiro Sasaki and current Arizona Diamondbacks reliever Takashi Saito, in northern Sendai.

Kerry Lee Wood (born June 16, 1977) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians and New York Yankees. Wood recorded over 200 strikeouts in four out of his first five seasons, with a high of 266 in 2003 and is the co-holder the MLB record for strikeouts in a single game (20), earning himself the nickname Kid K. He was a two-time National League All-Star and pitched in the post-season five times in a career that spanned 15 seasons. Wood was the 1998 National League Rookie of the Year.

Wood transitioned to a relief pitcher in 2007 due to struggling with injuries throughout his career. He has been placed on the disabled list 14 times in 13 major league seasons, including missing the entire 1999 season due to Tommy John surgery. After a slow start to the 2012 season, Wood retired on May 18th, 2012.

Wood became a phenomenon while attending MacArthur High School in Irving, Texas, for his first three seasons of high school baseball. He continued his domination of batters at Grand Prairie High School in his final season as a high school player.