Strike (baseball)

In baseball, a strike is a mark against a batter during a plate appearance. A batter that receives three strikes during a plate appearance makes an out and is said to have struck out.

There are several ways to receive a strike:

• Swinging at a pitched ball and failing to hit it. (swing and miss)
• Refusing to swing or bunt at a pitched ball which is called a strike by the umpire. (called strike)
• Swinging at a pitched ball and hitting it into foul territory when there are fewer than two strikes in the at-bat. (foul strike)
• Bunting at a pitched ball and hitting it into foul territory.
• Bunting at a pitched ball and failing to hit it.
• Touching a pitched ball while striking it with the bat.
• Touching a pitched ball while in flight in the strike zone.
• Swinging at a pitched ball and foul tipping it into the catcher's glove. (foul tip)