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)
