Astros All-Star once had near-impossible 5 strikeouts in 1 inning
This isn't an easy thing to do.
Astros All-Star once had near-impossible 5 strikeouts in 1 inning originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . There are three outs in an inning in a baseball game.
Technically, though, a pitcher could record an infinite number of strikeouts in an inning. If the third strike is dropped with first base open and less than two outs, or with two outs no matter what, the batter-runner can attempt to reach first. The ball has to be thrown to the bag (or the batter-runner tagged) before he gets there.
If the batter-runner gets to first safely, it's recorded as a strikeout statistically, but it's not an official out in the inning. That's how Houston Astros pitcher Joe Niekro once recorded five strikeouts in one inning. It was April 7, 1976 -- Niekro was a knuckleballer, and two batters reached base in the frame on wild pitches due to the movement of the knuckler.
MORE: Yankees outfielder once battled ostrich in 11-plate spaghetti-eating contest It clearly was dancing, though, because the batters couldn't touch it. So Niekro just kept striking guys out until his catcher could handle three of the pitches. It was technically an exhibition game on the eve of Opening Day, so it doesn't stand as an MLB record.