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On April 15th 1911, Walter Johnson, the famous pitcher of the Washington
Senators, struck out four Red Sox players in one inning in a baseball
game. Baseball of course has only three outs per inning, and a fourth
strikeout can only be achieved if a catcher drops the ball on the 3rd
strike. This allows the batter to run to 1st base. The catcher must tag the
batter or throw to first base before the player reaches it, or the base is
gained.
If a batter strikes out with two outs in the inning and
is then able to gain 1st base, then a strikeout is recorded but not an out.
This feat was also accomplished by Red Sox
pitcher Tim
Wakefield on August 10th 1999 against the Kansas City Royals. Wakefield was the
relief pitcher, and struck out four players in the 9th inning.
The Red Sox won the game 9 to 6. Only a few pitchers have struck out four batters in one inning to tie the
world record. It's nearly impossible, but maybe someday five batters
will be struck out in a single inning!
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