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In baseball, a golden sombrero is when a batter strikeout four times in a game.
From the late 1970s to late 1980s, the exact definition was in flux. A (non-golden) "sombrero" was in use to describe a four-strikeout game at least as early as 1977, and "golden sombrero" was defined as five strikeouts in a 1979 article about slang used by the minor league Jackson Mets. In Keith Hernandez's 1987 memoir If at First..., he defined a "hat trick" as three strikeouts, "sombrero" as four strikeouts, and "golden sombrero" as five strikeouts.
In modern usage, a "golden sombrero" is four strikeouts, and a "platinum sombrero" (also known as the "Olympic rings," a term coined by Baltimore Orioles pitcher Bill Scherrer) is five strikeouts.
A "horn" refers to a player striking out six times in a game; the term was coined by pitcher Mike Flanagan after teammate Sam Horn of the Baltimore Orioles accomplished the feat in an extra-inning game in 1991. Alternate names for this accomplishment are "titanium sombrero" or "double platinum sombrero." Flanagan quipped that a hypothetical seven-strikeout game would be called a "cornucopia."
On May 29, 2015, San Diego Padres catcher Derek Norris struck out swinging in his first four plate appearances, then hit a walk-off grand slam, becoming the first MLB player in the modern era to achieve a golden sombrero and a walk-off grand slam in the same game.
On July 30, 2016, New York Yankees player Alex Rodriguez became the first MLB player to earn a golden sombrero after the age of 40 while having earned one before the age of 20.
On October 11, 2017, Chicago Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant (0-for-4) and New York Yankees right fielder Aaron Judge (0-for-5) each recorded golden sombreros. Judge's sombrero was his third in the ALDS; he became the only player since 1903 to have three four-strikeout games in the same postseason. Prior to the start of the 2017 World Series, golden sombreros in the 2017 postseason had already tied the record set in 1997. An increase in the use of starting pitchers as relievers has been suggested as a cause.
On October 22, 2023, Texas Rangers outfielder Adolis García became the first player to strike out four times and hit a grand slam in a postseason game. Garcia's sombrero came against the Houston Astros in Game 6 of the 2023 ALCS.
On April 16, 2025, the Atlanta Braves notably achieved two Golden Sombreros in the same game, as the first two batters in their lineup, Michael Harris II and Austin Riley, both achieved the mark against the Toronto Blue Jays. They became the first top-2 hitters in MLB history to go a combined 0 for 8 with 8 strikeouts.
| Miami Marlins, New York Yankees | ||
| Philadelphia Phillies | ||
| Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles | ||
| 24 | Detroit Tigers, Cincinnati Reds, Seattle Mariners, Arizona Diamondbacks | |
| Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, California Angels, Baltimore Orioles | ||
| Cleveland Indians, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins | ||
| Chicago White Sox, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Nationals, Arizona Diamondbacks | ||
| Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox | ||
| 18 | Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Angels | |
| Arizona Diamondbacks, Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Colorado Rockies | ||
| Milwaukee Brewers, Detroit Tigers | ||
| Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, Washington Nationals | ||
| Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers | ||
| Javier Báez | 16 | Chicago Cubs, New York Mets, Detroit Tigers |
| Jose Canseco | 16 | Oakland Athletics, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, Tampa Bay Devil Rays, New York Yankees, Chicago White Sox |
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On March 31, 1996, Ron Karkovice became the first player to earn a platinum sombrero on Opening Day. On March 30, 2023, Max Muncy of the Los Angeles Dodgers recorded five strikeouts in an opening day game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. On March 27, 2025, Jackson Chourio of the Milwaukee Brewers struck out five times against the Yankees on opening day.
On July 25, 2017, Chicago Cubs infielder Javier Baez went 0-for-5, recording a platinum sombrero. On the same day, Seattle Mariners designated hitter Nelson Cruz went 0-for-6 with five strikeouts, also recording a platinum sombrero. This marked the first time in major league history in which two players from two different games achieved platinum sombreros on the same day.
On April 3, 2018, Giancarlo Stanton recorded a platinum sombrero in his home debut for the New York Yankees. Stanton was booed as he left the field after his fifth strikeout. Five days later, he became the first player to record two platinum sombreros in one season when he went 0-for-7 and struck out to end the game with two runners on and the Yankees down by one run. Stanton later recorded a golden sombrero in Game 1 of the 2018 American League Division Series, his second career playoff game.
On June 22, 2016, Washington Nationals outfielder Michael A. Taylor recorded a platinum sombrero in a game against the Los Angeles Dodgers. In a performance one sportswriter suggested might be "the worst game in baseball history", Taylor went 0-for-5 with five Strikeout while leaving five men on base, and committed an error in the ninth inning that lost his team the game.
On June 4, 2018, New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge earned a platinum sombrero and struck out a total of eight times over the course of a doubleheader against the Detroit Tigers, setting an MLB record.
On May 26, 2019, Colorado Rockies shortstop Trevor Story recorded a platinum sombrero in a nine-inning game against the Baltimore Orioles. The next day, Chicago Cubs shortstop Javier Báez also recorded a platinum sombrero against the Houston Astros, his second.
On June 18, 2019, Boston Red Sox designated hitter J. D. Martinez and Minnesota Twins third baseman Miguel Sanó recorded platinum sombreros in a seventeen-inning game.
On September 30, 2020, St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Harrison Bader earned his platinum sombrero in Game 1 of the National League Wild Card Series against the San Diego Padres, joining George Pipgras of the 1932 New York Yankees, Reggie Sanders of the 1995 Cincinnati Reds as the only players in MLB history to accomplish this feat in the playoffs. Bader finished 0-for-5 with six men left on base, though his Cardinals won 7–4. On October 8, 2022, Andrés Giménez of the Cleveland Guardians and Jose Siri of the Tampa Bay Rays matched that dubious accomplishment in a 15-inning playoff game, the only known occasion in which two players each had five strikeouts in one playoff game. Giménez finished 0-for-5 and was on deck when Oscar González hit a walkoff home run. Archived twitter post
On April 1, 2023, Baltimore Orioles second baseman Ramón Urías recorded a platinum sombrero against the Boston Red Sox on exclusively swinging strikeouts, three times against starting pitcher Chris Sale, a fourth against reliever Josh Winckowski, and the fifth against reliever Chris Martin.
On July 30, 2023, New York Yankees first baseman Anthony Rizzo earned his first platinum sombrero in a 9–3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles in which Yankees batters struck out 18 times. This was one of the lowest points of a slump reaching back to May 29. During this stretch, Rizzo batted .168/.272/.224 with only one home run and nine RBIs over 44 games.
In August 2024, the Seattle Mariners had a pair of platinum sombreros occur in the same week. First, on August 11, outfielder Julio Rodríguez earned a platinum sombrero in a 12–1 victory over the New York Mets. This was Rodríguez's first game back in the lineup after suffering a right ankle sprain. Then, on August 17, outfielder Randy Arozarena recorded a platinum sombrero in a 7–2 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
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