What is a ‘golden sombrero’ in baseball?

Baseball is a sport where statistics are meticulously tracked and often celebrated – just reflect on the ‘Moneyball’ story of the Oakland A’s – and certain terms hold a unique significance, serving as markers of both achievement and struggle. One such term that resonates within the baseball community is the ‘golden sombrero’ and if you’re already familiar with the sporting term of a player achieving a ‘hat-trick’, from where it evolves, then you’d likely assume it was a positive feat to aim for. You’d be wrong.

Understanding baseball’s ‘golden sombrero’

The curious term, now deeply entrenched in the sport’s lexicon, signifies a notable but not always desirable aspect of the game for a player. The term ‘golden sombrero’ is colloquially used to describe a player’s performance during a single game in which they strike out four times. Like its more used cousin, the ‘hat trick’ in soccer, hockey, and elsewhere, this achievement or rather, lack thereof, draws attention due to its rarity and the implications it carries for the player’s performance and the team’s outcome.

‘Golden sombrero’: origin and symbolism

The term ‘golden sombrero’ ingeniously merges two distinct elements: the concept of a sombrero, a wide-brimmed Mexican hat sometimes associated with celebrations, and the word ‘golden,’ which typically conveys prestige or excellence. However, to somewhat confuse us, in this context, the combination takes on an ironic tone, juxtaposing the celebratory image of the hat with the disappointment of repeated strikeouts. Four to be precise, because, get ready for genius, four is greater than a hat-trick’s three.

The name was first used, as far as the records go, in the late 1970s, although was later popularised by Carmelo Martínez from the San Diego Padres.

Impact on players and teams

For a player, earning a ‘golden sombrero’ can be a humbling experience, serving as a stark reminder of the challenges inherent in facing skilled pitchers, or just having an off day. Baseball, not to mention the fans, can be rather unforgiving and the diamond can magnify both successes and shortcomings, whether bat or glove. And the broader ramifications for the team are obvious, with a single player’s inability to score or advance runners hindering the objective.

Which MLB player has had the most ‘golden sombreros’?

If you’re not a regular follower of baseball, hence why you ended up in this article brushing up on your terminology of the sport, you may be surprised to hear that being struck out four times in a major league game is not that uncommon. Indeed there are, at the time of writing, five players that have received a ‘golden sombrero’ – not literally, as far as I know – at least 20 times.

Ryan Howard (27), Chris Davis (26), Reggie Jackson (23), Giancarlo Stanton (22), who is still playing, and Jim Thorne (20) top the list across their respective careers, with Jackson and Thorne having made it into the Hall of Fame. Let’s see what Stanton had to say after one of his recent performances.

Other terms used for MLB strikeouts

As if four strikeouts wasn’t bad enough, there are players to have had more in a single game. And lucky for them, a term has been created.

For five strikeouts, you will hear either ‘platinum sombrero’ or ‘Olympic Rings’ used, while for six it could be one of ’double platinum sombrero’, titanium sombrero’ or simply a ‘horn’. The latter was conceived by pitcher Mike Flanagan after Baltimore Orioles teammate Sam Horn struggled to that extent back in 1991 in an extra-inning game.