The Golden Sombrero

Thursday night in Detroit, Miguel Olivo struck out four times, and took home the dishonourable Golden Sombrero. While batting cleanup! I know, and, unfortunately, no, I can’t tell you why Olivo was batting fourth. But about last night: Verlander and Valverde, yo. They’ll do that to a brother.

Upon learning of Olivo’s fate, I wondered: Why a Golden Sombrero? What in the hell does that have to do with striking out four times in a baseball game? I got my Google on. And the answer, as is usually the case, was pretty simple, and, well, makes sense. Witness:

The term derives from hat trick and since four is bigger than three (Editor’s note: Mathematics are a beautiful thing.) the rationale was that a four-strikeout performance should be referred to by a bigger hat, such as a sombrero. The “Olympic Rings” or platinum sombrero applies to a player striking out five times in a game, while a horn (after Sam Horn of the Baltimore Orioles, who accomplished the feat in an extra-inning game in 1991) or titanium sombrero is bestowed upon a player who strikes out six times in a single game.

Your source: Wikipedia. In all its reverence, of course.

Like I said, makes sense. And, now, what I want to actually, physically see, and perhaps even try on, is a Titanium Sombrero. I imagine it’s as funky as it sounds.

As for the Golden Sombrero, there’s a website devoted to its cause. Aptly titled, too: The Golden Sombrero. By their count, Miguel Olivo is the 38th player to be crowned in 2011.

Yet the most important questions remain: Why, and since when, and why, is Miguel Olivo batting cleanup?

Image credit: The Internet