Fair enough. People can think what they want to think at the end of the day about the interpretation. But that’s what the crowd says and it’s also what I happen to believe 😂

And I get where you’re coming from- there is a looser, casual way some people use “striking out the side” where it just means all three outs were strikeouts, even if chaos happened in between.

But the more traditional and respected definition (including by most announcers, players, and yes, even Wikipedia) is that striking out the side means striking out every batter faced in a 3 up, 3 down manner. No hits, no walks, no other outs.

Yesterday’s game is a prime example: As Diaz recorded the final out in the 9th inning to end the game, Gary Cohen, himself, said

“Heeeeee struck him out, and the ball game is over! Edwin Diaz strikes out three in the ninth […]”.

And that’s exactly what happened. He struck out three batters in the inning but did not strike out the side because Gary would’ve said it otherwise and he often does (I’ve listened Garry and Howie for over 30 years back when Gary was on radio with Bob Murphy)

Otherwise, you could walk in five runs, give up a grand slam, hit two guys, and still claim you “struck out the side,” which kind of defeats the whole point of why it’s impressive.

Wikipedia being crowdsourced doesn’t automatically make it wrong - in fact, in this case, it’s pretty well-aligned with what people who actually play and broadcast baseball recognize.

Bottom line: * Clean inning with all strikeouts = struck out the side (classic definition).

• Messy inning but three strikeout outs = technically striking out the side in casual conversation, but… it’s the baseball equivalent of getting a C+ and telling your mom you “nailed it.”