Today I've looked up another list, the anti-Biggios or anti-Jennings, if you will. I've found the players who batted the most times in their career without getting hit by a pitch. Since 1901, only twenty-six players have reached 1000 career plate appearances without one HBP. Of those, eleven were pitchers. I've denoted the pitchers in the list with an asterisk (*).
Most Career Plate Appearances, Never Hit by a Pitch
(1901-2008)
(1901-2008)
- Mark Lemke, 3664
- Bill Bergen, 3228
- Mickey Witek, 2325
- Herm Winningham, 2069
- Tom Hutton, 1919
- Scott Livingstone, 1646
- Rob Andrews, 1641
- Jim Norris, 1493
- Coaker Triplett, 1434
- Bobby Brown, 1393
- Wes Ferrell*, 1345
- Joe Bush*, 1316
- Bob Friend*, 1297
- Hal Rice, 1283
- Erv Dusak, 1192
- Hal Newhouser*, 1160
- Tommy Bridges*, 1142
- Red Ames*, 1122
- Bill Sweeney, 1112
- Howard Ehmke*, 1088
- Earl Moore*, 1049
- Tommie Aaron, 1045
- Fernando Valenzuela*, 1043
- John Gochnauer, 1030
- Fergie Jenkins*, 1010
- Rube Walberg*, 1005
There are a few names you might recognize in that list. Mark Lemke was the Braves' second baseman for most of the 1990's. Bill Bergen was one of the worst hitters in baseball history. Scott Livingston was a third baseman on a few teams throughout the 1990's. Hal Newhouser and Fergie Jenkins are Hall of Famers. Hank Aaron's brother Tommie appears in front of the inspiration for "Fernandomania." John Gochnauer was one of the worst hitters and fielders of the early 20th century.
You might have noticed there are no active players in the above list. Only nine active players have as many as 500 career plate appearances without being hit by a pitch and eight of those are pitchers.
You might have noticed there are no active players in the above list. Only nine active players have as many as 500 career plate appearances without being hit by a pitch and eight of those are pitchers.
Most Career Plate Appearances, Never Hit by a Pitch
(active pitchers through 2008)
(active position players through 2008)
(active pitchers through 2008)
- Curt Schilling, 901
- Jon Lieber, 699
- Matt Morris, 652
- Brett Tomko, 545
- Hideo Nomo, 543
- Randy Wolf, 532
- Carlos Zambrano, 531
- Kevin Millwood, 513
- Jamey Wright, 499
- Ben Sheets, 492
(active position players through 2008)
- David Murphy, 592
- Omar Quintanilla, 490
- Angel Pagan, 453
- Ryan Raburn, 378
- Wil Nieves, 348
- Brian Buscher, 338
- Carlos Gonzalez, 316
- Wladimir Balentien, 264
- Chris Aguila, 248
- Andy Gonzalez, 245
5 comments:
Juan Castro had his streak broken this year by Mike Timlin. He had 2211 AB's without an HBP heading into the 2008 season.
Cool. I wonder if he knew how far up the list he was.
That's a somewhat shocking active stat. 592 appearances isn't much more than a year's worth, so what does that say about the state of the game today compared to seasons past?
- Pitchers may be more vengeful on behalf of their teammates. The older teams seemed to embrace a more honorable approach to the game.
- Pitchers may be less skilled (wilder).
- Batters are crowding the plate more, looking for either a HPB or smaller strike zone.
- Managers are switching pitchers more often, so batters see more relatively "cold" pitchers.
Seeing Fernando in his list was no big surprise. He frequently used 3 feeble waves for his AB and retreated to the dugout.
Actually, Fernando was a pretty good hitting pitcher. He hit an even .200 with 10 career HR's. He struck out only 145 times in 936 ABs. Adam Dunn would love to have those kind of K numbers.
Oooh, now I am having disturbing mental images of Adam Dunn pitching. This entry's title would have heightened significance! He might strike out the leadoff batter, hit the second, and walk the next 4.
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