- Plunk Everyone is a blog dedicated to the humble hit by pitch. It's well worth reading. The author mentioned both on his blog and in a post at Brew Crew Ball on Tuesday that Jason Kendall became only the second player to be hit by all 30 major league teams (can you guess the first without looking? I'm guessing you'll be surprised). The Brewers backstop has now been hit 235 times by 184 pitchers.
- Elias Says..., a column at ESPN.com, notes that nine different Mets have tripled over the teams last nine games coming into today. The Mets are the first team to do that since 1983. Right on cue, Jeremy Reed hit his first triple of the season today to become the tenth player in ten games, but it wasn't enough to stop New York from losing to Florida.
- Yovani Gallardo of the Brewers was the winning pitcher in his team's 1-0 victory. He also hit the game-winning home run in the bottom of the 7th inning. He departed after the 8th inning, having thrown 116 pitches. Had he pitched a scoreless ninth, he would have joined the following pitchers since 1954 who homered in all their team's runs while throwing a shutout:
- Bob Welch (LAD) on June 17, 1983 - won 1-0
- Juan Pizarro (CHC) on September 16, 1971 - won 1-0
- Sonny Siebert (BOS) on September 2, 1971 - won 3-0
- Jim Bunning (PHI) on May 5, 1965 - won 1-0
- Early Wynn (CHW) on May 1, 1959 - won 1-0
There are a couple honorable mentions as well. Juan Pizarro drove in both Cubs runs during his 2-0 shutout on May 10, 1963 but only one came via the long ball. Also, though Roger Freed drove in one run, that shouldn't take away from Rick Wise's 3 RBI on 2 HR for the Phillies on June 23, 1971 -- all while he was no-hitting the Reds.
Showing posts with label HBP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label HBP. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
A Couple Quick Notes
Just a couple things to pass along:
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Don't Hit Me, Pitcher
When Craig Biggio retired following the 2007 season, he had been hit by pitches 285 times over twenty seasons. This wound up being two short of Hughie Jennings' all-time record of 287 times hit by pitches. In 2007, Biggio was hit by pitches only three times, his lowest total since 1991. Whether because of media pressure, pitchers not throwing inside on him, or some other reason, he had to settle for second place on the list.
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 (*).
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
Monday, August 18, 2008
Daniel Cabrera & Hit Batsmen
Baltimore Orioles righthander Daniel Cabrera has always struggled with controlling his pitches. Over his career, he's walked 5 batters for every nine innings pitched. Since his debut in 2004, he's issued the most bases on balls (461) of any pitcher in the majors. Runner-up Carlos Zambrano has given up 436 walks since the beginning of the 2004 season, and he's thrown almost 200 more innings during that span!
Walking batters on four balls isn't the only way Cabrera puts guys on base. Since his debut, only seven other pitchers have hit as many batters as he has. This year, however, Cabrera has no equal. With six weeks left to play in the season, he's already plunked seventeen batters. No other pitcher in the majors has hit more than twelve hitters this year. While it's true the major league leader in hit batsmen is usually near twenty in a season, Cabrera has a chance to do something that hasn't occurred in over eighty years.
Since 2001, five pitchers (Jamey Wright, Chan Ho Park, Victor Zambrano, Carlos Zambrano, and Bronson Arroyo) have hit exactly twenty batters in a season. It's rare to see a pitcher move past twenty in a year, though. Kerry Wood became the first pitcher in 34 years to throw 21 HBP in a season when he did it for the 2003 Cubs. In fact, he and Tommy Murphy of the 1969 Angels are the only two pitchers to hit 21 or more batters in a season since 1922. In that season, Howard Ehmke of the Tigers plunked 22 opponents.
The Orioles have thirty-nine games remaining this year. Cabrera's next start is Tuesday, so he should have about six or seven more starts after that, barring injury or suspension for, what else, hitting someone. Cabrera has hit batters at a rate of two every three starts so far this year, so he would have to continue or even slightly increase that rate to become the first pitcher in 86 years to plunk 22 hitters in a season. So there you have it, something else to watch besides than waiver trades and guys fighting for jobs next year in Baltimore.
Walking batters on four balls isn't the only way Cabrera puts guys on base. Since his debut, only seven other pitchers have hit as many batters as he has. This year, however, Cabrera has no equal. With six weeks left to play in the season, he's already plunked seventeen batters. No other pitcher in the majors has hit more than twelve hitters this year. While it's true the major league leader in hit batsmen is usually near twenty in a season, Cabrera has a chance to do something that hasn't occurred in over eighty years.
Since 2001, five pitchers (Jamey Wright, Chan Ho Park, Victor Zambrano, Carlos Zambrano, and Bronson Arroyo) have hit exactly twenty batters in a season. It's rare to see a pitcher move past twenty in a year, though. Kerry Wood became the first pitcher in 34 years to throw 21 HBP in a season when he did it for the 2003 Cubs. In fact, he and Tommy Murphy of the 1969 Angels are the only two pitchers to hit 21 or more batters in a season since 1922. In that season, Howard Ehmke of the Tigers plunked 22 opponents.
The Orioles have thirty-nine games remaining this year. Cabrera's next start is Tuesday, so he should have about six or seven more starts after that, barring injury or suspension for, what else, hitting someone. Cabrera has hit batters at a rate of two every three starts so far this year, so he would have to continue or even slightly increase that rate to become the first pitcher in 86 years to plunk 22 hitters in a season. So there you have it, something else to watch besides than waiver trades and guys fighting for jobs next year in Baltimore.
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