It’s time again for Baseball Roundtable’s Trivia(l) Tidbit Tuesday. I hope you are enjoying this weekly presentation of baseball occurrences that for some reason caught The Roundtable’s eye. (I’m particularly fond of unexpected performances and statistical coincidences.) These won’t necessarily be momentous occurrences, just events, statistics or coincidences that grabbed my attention. I’m also drawn to baseball “unicorns,” one-of-a-kind MLB accomplishments or statistics. This week we are focusing on hit-by-pitch – or, more accurately “missed-by-pitch.
When it comes to “taking one for the team,” nobody did it more often in the major leagues than infielder Hughie Jennings, who was hit by a pitch an MLB-record 287 times in his 18-season major-league career (1891-1903, 1907, 1909-10, 1912, 1918 … AA/NL Louisville Colonels, NL Baltimore Orioles, Brooklyn Superbas, Phillies, Tigers). He took those 287 “hits” over 1,284 games/5,648 plate appearances. For those who like to know such things, Hall of Famer Jennings was a career .312 hitter, with 18 home runs, 849 RBI and 992 runs scored. He led the league in HBP five times, including a still MLB-record 51 in 1896.
Craig Biggio, while he played quite a few more games, was just a bit behind Jennings at 285 HBP. He took his “hits” over 2,850 games/12,504 plate appearances. Biggio, also a Hall of Famer, played in 20 MLB seasons (1988-2007 … Astros). His final stat line was .281-291-1,175, with 1,844 runs and 414 steals. (He also had 3,060 hits, 26th all-time.) Biggio led the league in HBP five times, with a high of 34 in 1997.
But getting hit by a pitch is not what this Tidbit is about. It’s about the other side of that coin, with a main focus on infielder Mark Lemke, who holds the MLB record for career (regular season) plate appearances without ever being nicked by a pitch (3,664 plate appearances over 1069 games in 11 MLB seasons). Note: He also had 257 post-season plate appearances without “taking a hit.”\
Lemke played in 11 MLB seasons (1988-1998 … all for the Braves, except 1998 with the Red Sox). The switch-hitting 2B/3B went .246-32-270, with 349 runs scored over his career. His best season was 1994, when he went .294-3-31 in 104 games. It was the only season in his career when he hit above .255. Another “one thing leads to another” from the Roundtable: In 2,209 minor-league plate appearances, Lemke was hit by a pitch 23 times.,
Bill Bergen was a right-handed hitting catcher known for his defensive skills. He played in 11 MLB seasons (1901-1911 … Reds, Dodgers). His career stats were .170-2-193, with 138 runs scored and 23 steals in 947 games. He hit .200 or better in just one season (1903), when he went .227-0-19 in 58 games.
Mickey Witek was a right-handed hitting utility infielder who played in seven MLB seasons (1949-43, 1946-47, 1949 … Giants, Yankees), going .277-22-196, with 239 runs scored in 581 games. His best season was 1943, when he hit .314-6-55, with 68 runs scored for the Giants. All but one of Witek’s MLB at bats were as a New York Giant. He also had one at bat (and one hit) as a Yankee 1949).
Herm Winningham was a left-handed hitting outfielder over nine MLB seasons (1984-93 … Mets, Expos, Reds, Red Sox), going .239-19-147, with 212 runs scored and 105 steals. His best season was 1987 (Expos) when he hit .239 and set career highs in home runs (4), RBI (41), hits (83), doubles (20) and stolen bases (29).
A few more HBP tidbits:
- Only two players have been HBP at least 50 times in a season: Hughie Jennings (51 with the 1896 NL Orioles) and Ron Hunt (50 with the 1971 Expos).
- Ron Hunt led the league in a record seven consecutive seasons – for three different teams (Expos, Giants, Cardinals).
- Minnie Minoso led the league in HBP a record ten times – all for the white Sox (1952-54; 1956-1961). His consecutive seasons of leadership were interrupted in 1955 by teammate Nellie Fox.
- The record for getting hit by a pitch in a game is three – shared by 34 players. The only players to be plunked three times in a game more than once are Reed Johnson (three times); Jurickson Profar (twice). Frank Chance (twice); Damion Easley (twice); Brandon Guyer (twice).
Primary Resources: Sports-Reference.com; Baseball Almanac.com
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