In
baseball,
hit by pitch
(
HBP), or
hit batsman
(
HB), is a
batter
or his equipment (other than his bat) being hit in some part of his
body by a pitch from the
pitcher. Per
baseball official rule 6.08(b), a batter becomes a
baserunner and is awarded first base when he or
his equipment (except for his bat):
- is touched by a pitched ball outside of the strike zone,
- and he attempts to avoid it (or had no opportunity to
avoid it),
- and he did not swing at the pitch.
If all these conditions are met, the ball is dead, and other
baserunners advance if they are forced to vacate their base by the
batter taking first. Rule 5.09(a) further clarifies that a hit by
pitch is also called when a pitch touches a batter's
clothing.
In the case where a batter swings and the pitch hits him anyway,
the ball is dead and a
strike is called.
If the batter does not attempt to avoid the pitch, he is not
awarded first base, and the pitch is ruled a strike if in the
strike zone and a ball if out of the strike zone. In practice,
umpires rarely make this call. Perhaps the most famous instance of
a non-hit by pitch was on May 31, 1968, when
Don Drysdale hit
Dick
Dietz with a pitch that would have forced in a run and ended
Drysdale's scoreless innings streak at 44. Umpire Harry Wendelstedt
ruled that Dietz made no effort to avoid the pitch, Dietz proceeded
to fly out, and Drysdale's scoreless streak continued to a
then-record 58 2/3 innings.
A hit by pitch can also be called on a pitch that has touched the
ground. Such a bouncing pitch is like any other, and if a batter is
hit by such a pitch, he will be awarded first unless he made no
attempt to avoid it.
A batter hit by a pitch is not credited with a
hit or
at bat, but is
credited with a
time on base and a
plate appearance; therefore, being
hit by a pitch does not increase or decrease a player's
batting average but does increase his
on-base percentage. A batter hit
by a pitch with the
bases loaded is
also credited with an
RBI per MLB rule
10.04(a)(2). A pitch ruled a hit by pitch is recorded as a ball in
the pitcher's
pitch count, since by
definition the ball must be outside the strike zone and not have
been swung at.
The rule awarding first base to a batter hit by a pitch was
instituted in 1887.
Tactical use
Inside pitching is a common and
legal tactic in
baseball, and many players
make use of
brushback pitches, or
pitches aimed underneath the chin, commonly referred to as 'chin
music', to keep players away from the
plate. "Headhunter" is a common term for pitchers
who have a reputation for throwing these kinds of pitches. However,
throwing at a batter intentionally is illegal, and can be very
dangerous. When an
umpire believes
a pitcher has thrown at a batter intentionally, a warning is issued
to the pitcher and the
managers
of both teams. From that point on, any pitch thrown at a batter can
cause the pitcher and the manager (if believed to have ordered the
beanball) of the offending team to be ejected immediately from the
game. Serious offenses such as a ball thrown at the head (called a
beanball) can result in the immediate
ejection of the pitcher, and the manager if he ordered the
beanball, even without a warning.
Often, if a player is acting rude or unsportsmanlike, or having an
extraordinarily good day, the pitcher may intentionally hit the
batter, disguising it as a pitch that accidentally slipped his
control. Managers may also order a pitcher to throw such a pitch
(sometimes called a "plunking"). These pitches are often aimed at
the lower back and slower than normal, designed to send a message
more than anything else. The opposing team usually hits a batter in
retaliation for this act. The plunkings generally end there because
of umpire warnings, but in some cases things can get out of hand,
and sometimes they lead to the batter
charging the mound,
bench-clearing brawls, and several
ejections. Such plunking duels are more common in the
American League than in the
National League, because in the NL the
pitchers must bat for themselves and open themselves up to direct
retaliation (although hitting a fellow pitcher is a serious breach
of baseball etiquette).
Miscellaneous
The all-time record for a player being hit by a pitch is held by
Hughie Jennings, who was hit by 287
pitches between 1891 and 1903. The modern-day record is held by
Craig Biggio of the
Houston Astros, who had 285 as of the end of
the 2007 season when he retired. Prior to Biggio, the modern-day
record belonged to
Don Baylor, who was
hit 267 times.
The all-time single-season record also belongs to Jennings, who was
hit 51 times during the 1896 season.
Ron
Hunt of the 1971
Montreal
Expos was hit 50 times during that year. The single-game record
is three, held by
Rey
Ordóñez.
The career pitching record for most hit batsmen is 205 by
Hall-of-Famer
Walter Johnson. The
season record is 54 by
Phil Knell in
1891, and the game record is six, held by Ed Knouff and John
Grimes.
On May 1, 1974, Pittsburgh pitcher
Dock
Ellis, believing that his team needed motivation, decided to
hit every batter in the
Cincinnati
Reds lineup. Ellis hit
Pete Rose,
Joe Morgan, and
Dan Driessen, tried to hit
Tony Perez but ended up walking him, and threw
two pitches at
Johnny Bench's head
before he was removed from the game.
To date, only one Major League player has died as a result of being
struck by a pitch:
Ray Chapman of the
Cleveland Indians was hit in the
head by
Carl Mays on
August 16, , and died the next morning.
It is possible, however, to suffer serious injuries as a result of
being hit by a pitch, even when wearing a helmet. On
August 18, ,
Red Sox batter
Tony Conigliaro was hit almost
directly in the left eye by a fastball thrown by
Jack Hamilton of the
California Angels. His
cheekbone was shattered, he nearly lost the sight of the eye, was
unable to play for over a year, and never regained his earlier
batting ability. (Batting helmets at that time were not required to
have an "ear flap"; indeed, it was not until that all major league
batters were required to wear helmets with side protection.) On
September 28, ,
Kirby Puckett, the superstar outfielder of the
Minnesota Twins, was struck in the
cheek by a
Dennis Martínez
fastball, breaking his jaw and loosening two teeth. It would be his
last game; during spring training the following year he developed
glaucoma, which ended his career. Most recently,
Mike Piazza, then of the
New York Mets, was hit in the head by a pitch
from
Julian Tavarez of the
St. Louis Cardinals on September 10,
2005. His helmet shattered, and he suffered a
concussion. Other relatively minor injuries that
are possible include broken fingers or hands, broken feet, broken
ribs, injuries to the knee, or groin injuries.
On April 26, 2008, umpire
Kerwin
Danley was behind home plate umpiring a game between the Los
Angeles Dodgers and the Colorado Rockies, when Danley was hit in
the head by a 96 mph Brad Penny fastball that went over the
head of catcher Russell Martin. Danley was carried off the field in
an ambulance, but play would resume. Danley's mother was at the
game sitting in the box seats where Frank McCourt and his wife
usually sit. She rode in the ambulance with him. During the 6th
inning Vin Scully reported that Danley was doing well.
Legal consequences
Since inside pitching is a legitimate tactic in baseball, courts
have recognized that being hit by a pitch is an inherent risk of
the game, so that players cannot sue for any resulting injuries.
On April
6, 2006, in a case arising from a game involving community college baseball teams, the
Supreme Court of
California
ruled that baseball players in California assume the risk of being hit by baseballs
even if the balls were intentionally thrown so as to cause
injury. In the court's words: "For better or worse, being
intentionally thrown at is a fundamental part and inherent risk of
the sport of baseball. It is not the function of
tort law to police such conduct."
Popular culture
- In the 1989 film Major
League it was announced of a fictional New York Yankees pitcher: "The Duke led the
American League this year in
saves, ERA, and hit batsmen. This guy once threw
at his own kid at a father-son game."
- Satirical newspaper The Onion ran a
story entitled "Craig Biggio Blames Media Pressure For Stalling At
285 Hit-By-Pitches" as Biggio closed in on the record of 287
hit-by-pitches.
- In The Simpsons episode
"Homer at the Bat," Homer Simpson is hit in the head by a pitch
while playing for the Springfield Nuclear Power Plant softball
team, rendering him unconscious, but forcing in the winning
run.
- In "Cheers" the slow-witted bartender
known as "Coach" in one episode claimed to hold a minor league
record for being hit by pitches. Being hit was a skill he
cultivated, saying it was just as good as a hit.
See also
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