Hit By Pitch! The ugly side of pitching - MLB Feature
Baseball is one of the most famous games in the World. Fans are mesmerised by the quality of pitching, the ability of the batters to hit the ball long and the excellence of skills in the field. Every single pitch is recorded in detail and every single event
that takes place on the field becomes a part of the history, adding to the appeal of the game.
There are some occurrences in baseball that are rare. They can also be described as somewhat strange in nature. But being a part of the game, they continue to take place. One such aspect is the hit by pitch.
Under 6.08b of the baseball rules, a batter can move to first base if he has been hit by a pitch in case he does not try to hit it, has been hit outside the strike zone and attempted to get out of the way. The rule is still applicable if the pitch hits any
piece of his equipment or the clothing of the batter under the given conditions. If there is a runner on the first base, he will automatically vacate the base and move to the next.
A batter getting hit by pitch is not very common but it happens every now and again. A lot of pitchers often attempt to make a point to the batters about their speed by throwing a wild one. However, if the batter is not up to the task in moving out of the
way in time, getting hit by the pitch is a natural result.
Pitchers use this tactic of unsettling the batter occasionally. It is a legal tactic in baseball. Brushback pitch is most commonly used. It is a quick pitch aimed at the thigh height on the inside, forcing the batter to move away from the plate. Some pitchers
use it to make sure that batters don’t get too comfortable on the plate.
There are other kinds of pitches that can be quite dangerous such as a beanball. It is also referred to as chin music and generally is thrown towards the head of the batter, albeit not on purpose on most occasions. The idea is to intimidate the batter and
shake his confidence. If the umpire suspects that the pitch was intentional, he can eject the pitcher from the game without warning. In case such a pitch was thrown by the consent of the manager, he too can be ejected.
Another tactic, called plunking is also employed by pitchers. It is a slower than normal pitch, generally aimed at the lower back just to get a point across. It is a relatively harmless pitch but many brawls have started with it. The list includes the famous
July 2004 brawl between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox after Alex Rodriguez got plunked by Bronson Arroyo pitch.
The batter who wins the crown of being hit by more pitches than anyone else in Major League Baseball’s modern era is none other than Craig Biggio of the Houston Astros. The right-hander was hit by a pitcher 285 times in his Major League career. He broke
the previous modern era record of 267 held by Don Baylor. He was only second to the all time hit by pitch record holder Hughie Jennings who had two more to his credit. Biggio was called by some as the "king of hit batsmen”. The second baseman was an established
hitter with a career average of .281.
The Hall of Fame pitcher Walter Johnson hit a record 205 batsmen with his pitches during his Major League career. The single season record of 54 was made in 1891 by Phil Knell. The single match record by any pitcher hitting the batter stands at six.
Hit by pitch is one of the dangerous aspects of the game. Ideally it occurs only by chance, very few and far between and pitchers should refrain from using it as an intimidation tool as it can cause a fair bit of harm.
The views expressed in this article are the writer's own and in no way represent Bettor.com's official editorial policy.
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