Battery Mates

An anonymous commenter last week asked how many of the pitchers Craig Biggio caught for, during his early seasons as a catcher, went on to hit him with a pitch after they left the Astros for other clubs. There were 7. Ryan Bowen, Danny Darwin, Pete Harnisch, Xavier Hernandez, Jeff Juden, Darryl Kile and Mark Portugal all hit Biggio with a pitch after he had caught for them in Houston, although Danny Darwin and Xavier Hernandez came back to Houston for a second stint after hitting Biggio with a pitch. Darwin and Pedro Astacio are the only pitchers who hit Biggio, and played for the Astros in the same year, in 1996 and 2001 respectively.

On September 9th, 1991 Andy Benes got hit by a pitch while Craig Biggio was catching, making him the only pitcher who has plunked Biggio and been hit by a pitch with Biggio behind the plate. The pitcher who drilled Benes was Mark Portugal, another Biggio plunker. Benes also got hit a month earlier by the Astros' Ryan Bowen (another of Biggio's battery mates who also plunked him) but Biggio's only appearance in that game was to pinch hit in the ninth inning for catcher Tony Eusebio. Andy Benes never paid back Bowen or Portugal, but he hit Biggio 3 times.

Including Astacio, 11 other pitchers have hit Biggio with a pitch and been his teammate. Willie Blair, Brian Moehler and Dave Veres plunked Biggio after leaving Houston. Sid Fernandez, Reggie Harris, Mike Jackson, Jeff McCurry, Yorkis Perez, and Marc Valdes all came to Houston after drilling Biggio. Ron Villone had stints with the Astros before and after he hit Biggio, and Pedro Astacio has plunked Biggio both before and after his 2001 stint in Houston.