Monday, April 30, 2007

All Star Ballot

The 2007 All Star game ballot is up over at MLB.com, and ready to receive your 25 votes (per email address) for who should participate this year. Like all things in baseball that involve voting, everyone seems to have their own theory about what criteria you should use to pick this team. Some people like to vote for who's having the best season now (which makes voting in April and May a little silly). Some people like to vote for who they think are the best overall players in the game. Others like to vote for whichever players have had the best stats since last year's all star game, and still others vote for the people who have had the best highlights on ESPN or the most TV commercials.

But this year, why not vote for some people who have really earned the right to some recognition? Why not vote for the guys who have the most career HBPs? The ones who have put their team ahead of their own well being for season after season... lets give them the individual recognition they deserve just for being willing to take a fastball in the shoulder and get on base rather dive for cover so they can hack at another pitch for a "hey, look at me" home run or something.

So, here are the players with the top career HBPs by position on this year's All Star ballot (top three in each category are included in case you have a moral objection to voting for players from certain teams like the Yankees, or other assorted suspected steroid users):

National League:

First Base:
Carlos Delgado, NYM - 150
Nomar Garciaparra, LAD - 58
Nick Johnson, WAS - 52
Derrek Lee, CHC - 52

Second Base:
Craig Biggio, HOU - 283
Jeff Kent, LAD - 115
Ray Durham, SF - 68

Short Stop:
David Eckstein, STL - 107
Alex Gonzalez, CIN - 56
Omar Vizquel, SF - 46

Third Base:
Scott Rolen, STL - 91
Aramis Ramirez, CHC - 53
Craig Counsell, MIL - 37

Catcher:
Brad Ausmus, HOU - 61
Paul Lo Duca, NYM - 49
Bengie Molina, SF - 30

Outfield:
Luis Gonzalez, LAD - 108
Barry Bonds, SF - 104
Geoff Jenkins, MIL - 86
Andruw Jones, ATL - 78
Ken Griffey, CIN - 76


American League:

First Base:
Jason Giambi, NYY - 128
Sean Casey, DET - 58
Paul Konerko, CWS - 57

Second Base:
Mark Grudzielanek, KC - 94
Placido Polanco, DET - 55
Mark Ellis, OAK - 27

Short Stop:
Derek Jeter, NYY - 119
Miguel Tejada, BAL - 83
Royce Clayton, TOR - 45

Third Base:
Alex Rodriguez, NYY - 108
Melvin Mora, BAL - 89
Mike Lowell, BOS - 43

Catcher:
Jason Kendall, OAK - 210
AJ Pierzynski, CWS - 71
Jorge Posada, NYY - 55

Outfield:
Gary Sheffield, DET - 123
Jose Guillen, SEA - 98
Rondell White, MIN - 85
Manny Ramirez, BOS - 78
Vlad Guerrero, LAA - 73
Shannon Stewart, OAK - 71
Reed Johnson, TOR - 71


Vote early and vote often. (But not for the Yankees or Team BALCO)

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wrapping up April

Craig Biggio didn't get hit by any pitches against the Brewers over the weekend, and the Astros have today off, which means Craig Biggio will have his first 1 plunk month of April since 1999. Biggio finished that season with 11 plunks though, and the 3 others seasons in which he finished April with 1 HBP saw him finish the year with an average of 12 HBPs. His lowest season total after a 1 plunk April was 6 in 1989.

On this day in Biggio plunking history, Juan Acevedo plunked Biggio on April 30, 1995 and Dave Veres hit him on April 30, 1997.

Saturday, April 28, 2007

two more with Brewers and the most plunked day of the year

Craig Biggio saw 18 pitches last night, but didn't get hit by any of them, so he'll be back out there trying again to take his 284th for the team tonight against the Brewers' Dave Bush. Bush has never plunked Biggio, but he wears #31 for the Brewers, and Everett Stull wore number 31 for the Brewers when he plunked Biggio on April 29, 2000. That fact would have worked out better if Bush were pitching Sunday instead of Saturday, but you can't have everything.

Biggio has been plunked twice on April 28th, by Brandon Claussen last year, and by Al Leiter in 1998.

April 29th, on the other hand, is the day of the year on which Craig Biggio has been plunked the most times of any calendar date, with 6. Also, the Brewers have hit more batters on Sundays over the past 5 years than any other day of the week. Claudio Vargas will be the one getting the first shot tomorrow to move Biggio's April 29th plunk total to 7. He's never plunked Biggio before but he would be the 3rd Brewer who wore number 46 to do it.

Joey Hamilton plunked Biggio on April 29, 1996 for the Padres, and Roger Bailey plunked him on April 29, 1997 for Colorado. Everett Stull and Curt Leskanic both hit him on April 29, 2000 for the Brewers and Matt Clement hit him twice on April 29, 2001 for the Marlins.

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Friday, April 27, 2007

Good things come to those who plunk

First, pitchers should never try to plunk Craig Biggio on purpose. That's just wrong. And while he may not choose to charge the mound himself, he has teammates, and possibly unseen powers to exact revenge in the future.

But the numbers show that good things come to those who have plunked Biggio in the past. 2,413 players have thrown a major league pitch from 1988 to 2006 and 212 of them have plunked Biggio. Pitchers who plunked Biggio have a total combined record of 10,553 wins and 10,134 losses - a .510 win percentage. Those other 2,201 pitchers who never plunked Biggio have a career record of 32,232 wins and 32,651 losses - just a .497 win pct. Pitchers who have plunked Biggio have won 2.7% more games than their counterparts who haven't.

Also, pitchers who have plunked Biggio have accumulated an average of 601 strikeouts each, while the pitchers who haven't done it have thrown just 184 each. Pitchers who hit Biggio with a pitch have had a strikeout to walk ratio of 1.98 while the others have struck out just 1.81 per walk. And, Biggio plunkers have accumulated a 4.22 combined ERA, compared to 4.32 for the guys who haven't bounced one of Biggio's uniform.

Pitchers who have plunked Biggio 2 or 3 times have been the best in terms of career wins and losses. 2 time plunkers have won 52.2% of their decisions, and 3 timers have won 52.1%. 3 time Biggio plunkers have a combined ERA of 4.12. However, if you plunke Biggio more than 3 times, history has shown that your ERA will jump to well above the average earned runs for those who never plunked Biggio.

Wins and losses by number of times plunking Biggio:

HB:BGOPitchersWinsLossesWin Pct
0220132232326510.497
1
163665765150.505
2
34248122760.522
3
12112010280.521
4
167980.406
5
199930.516
7
11291240.51


ERA, Strikeout to Walk ratio, and Walks + Hits per Inning Pitched by times plunking Biggio:

HB:BGOPitchersERAK/BBWHIP
022014.321.811.40
1
1634.231.991.36
2
344.171.991.35
3
124.121.911.36
4
15.141.081.60
5
14.562.001.35
7
14.672.291.37

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minute maid brewings

The chase for plunk 288 got the day off yesterday, while the Astros lost again to the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3. That was the Astros 6th consecutive loss, and since that streak was preceded by 5 consecutive wins, it's only logical to assume that a 7 game win streak will be begun tonight at home against Milwaukee.
Chris Capuano will be put in charge of throwing at batters to begin the night, having beaten the Astros last Saturday without plunking anyone. Capuano, as you may recall, plunked Biggio on June 12, 2004, but he's thrown 31 pitches that hit other batters, and 9,381 pitches that didn't hit a batter. Tonight will be Capuano's 100th career game.

Biggio's only previous plunk on this date was thrown by Kevin Gryboski on April 27, 2002.

Thursday, April 26, 2007

16 innings, no plunks

Craig Biggio drove in the tieing run in the top of the 9th inning last night, and then sat down and watched another 7 innings of baseball before the Pirates finally scored a run in the 16th, winning the game 4-3. But he didn't get hit by a pitch.

Biggio went 3-5 in the game, including his 53rd career triple. Biggio hadn't tripled since May 1, 2005, and when you see him get triple his history shows that he's probably not getting hit by a pitch in the same game. Biggio has only tripled and been plunked in a game 4 times, although one of those was a 2 plunk game. As his 642 career doubles clearly shows, Craig Biggio prefers to stop at 2nd base.

This afternoon, the Astros wrap up their series in Pittsburgh, facing Tony Armas. Armas has never plunked Biggio, but his father Tony Armas Senior played with Don Baylor on the '86 Red Sox when Baylor got hit by 35 pitches. Armas Jr. has hit 44 batters in his career, but only 1 was an Astro (Adam Everett on July 23, 2005).

Shawn Estes plunked Biggio on April 26, 1997.

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Wednesday, April 25, 2007

32 unplunked games in PA

Craig Biggio played his 32nd consecutive unplunked game in Pennsylvania last night, but he did go 2-4. Unfortunately though, Pirates pitcher Paul Maholm only gave up one other hit while pitching a complete game shutout, and the Astros lost 3-0.

Tonight's starter for the Pirates will be Zach Duke, who has never hit Craig Biggio with a pitch, but he did hit Brad Ausmus on April 2nd this year. That was the only batter he's hit this season, but that also means he has now plunked more Astros than any other team's batters. 3 of Duke's 10 career plunks have been thrown at Astros.

If Biggio were to get plunked today, Pennsylvania would be the 4th different state he's been plunked in on April 25th. He was hit in Ohio by the Reds on April 25, 1999, plunked twice in Florida on April 25, 2002, and one more time in Colorado on April 25, 2004. Biggio has only been plunked in 4 different states on May 4th (Texas, Illinois, Missouri and New York).

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Tuesday, April 24, 2007

more attempts at getting hit in Pennsylvania

Craig Biggio hit his 51st career leadoff homer yesterday, but he didn't collect his 284th HBP, and the Astros got beat up 11-4 by the Phillies. Tonight the Astros mover to the other end of Pennsylvania to face the Pirates who will hand the ball to Paul Maholm. He's been hitting about one batter per every 64.3 he's faced but he has never plunked Craig Biggio. Biggio hasn't been hit by a pitch at Pittsburgh since May 6, 2004 and he hasn't been plunked in the state of Pennsylvania since August 17, 2004.

Craig Biggio didn't get hit by a pitch until on April 24th until 2003 - he'd already been plunked 217 times by then. 218 came at Shea Stadium on April 24, 2003, thrown by Pedro Astacio. Biggio also recorded plunk number 243 on April 24, 2004. That one was thrown by Steve Reed in Colorado.

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Monday, April 23, 2007

1 game series plunks

Since Craig Biggio joined the Major Leagues with the Astros in June of 1988, the team has had to travel back to a city for a 1 game makeup series 8 times. Craig Biggio was hit by a pitch in just one of those games - on June 8, 2000 against the Dodgers.
The prior day, they were in Houston playing the twins, and the day after they were in San Diego, but on the 8th, they were in LA and Biggio got hit by Alan Mills. Since the Astros have played in domes during all of Biggio's years, all 8 of those 1 game makeups were on the road.

To answer Anonymous's question regarding double headers, Biggio has only been hit twice on days the Astros have played a double header, but he's never been hit in both games of a twin bill. Steve Woodard plunked him in game 1 on May 22, 2000 at County Stadium in Milwaukee, and Jimmy Anderson of the Pirates plunked Biggio in the 2nd game of the day, on July 28, 2001.

plunk free in Milwaukee

The Astros wrapped up their series in Milwaukee with another close loss yesterday, 4-3. They made yet another late inning attempt at a comeback, but Craig Biggio fouled out to end the game pinch hitting in the top of the 9th, instead of getting hit by a pitch. These things happen - you can't win the game or get hit by a pitch ever. He didn't get hit by a pitch Saturday either, so the Quest for 288 is still waiting for number 284.

Tonight, the Astros will go back to Philadelphia to make up the game that was supposed to by played on the 15th. Adam Eaton will be pitching for the Phillies, but he has never hit Craig Biggio with a pitch. He might want to consider it though, since Biggio has batted .462 against him in 13 at-bats. Eaton has hit two batters so far this season, bringing his career total to 37.

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Saturday, April 21, 2007

First plunk day weekend!

Craig Biggio rallied the Astros with a 9th inning grand slam last night, and they needed all 4 of those runs in the bottom of the 9th to hold off the Brewers for a 6-5 win. It was Biggio's 3rd career grand slam, and unfortunately the 3rd game in which he hit a grand slam and didn't get hit by a pitch. (His other grand slams came on September 14, 1989 off the Dodgers' John Wetteland, and July 24, 1994 off the the Pirates John Lieber - who plunked Biggio the following year).

Tonight the Astros face Chris Capuano. He hit Craig Biggio with a pitch on June 12, 2004 at Miller Park. Biggio's only prior plunk on April 21st was also against Milwaukee - thrown by Matt Wise in 2005.

Sunday is first plunk day! April 22nd is the 18th anniversary of Craig Biggio's first plunk, thrown by Tim Birtsas of the Reds in 1989. Biggio has also been plunked on April 22nd by Steve Bourgeois of the Giants in 1996, and by Al Reyes of the Cardinals in 2005.

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Friday, April 20, 2007

NBA playoff preview

The NBA playoffs start tomorrow, but that has nothing to do with Craig Biggio getting hit by pitches. Or does it?

Since 1989, the first year Craig Biggio got hit by a pitch, there have been 670 Astros games on dates when there have been NBA playoff games, and Craig Biggio has been hit by a pitch 82 times in 76 of those games. 29% of Biggio plunks have come on days when the NBA playoffs were being played. On days of NBA playoff games, Craig Biggio has been plunked once per 35 plate appearances, but only once per 45.4 plate appearances on days when there are no playoff games. That is, he gets hit 29.7% more often on days when there's an NBA playoff game.

Biggio has been hit by a pitch 14 times on days when Houston's NBA team, the Rockets, have had a playoff game, but he's been hit the most times - 28 - on days of Lakers playoff games. Unfortunately, the Rockets are only 6-8 in playoff games on days when Biggio has been plunked, so while his ability to get plunked helps the Astros win, it doesn't appear to help the Rockets. The Rockets are 3-3 in the first round when Biggio gets hit by a pitch, 1-4 in the 2nd round, and 0-1 in the conference finals. But when they make it to the NBA Finals, they are 2-0 in games on days when Biggio has been hit. The Sacramento Kings have the best record in the playoffs on Biggio's plunk days, going 7-1, while Biggio seems to have jinxed the Milwaukee Bucks to an 0-7 record on dates of his HBPs.

Perhaps most amazingly, of the 30 current NBA franchises, all but 2 of them have played at least 1 playoff game on a day when Craig Biggio was plunked. The only two who haven't are the most recently added - the Charlotte Bobcats, and the Golden State Warriors who are returning to the playoffs for the first time since 1994 this year.

Here are the playoff records of every NBA team on days when Craig Biggio has been hit by a pitch:
TeamWinsLossesWin Pct.
Kings710.875
Suns940.692
Pacers1370.650
Lakers1690.640
Celtics530.625
76ers530.625
Bulls1280.600
Pistons640.600
Nets430.571
Hornets650.545
Heat660.500
T-wolves440.500
Magic440.500
Cavs110.500
Raptors110.500
Blazers560.455
Spurs9120.429
Rockets680.429
Hawks340.429
Sonics7100.412
Jazz6100.375
Mavericks240.333
Nuggets120.333
Knicks5120.294
Clippers010
Grizzlies010
Wizards/Bullets030
Bucks070
Warriors
0
0
n/a
Bobcats
0
0
n/a
Total
143
143

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the 8th inning - where 5 runs are scored.

The Astros made a 5 run rally in the 8th inning for the 2nd straight night last night, and pulled out an 8-6 win in Cincinnati. Craig Biggio got the night off, but found a convenient time to draw his first walk of the season - pinch hitting to lead off that big 8th inning. But, he didn't get hit by any pitch.

Tonight the Astros move on to Milwaukee where Ben Sheets will be there to meet them, and throw baseballs at them (which is the way pitchers greet people). Sheets "greeted" Biggio with a plunk on August 17th last season and on June 29, 2001. Both plunks were thrown in Milwaukee. Biggio has been hit twice on April 20th, but he got them both in one game in 2001. Rick Ankiel and Andy Benes of the Cardinals shared the plunking that day.

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Thursday, April 19, 2007

Reds notes

Craig Biggio has been hit by a pitch 21 times by the Cincinnati Reds, and since the beginning of Biggio's first season in the league, through yesterday, the two teams have plunked each other 206 times. That works out to Craig Biggio accounting for 10.2% of all plunks in Astros/Reds since 1988, and 19.8% of the plunks the Reds have thrown against the Astros. The Reds plunked 106 Astros in that span, and the Astros have hit 100 Reds. Only the Pirates have combined with the Astros for more plunks during there games against each other, with 217.

The most plunked Red in those games was Jason Larue, who collected 12 plunks from the Astros from 1999-2006, before being traded to the Royals. That is the Reds franchise record for being plunked by the Astros, and Larue is 2nd on the Reds all time HBP list with 93, just 25 plunks behind Frank Robinson's 118 for the team record. But, the Reds would have to re-acquire for him to break that record.

Another 12 of those 206 plunks in Astros/Reds games since 1988 landed on Jeff Bagwell, and 10 more hit Barry Larkin. So between those 4 players - Biggio, Bagwell, Larkin and Larue - they have recorded 26.7% of the HBPs in games between the two teams since '88.

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one more in Red Ohio

The Astros used a 5 run 8th inning to come from behind and beat the Reds 7-2 last night but Craig Biggio did not add to his career HBP total, or continue his streak of being plunked by the Reds. In case you hadn't head, Biggio has been plunked by a Reds pitcher in the last 15 consecutive years. Bronson Arroyo will probably be trying to continue that streak tonight. Arroyo hasn't hit anyone yet this year, but he has hit 48 batters in his career, including Craig Biggio on April 7, 2001. If Arroyo does plunk Biggio tonight, he'll be only the 2nd pitcher to do so for the Reds after previously hitting Biggio with a pitch for another team. Currently, of the 18 Reds who have plunked Biggio, only Mark Portugal had prior experience bouncing pitches of Craig Biggio with a another team.

Todd Ritchie holds the all time record for plunking Biggio on April 19th, with 1. He set that record in 2003, and it still stands.

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Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Linear projections for plunks

As you may have noticed, this site usually features a Bruise Board in the upper right corner, that lists a projected end of season total for Craig Biggio's HBPs. That end of season total is based on a linear projection of Biggio's season plunk total and the number of games the Astros have played. Reader DM suggested yesterday that now that Biggio has been hit this season, it's time to project from there to predict when he'll record the record breaking Plunk 288.

Last night's game was the 12th of the season - so if Biggio continues to get plunked exactly once every 12 games, he'll record his 288th plunk Friday, June 22nd (which happens to be two days after reader DM's prediction, as listed in the sidebar). If you use the same method to project when he'll reach that popular hits milestone he's chasing, you'll see that he has 14 hits in 12 games so far, and at that rate he'll need 60 games to record 70 hits. 70 hits plus the 2,930 he started the year with equals 3,000 hits on June 8th at Wrigley Field (assuming they actually play all games scheduled between now and then). If you believe in linear projections, you might want to buy tickets to that game and a flight to Chicago, because using the that method, that figures to be the same game he ties Hughie Jennings with 287 career plunks. Enjoy that coincidence while it lasts, because it will only be true until they play their next game - unless he somehow manages to record 1/12th of a plunk and 1.1667 hits.

However, projecting linearly from Biggio's first plunk of the year has never successfully predicted his 5th or 6th plunk. Projections based on his 1st plunk have only been accurate 4 times in his career. In 1997, he was first plunked in the Astros 4th game of the year, and recorded his 11th plunk in game number 44. In 2001, plunk number 1 was in game 5 and plunk his third plunk of the year was in game 15. And, in 2004 he was first plunked in the Astros 9th game, and hit next in game 18. In 2005, he was first plunked in the 7th game of the Astros season, and recorded his 10th of the year in Astros game number 70.

283 in the books, on to Cincinatti

The Astros pulled out a 6-1 win against the Marlins last night, highlighted by a 4 run 4th inning, which was led off by Craig Biggio's 283rd career HBP. It was the 2nd time Biggio has been plunked by Jorge Julio - he threw plunk 263 at Camden Yards in June of 2005. Also, Carlos Lee became 28th player to drive in a Craig Biggio run after he reached base on a plunk. It was the 27th time Biggio scored on a teammates double after being hit by a pitch.

But, baseball never leaves time to celebrate the first plunk of the season, because there's always another game. The Astros hit the road again, traveling to Cincinnati tonight to face Aaron Harang and the Reds. Harang has never hit Craig Biggio with a pitch, but he hit Aubrey Huff last year and 7 other batters last season, bringing him to 25 for his career. Five of the eight plunks he threw last year were in home games, but only 1 was on a Wednesday.

Josias Manzanillo is the only pitcher who has plunked Biggio on April 18th - that was in 2001, for the Pirates.

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Tuesday, April 17, 2007

283!!!

Jorge Julio threw Biggio's 283rd plunk on the first pitch of the bottom of the 5th. Julio joins Jay Witasick as the only pitchers who have plunked Biggio for both an American League and National League team.

Biggio is finally on the board for 2007!


And the 98th run scored off a plunk for his career.

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what's so great about 2,942 hits?

It's not a nice memorable round number, like 3000 hits. But Craig Biggio's career began in 1988 and he's played in every season since then, and leaderboard for career hits from 1988 to 2007 now looks like this:

Craig Biggio - 2,942
Rafael Palmeiro - 2,941
Roberto Alomar - 2,724
Barry Bonds - 2,614
Steve Finley - 2,532

Baseball often seems to run on milestones, and 3000 hits is an undeniably important one, but one of the problems with milestones is that baseball changes over the years. Some people like to segment the years into statistical eras, and some of the more hardcore stats people figure you can compare different seasons across the decades and centuries by simply normalizing everything to the averages of the seasons they occurred in. Simply. And then you have to adjust for the various differences in the ballparks everyone played. That sound simple, right? But if you're a baseball player, and you can look at the years you played and see that no one in baseball had more hits than you, that means something no matter what the "park factors" and changes in yearly averages tells you. Everyone who played in the years you did played by more or less the same rules and against more or less the same competition, so if no one else had more hits than you during the sum of the years you played, you've done something special, and joined a pretty amazing list of overlapping careers that spans back to the beginning of baseball.

Again, 3000 hits is 3000 hits. But Rickey Henderson got 3,055 in his years in the majors, while being out hit by 3 different players. Wade Boggs was out hit by Tony Gwynn during his years, and Tony Gwynn was 2nd to Cal Ripken. On the other hand, Kirby Puckett had just 2,304 hits in only 12 seasons - but that was 52 hits more than anyone else had in those 12 seasons. Similarly Bobby Doerr's career total was only 2,042 but that was still 34 more hits than anyone else had in those 14 seasons Doerr played. There's certainly no shame in 2nd place in this category - 22 of the 28 guys who finished 2nd in hits during the years they played are in the Hall of Fame, and Roberto Alomar's odds are pretty good to make it 23. Along with Gwynn, Boggs, and Alomar, that list includes Carl Yastrzemski, Ted Williams, Robin Yount, Rod Carew, Nap Lajoie, Willie Mays, Nellie Fox and Tris Speaker.

Unless Palmeiro makes a comeback and retakes the lead from Biggio, Mr. Astro will retire as the 29th player ever to lead the league in hits during the span of his career, and the first to lead the league in both hits and HBPs during the years he played. Of the other 28, only 5 are not in the Hall of Fame - one because he's banned, one because he hasn't been voted on yet (and tested positive for steroids).


Batters with the most total hits in the seasons they played
:
Player
SeasonsTop 5 in those years
Cal McVey
869
1871-1879Cal McVey 869,
Deacon White 845,
George Wright 831,
Cap Anson 780,
Ross Barnes 779
Cap Anson*
3418
1871-1897Cap Anson 3418,
Jim O'Rourke 2642,
Roger Conner 2467,
Dan Brouthers 2296,
Paul Hines 2134
Jimmy Ryan
2502
1885-1900, 1902-1903Jimmy Ryan 2502,
Ed Delahanty 2404,
George Van Haltren 2350,
Jake Beckley 2323,
Jesse Burkett 2321
Ed Delahanty*
2596
1888-1903Ed Delahanty 2596,
Jesse Burkett 2547,
Jake Beckley 2501,
George Van Haltren 2497,
Hugh Duffy 2257
Jake Beckley*
2930
1888-1907Jake Beckley 2930,
Jesse Burkett 2850,
Willie Keeler 2749,
Ed Delahanty 2596,
Lave Cross 2591
Jesse Burkett*
2850
1890-1905Jesse Burkett 2850,
Jake Beckley 2573,
Willie Keeler 2470,
Ed Delahanty 2458,
Lave Cross 2344
Willie Keeler*
2932
1892-1910Willie Keeler 2932,
Jesse Burkett 2681,
Fred Clarke 2543,
Honus Wagner 2473,
Nap Lajoie 2456
Honus Wagner*
3415
1897-1917Honus Wagner 3415,
Nap Lajoie 3185,
Sam Crawford 2961,
Ty Cobb 2361,
Willie Keeler 2240
Ty Cobb*
4189
1905-1928Ty Cobb 4189,
Tris Speaker 3514,
Eddie Collins 3314,
Zack Wheat 2884,
Max Carey 2658
George Sisler*
2812
1915-1922, 1924-1930George Sisler 2812,
Rogers Hornsby 2574,
Sam Rice 2455,
Harry Heilmann 2400,
Ty Cobb 2273
Sam Rice*
2987
1915-1934Sam Rice 2987,
Rogers Hornsby 2905,
Babe Ruth 2858,
George Sisler 2812,
Frankie Frisch 2686
Frankie Frisch*
2880
1919-1937Frankie Frisch 2880,
Sam Rice 2740,
Goose Goslin 2726,
Babe Ruth 2670,
Al Simmons 2631
Paul Waner*
3152
1926-1945Paul Waner 3152,
Mel Ott 2871,
Charlie Gehringer 2830,
Jimmie Foxx 2640,
Doc Cramer 2603
Doc Cramer
2705
1929-1948Doc Cramer 2705,
Mel Ott 2667,
Luke Appling 2571,
Paul Waner 2512,
Joe Medwick 2471
Luke Appling*
2749
1930-1943, 1945-1950Luke Appling 2749,
Doc Cramer 2536,
Mel Ott 2373,
Billy Herman 2345,
Joe Medwick 2306
Joe DiMaggio*
2214
1936-1942, 1946-1951Joe DiMaggio 2214,
Johnny Mize 1949,
Luke Appling 1830,
Enos Slaughter 1768,
Ted Williams 1763
Bobby Doerr*
2042
1937-1944, 1946-1951Bobby Doerr 2042,
Joe DiMaggio 2008,
Stan Musial 1829,
Luke Appling 1818,
Johnny Mize 1813
Stan Musial*
3630
1941-1944, 1946-1963Stan Musial 3630,
Richie Ashburn 2574,
Nellie Fox 2535,
Mickey Vernon 2421,
Red Schoendienst 2292
Richie Ashburn*
2574
1948-1962Richie Ashburn 2574,
Stan Musial 2549,
Nellie Fox 2395,
Alvin Dark 2086,
Yogi Berra 2015
Hank Aaron*
3771
1954-1976Hank Aaron 3771,
Willie Mays 3126,
Al Kaline 3000,
Roberto Clemente 3000,
Frank Robinson 2943
Pete Rose
4256
1963-1986Pete Rose 4256,
Carl Yastrzemski 3073,
Rod Carew 3053,
Lou Brock 2908,
Al Oliver 2743
George Brett*
3154
1973-1993George Brett 3154,
Robin Yount 3142,
Dave Winfield 3014,
Eddie Murray 2820,
Dave Parker 2712
Dave Winfield*
3110
1973-88, 1990-95Dave Winfield 3110,
George Brett 3025,
Robin Yount 2947,
Eddie Murray 2924,
Andre Dawson 2653
Eddie Murray*
3255
1977-1997Eddie Murray 3255,
Paul Molitor 3178,
Wade Boggs 2800,
Tony Gwynn 2780,
Andre Dawson 2754
Paul Molitor*
3319
1978-1998Paul Molitor 3319,
Eddie Murray 3082,
Tony Gwynn 2928,
Wade Boggs 2922,
Cal Ripken 2878
Cal Ripken*
3184
1981-2001Cal Ripken 3184,
Tony Gwynn 3141,
Wade Boggs 3010,
Paul Molitor 2852,
Harold Baines 2741
Kirby Puckett*
2304
1984-1995Kirby Puckett 2304,
Tony Gwynn 2252,
Wade Boggs 2213,
Don Mattingly 2072,
Brett Butler 2005
Rafael Palmeiro
3020
1986-2005Rafael Palmeiro 3020,
Craig Biggio 2795,
Barry Bonds 2742,
Roberto Alomar 2724,
Tony Gwynn 2582
Craig Biggio
2942+
1988-Craig Biggio 2942,
Rafael Palmeiro 2941,
Robero Alomar 2724,
Barry Bonds 2614,
Steve Finley 2532
*- Hall of Fame

Derek Jeter and Ichiro Suzuki would join this list if their careers' ended after last season, but either of them could lose their lead by the time they hang it up.

The years HBPs have been tracked are spanned by only 17 players who led the years they played in getting hit. Only 2 of them are Hall of Famers, but that's just because great get-hitters have been consistently under-apreciated.


Batters with the most total HBPs in the seasons they played

PlayerSeasonsTop 5
Fred Mann
43
1882-1887Fred Mann 43,
Bill Gleason 42,
John Reilly, 41,
Yank Robinson 39,
Curt Welch 36
Tommy Tucker
272
1887-1899Tommy Tucker 272,
Hughie Jennings 243,
Curt Welch 148,
Jake Beckley 146,
Steve Brodie 118
Hughie Jennings*
287
1891-1903, 1907,
1909-10, 1912, 1918
Hughie Jennings 287,
Tommy Tucker 167,
Dan McGann 161,
Jake Beckley 151,
John McGraw 134
Dan McGann
230
1896, 1898-1908Dan McGann 230,
Hughie Jennings 160,
Frank Chance 118,
Kid Elberfeld 108,
Fred Clarke 103
Jake Stahl
94
1903-06, 1908-10,
1912-13
Jake Stahl 94,
Kid Elberfeld 86,
John Titus 84,
Dan McGann 81,
Frank Chance 77
Steve Evans
111
1908-1915Steve Evans 111,
Art Fletcher 72,
Bert Daniels 72,
Buck Herzog 70,
Sherry Magee 66
Art Fletcher
141
1909-1920, 1922Art Fletcher 141,
Buck Herzog 113,
Steve Evans 11,
Tris Speaker 81,
Sherry Magee 79
George Burns
110
1914-1929George Burns 110,
Bucky Harris 99,
Wally Schang 97,
Art Fletcher 96,
Jack Fournier 84
Jimmie Dykes
115
1918-1939Jimmie Dykes 115,
Bucky Harris 99,
Kiki Cuyler 85,
George Burns 80,
Bing Miller 80,
Joe Sewell 80
Bucky Harris*
99
1919-29, 1931Bucky Harris 99,
Jimmie Dykes 78,
George Burns 72,
Bing Miller 71,
Johnny Mostil 70
Jimmy Welsh
47
1925-1930Jimmy Welsh 47,
Kiki Cuyler 47,
Jimmie Dykes 42,
Joe Sewell 40,
Bing Miller 39
George Watkins
44
1930-1936George Watkins 44,
Jimmie Dykes 42,
Dick Bartell 39,
Kiki Cuyler 36,
Tony Piet
Frank Crosetti
114
1932-1948Frank Crosetti 114,
Dick Bartell 81,
Mel Ott 52,
Billy Jurges 51,
Ival Goodman 49
Minnie Minoso
192
1949, 1951-64,
1976, 1980
Minnie Minoso 192,
Nellie Fox 139,
Sherm Lollar 107,
Frank Robinson 100,
Eddie Yost 85
Ron Hunt
243
1963-1974Ron Hunt 243,
Frank Robinson 121,
Bill Freehan 107,
Cesar Tovar 82,
Joe Torre 72
Don Baylor
267
1970-1988Don Baylor 267,
Ron Hunt 142,
Chet Lemon 139,
Carlton Fisk 124,
Brian Downing 101
Craig Biggio
282
1988-Craig Biggio 282,
Jason Kendall 209,
Andres Galarraga 164,
Fernando Vina 157,
Brady Anderson 154


Jason Kendall is probably going to be the next to join this list, but he still needs to gain 16 plunks on Biggio to be the HBP leader of the Jason Kendall era. But once again, Biggio is the only player on both lists - the only one to lead his era in both hits and getting hit.

And, just because they shouldn't be left out, here are the players who finished 2nd in career hits for the years they played, with the player who out hit them during their years:
Player
Hits
SeasonsLeader
Hits
Ross Barnes
859
1871-77, 1879, 1881Deacon White
863
Jim O'rourke*
2643
1872-1893, 1904Cap Anson
2834
Roger Connor*
2467
1880-1897Cap Anson
2638
Bid McPhee*
2250
1882-1899Cap Anson
2381
Sam Thompson*
1979
1885-1898, 1906Ed McKean
2011
Ed McKean
2083
1887-1899Hugh Duffy
2116
Nap Lajoie*
3242
1896-1916Honus Wagner
3354
Sam Crawford*
2961
1899-1917Honus Wagner
3159
Hal Chase
2158
1905-1919Ty Cobb
2713
Tris Speaker*
3514
1907-1928Ty Cobb
4040
Rogers Hornsby*
2930
1915-1937Sam Rice
2987
Goose Goslin*
2735
1921-1938Al Simmons
2773
Al Simmons*
2927
1924-41, 1943-44Paul Waner
3066
Mel Ott*
2876
1926-1947Paul Waner
3152
Bob Elliot
2061
1939-1953Stan Musial
2223
Ted Williams*
2654
1939-42, 1946-1960Stan Musial
2877
Nellie Fox*
2663
1947-1965Stan Musial
2818
Willie Mays*
3283
1951-52, 1954-73Hank Aaron
3509
Roberto Clemente*
3000
1955-1972Hank Aaron
3260
Frank Robinson*
2943
1956-1976Hank Aaron
3451
Vada Pinson
2757
1958-1975Hank Aaron
2991
Lou Brock*
3023
1961-1979Pete Rose
3372
Carl Yastrzemski*
3419
1961-1983Pete Rose
3990
Rod Carew*
3053
1967-1985Pete Rose
3481
Robin Yount*
3142
1974-1993George Brett
3149
Wade Boggs*
3010
1982-1999Tony Gwynn
3067
Tony Gwynn*
3141
1982-2001Cal Ripken
3179
Roberto Alomar
2724
1988-2004Raphael Palmeiro
2843

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Marlins miss 21 times

Craig Biggio saw 21 pitches last night, but none of them hit him, leaving him stuck - still - at 282 career plunks. But he did pick up two more hits, breaking the Craig Biggio era record for career hits, and the Astros won 4-3.

Tonight the Marlins will send out Sergio Mitre to throw near the Astros. He has never hit Craig Biggio with a pitch, but he's up to 15 hit batters for his career, including one in each of his two starts this year.

Biggio has been hit twice on April 17th, but never in Houston. Paul Wilson hit him on April 17, 1996 at Shea Stadium, and Jimmy Haynes threw plunk #200 on April 17, 2002 at Cinergy Field.

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Monday, April 16, 2007

2,942!!!

Craig Biggio just recorded his 2,942nd hit, which makes him the Craig Biggio era leader. Rafael Palmeiro had 2,941 hits between 1988 and today, but now Craig Biggio can say that no one had more hits in the years he played.

More tomorrow.

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Marlins notes

The Florida Marlins did not hit Craig Biggio with a pitch in 2006, but they did set a franchise record by hitting 74 batters in the season. Previously the team's single season record was 70 batters plunked, in 2001. That year, they plunked Biggio twice, but last year's team was able to break the franchise record without plunking Biggio. The most batters they'd hit in a season before that without one of them being Craig Biggio was 54 in 1999.

SeasonHit BattersHBP:BGO
1993320
1994391
1995462
1996571
1997633
1998572
1999540
2000430
2001702
2002582
2003400
2004511
2005652
2006740
20075
total75416


Dontrelle Willis hit 19 batters last year, which was also a franchise record breaking Kevin Brown's 16 plunk year in 1996. And, Willis broke the Marlins career record in 2006. Ryan Dempster held the franchise mark since 2002 with 37 hit batters, but Willis finished last season with 38 for his career. The Marlins current pitching staff has only hit 109 batters ever.


On the batting end of plunks, the Marlins franchise leader is Alex Gonzalez, who got hit 51 times for the team. Their active leader is Miguel Cabrera, who has been hit just 21 times. At the rate he's been getting hit, he should be able to get to the 280+ plunks neighbor in another 53 seasons or so.
The entire Marlins roster, as it currently stands, has only been hit by 166 pitches to date, and that includes all their career HBPs, not just those recorded with the Marlins. If they get hit 74 times this year, like they did last year (another franchise record), they'll still be about 50 plunks short of Biggio's total, unless they add pick up a couple of veterans during the season.

If you were reading carefully, you may have noticed that the Marlins both threw and received 74 plunks last season. They were one of 3 teams in 2006 to match bruises with there opponents. The Mets threw and received 62, and the White Sox matched at 58. The league has had 3 teams match plunks thrown and received in a season 6 different times, but there have never been more than 3 teams in a year to do it. The Marlins 74 is the highest matching total.

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Sunday rainy Sunday... Monday under Dome

The Astros were weathered-out on the road yet again yesterday, further delaying Craig Biggio's quest for his 288th plunk... or even his quest for his 283rd plunk. On Saturday, he got one more hit, bringing him to 2,940 hits - just two short of 2,942. (Yes, 2,942 is significant... I'll explain when we get there).

Pigpen and the Astros will look for some better weather in Houston tonight (or make their own), where they're scheduled to face sophomore starter Anibal Sanchez. Sanchez hit 4 batters in his rookie campaign last year, including Chris Burke, but he has not plunked Craig Biggio.

Biggio recorded his first April 16th plunk last season, in Arizona against Juan Cruz.

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Saturday, April 14, 2007

Phily in April

Craig Biggio picked up one hit last night in the Astros 9-6 win over the Phillies but he didn't get hit by any of the 17 pitches thrown to him. Also, Biggio seems to have decided that he only hits doubles from now on. So that should an interesting way to get the rest of the way to 3000.

Cole Hamels is scheduled to pitch for the Phillies today. Hamels hasn't hit anybody this season, but he hit Willy Taveras last year, along with Ramon Hernandez and that guy who plays 3rd base for the Yankees, bringing his career total to... three. Or, about 1 batter plunked of every 203 he's faced.

Biggio has been hit once on April 14th... in 2004 by Chris Carpenter.


For Sunday's game, the Phillies seem to be planning to have Freddy Garcia back from the disabled list and starting the game. He's never hit Biggio either, but his career total is up to 51, after plunking 7 batters last season. Garcia's has only face the Astros once in the regular season - on June 9, 2004 when he gave up Biggio's 535th career double. But he also pitched game 4 of the 2005 World Series against the Astros, and shut them out through 7 innings, earning the series clinching win.

None of Biggio's 282 career HBPs have been recorded on April 15th.

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Friday, April 13, 2007

first plunked

So far this year, the Astros have been hit by 6 pitches, and thrown another 3 plunks themselves, which means that 9 batters have been plunked in Astros games this year without any of them being Craig Biggio. That ties with the 2002 season for 13th on the year by year list of how many people got plunked in Astros games before Biggio.

In the past 18 seasons, Biggio has been one of the first 10 batters plunked in Astros games in 13 of them. Although he's never been plunked on opening day, he was the first batter hit (for either team) in Astros games in 1997, 1998 and 2003.

The 6 Astros plunks so far is the most since 2000 when Biggio watched 16 teammates get plunked before he took one for the team that year. The Astros have not had more than 18 batters get hit before Biggio joined them in any year since 1988 - when was Biggio was a rookie and did not get plunked.

Here's the total HBPs for the Astros and their opponents before Biggio's first plunk of each season. These totals include batters hit in the same game, but still before, Biggio's first HBP of the year:

Season
Astros HBPs
Opponents HBPsTotal HBPs
First plunk date
1989437April 22
1990132235July 22
19917613June 7
1992181028June 12
199312517May 19
1994145April 12
1995123April 30
1996112April 3
1997000April 4
1998000April 1
1999235April 25
200016925April 29
2001347April 7
2002549April 10
2003000April 2
2004538April 14
2005123April 13
2006224April 8

Friday the 13th in Phily

The Astros are in Philadelphia today, where they'll try to play the first of three games, outside, without being interrupted by rain, snow, or meteor showers. Craig Biggio will hope to use those games to move closer to the record 288 career HBPs, and possibly to get the 4 hits he needs to reach the 2,942 career hits milestone. But, today is friday the 13th. Craig Biggio has never been hit by pitch on Friday the 13th by anyone not named Jason. The Phillies don't have anyone named Jason, so Biggio's chances of getting his 283rd HBP tonight look bleak.

On the other hand, there have been dozens of movies inspired by the Friday the 13th franchise and the Jason character, so maybe someone could throw a plunk inspired by Jason Simontacchi's Friday the 13th plunk of 2002. The Phillies have a pitcher named Freddy, but it's not Freddy Kruger... it's Freddy Garcia, and he's on the disabled list. They also have Tom Gordon, who had a Steven King book written about him... but that book wasn't particularly scary, unless you're afraid of having the Giant Glass radio ad jingle stuck in your head while lost in the woods (1-800-54-Giant). They have another pitcher name Myers, but it's not Michael Myers from the Halloween movies, it's Brett Myers. He's pitching tonight, and he's never hit Craig Biggio with a pitch. Myers only hit 3 batters last year, but he hit 11 the year before that.

Biggio has been plunked twice on April 13th. In 2005, Braden Looper nearly broke Biggio's arm with plunk 257, but Biggio stayed in the game. On April 13, 2002, the late, great, Darryl Kile threw plunk 199.

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Thursday, April 12, 2007

more geographical plunk records

Obviously we couldn't just look at which batters have been hit by the most pitches from each state and foreign country without also looking at which pitchers hold the records from each place - for total hit batters as well as plunking Biggio.

Here's the records for each location for all time hit batters, as well as the active leader at the end of 2006 - those who have plunked Biggio are in bold:

State/CountryAll Time LeaderHBPActive LeaderHBP
AfghanistanJeff Bronkey1

AlabamaFrank Lary97Jake Peavy33
AlaskaShawn Chacon57Shawn Chacon57
ArizonaJohn Denny54Bobby Howry23
ArkansasBill Bailey44Ryan Franklin40
ArubaSidney Ponson33Sidney Ponson33
AustraliaGraeme Lloyd23Peter Moylan
0
BahamasWenty Ford1

CaliforniaRandy Johnson178Randy Johnson178
CanadaFergie Jenkins84Ryan Dempster54
ColombiaEmiliano Fruto2Emiliano Fruto2
ColoradoRich Gossage47Scott Elarton37
ConnecticutRed Donahue101Craig Breslow2
CubaPedro Ramos68Orlando Hernandez62
CzechoslovakiaJoe Hovlik2

DCDoc White119Kris Wilson15
DelawareBert Cunningham66Wayne Franklin18
Dominican RepublicPedro Martinez129Pedro Martinez129
EnglandDanny Cox19Phil Stockman
0
FloridaTim Wakefield146Tim Wakefield146
FranceCharlie Lea12

GeorgiaKevin Brown139Kenny Rogers117
GermanyGus Shallix39

HawaiiCharlie Hough174Jerome Williams35
IdahoLarry Jackson68Jason Schmidt48
IllinoisJoe McGinnity182Mark Mulder48
IndianaHooks Dauss121Kent Mercker32
IndonesiaTom Mastny1Tom Mastny1
IowaRed Faber103Jon Lieber44
IrelandTony Mullane82

ItalyMarino Pieretti5

JamaicaChili Davis1

JapanHideo Nomo38Tomokazu Ohka30
KansasWalter Johnson203Nate Robertson21
KentuckyJim Bunning160Paul Byrd49
LouisianaChuck Finley76Andy Pettitte36
MaineKid Madden57Tim Stauffer2
MarylandVic Willis157Jeff Nelson 1
64
MassachusettsJack Chesbro113Tom Glavine61
MexicoEsteban Loaiza73Esteban Loaiza73
MichiganFrank Tanana129Derek Lowe60
MinnesotaAaron Sele110Aaron Sele110
MissouriWillie Sudhoff126Darren Oliver77
MississippiWillie Mitchell75Roy Oswalt41
MontanaDave McNally72Taylor Tankersley1
NebraskaBob Gibson102Scott Munter3
NetherlandsBert Blyleven155 2

NevadaBarry Zito65Barry Zito65
New HampshireStan Williams71Chris Carpenter56
New JerseyAl Leiter117Ron Villone61
New MexicoWade Blasingame30

New YorkHoward Ehmke137Matt Morris63
NicaraguaDennis Martinez122Vicente Padilla67
North CarolinaGaylord Perry108Kevin Millwood40
North DakotaRick Helling48Rick Helling48
NorwayJimmy Wiggs4

OhioCy Young163Roger Clemens154
OklahomaJamey Wright114Jamey Wright114
OregonMickey Lolich92Alan Embree17
PanamaRamiro Mendoza35Mariano Rivera29
PennsylvaniaEddie Plank196Jamie Moyer112
PhilippinesBobby Chouinard4

PolandMoe Drabowsky63

Puerto RicoOmar Olivares80Javier Vazquez62
Rhode IslandFrank Corridon61Dan Wheeler9
RussiaRube Schauer7

ScotlandGeorge Chalmers15

South CarolinaBobo Newsom61Tom Martin12
South DakotaJim Scott53Keith Foulke 3
43
South KoreaChan Ho Park126Chan Ho Park126
South VietnamDanny Graves26Danny Graves 4
26
SpainBryan Oelkers6

SwedenEric Erickson35

SwitzerlandOtto Hess83

TaiwanChien-Ming Wang8Chien-Ming Wang8
TennesseeMike Smithson73Dave Weathers47
TexasNolan Ryan158Greg Maddux125
UkraineBill Cristall4

UtahBrandon Duckworth30Brandon Duckworth30
VenezuelaVictor Zambrano58Victor Zambrano58
VermontEd Doheny132

Virgin IslandsAl McBean30

VirginiaEd Willett106John Wasdin29
W.GermanyCraig Lefferts11Will Ohman8
WalesTed Lewis40

WashingtonTodd Stottlemyre83Glendon Rusch40
West VirginiaJack Warhop114Seth McClung13
WisconsinKid Nichols133Brad Radke 5
62
WyomingDick Ellsworth45


1-Jeff Nelson doesn't appear to be playing this year, so that leaves Jay Witasick (who has plunked Biggio) as the Maryland active leader.
2-Marlins Rookie Rick Vanden Hurk will be the active leader from the Netherlands as soon as he hits someone.
3-Keith Foulke has retired, leaving Brandon Claussen (another Biggio plunker) as the active leader from South Dakota
4-Danny Graves doesn't appear to be playing this year, leaving no active players born in Vietnam
5-Brad Radke retired after 2006, leaving Jarrod Washburn (45) as the active leader - although Kris Benson has plunked Biggio and is only 4 behind Washburn.



Of course some of the HBP totals for those who pitched over a hundred years ago may not match what you'll see on other sites, because those records are a little wacky from back then.

Hopefully, Roger Clemens knows that he needs to hit 10 more batters to pass Cy Young on the all time hit-batters list for pitchers born in Ohio, because that should have a big effect on when and where he decides to pitch this season. Also, someone needs to inform Curt Schilling that he lost the Alaskan plunk record to Shawn Chacon two years ago.

As you can see above, Biggio has been hit by the career plunk leaders from 9 states or foreign countries, and at the end of last year he had been hit by the active leaders of 16. In all, he's been hit by pitchers from 37 US States and 12 other countries. Below are the records for plunking Biggio by players born in each state/country:

State/CountryHBP:BGO Pitchers
Alabama2Jeff Brantley, Steve Woodard
Alaska3Shawn Chacon
Arkansas2A.J. Burnett
Aruba1Calvin Maduro
California5Mark Gardner
Cuba1Rolando Arrojo, Livan Hernandez
Dominican Republic7Pedro Astacio
England1Lance Painter
Florida1Rick Ankiel, Bronson Arroyo, Roger Bailey, Chris Brock,
Mark Brownson, Jeff D'Amico, Lance Davis, John Hope,
Alan Mills, Carlos Reyes, Gabe White, Paul Wilson
Georgia3Joey Hamilton
Hawaii1Steve Cooke, Ron Darling,
Scott Feldman, Sid Fernandez
Idaho1Jason Schmidt
Illinois3Mark Leiter
Indiana3Andy Benes
Iowa1Jon Lieber
Japan2Jeff McCurry
Kansas1Darren Dreifort, Kyle Farnsworth, Everett Stull
Kentucky2Willie Blair, Paul Byrd
Louisiana2Jim Bullinger, Ben Sheets
Maryland2Jay Witasick
Massachusetts1Jason Bere, Chris Capuano, Josh Fogg, Tim Fortugno, Kenny Greer, Jeff Juden, Allen Levrault, Mike Trombley, Turk Wendell
Mexico2Armando Reynoso
Michigan1Tim Birtsas, John Smoltz, Frank Tanana
Mississippi1Chad Bradford, John Thomson
Missouri1Andy Ashby
Nevada1Rocky Biddle
New Hampshire2Chris Carpenter
New Jersey3Al Leiter
New York3Pete Harnisch, Orel Hershiser
Nicaragua1Vicente Padilla
North Carolina1James Baldwin, Scott Bankhead,
Todd Coffey, Brian Moehler
North Dakota1Rick Helling
Ohio2Dustin Hermanson
Oklahoma4Jamey Wright
Pennsylvania2Matt Clement
Puerto Rico2Jaime Navarro
Rhode Island1Ken Ryan
South Carolina1Rich Batchelor, Britt Reames, Rob Stanifer
South Dakota1Brandon Claussen
South Korea3Chan Ho Park
South Vietnam1Danny Graves
Taiwan1Chin-hui Tsao
Texas3Frank Castillo, Jason Jennings, Kerry Wood
Venezuela2Carlos Zambrano
Virginia2Jimmy Anderson, Brian Anderson, Todd Ritchie
Washington1Andy Larkin, Glendon Rusch, Stan Spencer
West Virginia1Rick Reed
Wisconsin1Kris Benson, Bob Wickman
Wyoming1Tom Browning

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Wednesday, April 11, 2007

snowed out?

Look, I went along with the ridiculous idea to set the calendars forward a month as part of the "new and improved daylight savings time", because it meant one less month of offseason, but I think we can all agree now that it was a bad idea. As a result, the Astros game at Chicago was snowed out yesterday, no doubt throwing off everyone's calculations for when Craig Biggio will reach plunk 288. (Though I'm sure some of the more elaborate models figured in the weather).

The Astros are off today, and they'll travel to Philadelphia for the weekend, where they'll try to play 3 games at another park without a dome. So, it looks like Ryan Bowen will remain the only pitcher who has plunked Biggio on April 12th. He did it in 1994 for the Marlins.

geographical plunk records

You probably already knew that Craig Biggio is only 6 HBPs away from the all time record for being hit by pitches, and you probably could figure out that he currently holds the record for being hit by pitches for people born in the state of New York. But, did you know that Jason Varitek entered this season 9 HBPs away from the all time record for people born in Minnesota? Or that Scott Rolen (90 HBPs) broke the Indiana record last year passing Cy Williams (86 HBPs)? Also, Shea Hillenbrand broke the record for people from Arizona previously held by Solly Hemus. Hemus had 62, but Hillenbrand had 68 by the end of '06. Gary Sheffield (119) broke Andre Dawson's (111) record for Florida born players in 2005, but Luis Gonzalez (107) and David Eckstein (104) are right behind him.
Also, Edgar Renteria needs just 1 more plunk to break the Columbian record, and Orlando Cabrera was just 8 behind him at the beginning of this year. Geoff Jenkins needs only 3 more HBPs to become the leader for those born in the state of Washington.


Here are the all time and active leaders for HBPs by state or country of birth, as of the end of the 2006 season:

State/CountryAll time leaderHBPsActive Leader*HBPs
AlabamaJoe Sewell80Juan Pierre50
AlaskaJosh Phelps31Shawn Chacon1
American SamoaTony Solaita3

ArizonaShea Hillenbrand68Shea Hillenbrand68
ArkansasSherm Lollar115Torii Hunter44
ArubaGene Kingsale6

AustraliaJoe Quinn39Justin Huber1
BahamasAndre Rodgers18

BelgiumBrian Lesher1

British HondurasChito Martinez2

CaliforniaJason Kendall209Jason Kendall209
CanadaLarry Walker138Corey Koskie56
ColombiaJolbert Cabrera28Edgar Renteria28
ColoradoRoy Hartzell49Scott Elarton5
ConnecticutMo Vaughn108Brad Ausmus58
CubaMinnie Minoso192Eli Marrero8
CuracaoAndruw Jones75Andruw Jones75
CzechoslovakiaElmer Valo38

DCArt Devlin84Curtis Pride7
DelawareRandy Bush49Kevin Mench26
DenmarkOlaf Henriksen2

Dominican RepublicJose Guillen95Jose Guillen95
EnglandTom Brown46

FloridaGary Sheffield119Gary Sheffield119
FranceSteve Jeltz3

GeorgiaTy Cobb94Rondell White85
GermanyFritz Buelow12

HawaiiMike Lum28Shane Victorino15
HollandJohn Houseman8

HondurasGerald Young6

IdahoHarmon Killebrew48Jason Schmidt2
IllinoisArt Fletcher141Cliff Floyd81
IndianaScott Rolen90Scott Rolen90
IowaFred Clarke153Jerry Hairston57
IrelandPatsy Donovan83

ItalyReno Bertoia16

JamaicaDevon White87

JapanIchiro Suzuki32Ichiro Suzuki32
KansasPat Meares57Johnny Damon36
KentuckyDan McGann230Austin Kearns30
LouisianaRusty Staub79David Dellucci31
MaineFreddy Parent51

MarylandBrady Anderson154Brian Jordan74
MassachusettsTommy Tucker272Mark Bellhorn,
Lou Merloni
17
MexicoVinny Castilla60Vinny Castilla60
MichiganBill Freehan114Jay Gibbons13
MinnesotaTerry Steinbach48Jason Varitek
40
MississippiChet Lemon151Matt Lawton94
MissouriRon Hunt243Bill Mueller35
MontanaEd Bouchee27

NebraskaRichie Ashburn43Todd Pratt28
NevadaMarty Cordova50Justin Leone3
New HampshireArlie Latham85

New JerseyDerek Jeter115Derek Jeter115
New MexicoRalph Kiner24Cody Ross5
New YorkCraig Biggio282Craig Biggio282
NicaraguaMarvin Benard25Vicente Padilla2
North CarolinaRay Durham68Ray Durham68
North DakotaTravis Hafner43Travis Hafner43
NorwayJohn Anderson53

OhioCurt Welch173Shannon Stewart70
OklahomaJoe Carter90Kelly Stinnett42
OregonAaron Rowand62Aaron Rowand62
PanamaOlmedo Saenz54Olmedo Saenz54
PennsylvaniaHughie Jennings287Ken Griffey76
PolandMoe Drabowsky1

Puerto RicoCarlos Delgado149Carlos Delgado149
Rhode IslandNap Lajoie134Paul Konerko56
RussiaEddie Ainsmith12

ScotlandBobby Thomson34

SingaporeRobin Jennings1

South CarolinaReggie Sanders70Reggie Sanders70
South DakotaDave Collins38Mark Ellis23
South KoreaHee Seop Choi16Shin-Soo Choo2
SwitzerlandOtto Hess4

TennesseeClyde Milan80Steve Finley53
TexasDon Baylor267Jason LaRue93
UtahDuke Sims35Chris Shelton9
VenezuelaAndres Galarraga178Melvin Mora88
VermontCarlton Fisk143Chris Duffy12
Virgin IslandsJoe Christopher19

VirginiaSteve Brodie132Michael Tucker39
W.GermanyGlenn Hubbard33

WalesJimmy Austin44

WashingtonJohn Olerud88Geoff Jenkins86
West VirginiaDick Padden97

WisconsinMark Grudzielanek91Mark Grudzielanek91
WyomingMike Lansing37John Buck10

*as of 2006 year end

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Tuesday, April 10, 2007

2 straight wins in Chicago

The Astros picked up another win in Chicago yesterday, 4-2, but the Craig Biggio did not contribute to the offense either by getting hit by pitches or getting hits. He did reach base on an error and score a run though, so I'm sure that website that's all about Craig Biggio reaching base on errors is very excited today (173!).

Biggio and the Astros will try to complete a sweep at Wrigley Field against Cubs starter Rich Hill. Rich Hill has only hit 3 batters ever, and they all played for red teams (Wily Mo Pena, and Royce Clayton of the Reds and David Eckstein of the Cardinals). We'll see if he can break out of the trend and plunk Craig Biggio today. But Biggio will need to break a streak of his own... he's never been plunked on April 11th. (He's never reached base on an error on April 11th either.)

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more plunk management

Yesterday's discussion of managers may have left you, the reader, with a number of questions like "Yeah, but which managers has Craig Biggio played against and been hit by a pitch against the most?" or "How many different managers has Biggio played against and how many hit him?" or "Who cares about any of this?". Well, some of those questions will be answered today. But not the last one.

Biggio has faced 76 opposing managers in his 2,717 career games, and he's been hit by a pitch against 58 of them. He hasn't played more than 26 games against any manager without getting plunked at least once - Don Zimmer holds that record. 11 different managers have overseen Biggio's plunkings for more than one team, but Davey Johnson is the only manager to watch his team plunk Biggio from three different teams dugouts (Reds, Mets, and Dodgers). Biggio has been hit the most in games against Tony LaRussa's Cardinals - 21 times, but he's also played more games against LaRussa than any other manager (156). Not surprisingly, Biggio has had more hits against LaRussa than any other manager (170).

Here's the full list of managers Biggio has played against, with HBPs and Hits against each one, and the teams they've each managed. The number in parenthesis is the breakdown of plunks by team, where applicable.

Opp. ManagerGamesHBPHitsTeam (HBP)
Tony LaRussa15621170Cardinals
Dusty Baker14820165Giants (17), Cubs (3)
Don Baylor9717128Rockies (13), Cubs (4)
Jim Leyland12613158Pirates (8), Marlins (5),
Rockies (0), Tigers (0)
Bruce Bochy9712106Padres
Lloyd McClendon721177Pirates
Davey Johnson691155Dodgers (5), Reds (4),
Mets (2)
Clint Hurdle271139Rockies
Jim Riggleman881096Cubs (8), Padres (2)
Felipe Alou1139125Expos (9), Giants (0)
Jack McKeon80964Reds (6), Marlins (3),
Padres (0)
Bobby Cox1548155Braves
Terry Francona33833Phillies
Buddy Bell27831Rockies (8), Tigers, Royals
Buck Showalter48758Rangers (4), D-backs (3)
Bobby Valentine43640Mets
Davey Lopes25630Brewers
Ned Yost57560Brewers
Phil Garner23530Brewers (5, 1 in AL), Tigers (0)
Jim Fregosi66475Phillies
Joe Torre58482Cardinals (3), Yankees (1)
Dallas Green34439Mets
Dave Miley31440Reds
Frank Robinson30428Expos (3), Nationals (1)
Bob Melvin18417D-backs (4), Mariners (0)
Art Howe15411Mets (3), A's (1)
Tom Lasorda1073116Dodgers
Gene Lamont37331Pirates
Rene Lachemann32340Marlins
Jim Lefebvre31331Cubs (3), Brewers (0)
John Boles22320Marlins
Bob Brenly17313D-backs
Tony Muser12314Royals
Roger Craig74284Giants
Lou Piniella58257Reds (2), Mariners (0),
Devil Rays (0), Cubs (0)
Bob Boone46254Reds (2), Royals (0)
Jim Tracy47254Dodgers (2), Pirates (0)
Jerry Narron32238Rangers (1), Reds (1)
Jeff Torborg25222Marlins (2), Expos (0),
Mets (0)
Larry Bowa24229Phillies
Bill Russell21221Dodgers
Willie Randolph16214Mets
Mike Jorgensen928Cardinals
Terry Bevington324White Sox
Greg Riddoch41143Padres
Buck Rodgers27119Expos
Ray Knight21122Reds
Charlie Manuel18118Indians (1), Phillies (0)
Whitey Herzog17115Cardinals
Bud Harrelson17117Mets
Tom Kelly14119Twins
Jerry Royster13113Brewers
Pete Rose1216Reds
Mike Hargrove12115Baltimore (1), Indians (0)
Tom Runnells10110Expos
Bruce Kimm9110Cubs
Al Pedrique617D-backs
Lee Mazzilli312Baltimore
Don Zimmer26025Cubs
Russ Nixon23019Braves
Nick Leyva19020Phillies
Tom Trebelhorn12020Cubs
Jerry Manuel9012White Sox
Grady Little807Red Sox, Dodgers
Jim Essian709Cubs
Lee Elia707Phillies
Tony Perez709Reds, Marlins
Joe Girardi604Marlins
Tommy Helms607Reds
Ron Gardenhire302Twins
Pete Mackanin301Pirates
Larry Parrish306Tigers
John Gibbons303Blue Jays
Ozzie Guillen203White Sox
Mike Scioscia203Angels
Glenn Hoffman203Dodgers

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