last in plunking
If you've looked at the team stats in the category of hitting batters with pitches recently, you probably already know that the Astros current opponents, the LA Dodgers, are dead last in the league in that category this season. They've hit 22 batters this season, and are on pace to plunk about 30 for the season. And, they have not hit Craig Biggio with a pitch this season.
Biggio has only been hit 6 times in his career by teams that finished last in the majors in hitting batters (including ties). He's been hit 8 times by the teams that finished list in the National League that year. The '95 Reds are the only team to manage plunking Biggio twice in the season, and still finish last in the league in total plunks thrown.
| Season | MLB fewest hit-batters | total HB | HBP:BGO | NL fewest hit-batters | total HB | HBP:BGO |
| 1988 | Giants | 18 | 0 | Cardinals | 18 | 0 |
| 1989 | Braves | 16 | 0 | Braves | 16 | 0 |
| 1990 | Orioles | 16 | 0 | Padres | 19 | 1 |
| 1991 | Padres | 13 | 0 | Padres | 13 | 0 |
| 1992 | Padres | 21 | 0 | Padres | 21 | 0 |
| 1993 | Braves | 22 | 1 | Braves | 22 | 1 |
| 1994 | White Sox | 17 | 0 | Cubs | 19 | 0 |
| 1995 | Reds | 31 | 2 | Reds | 31 | 2 |
| 1996 | Braves | 19 | 0 | Braves | 19 | 0 |
| 1997 | Orioles | 30 | 0 | Braves | 31 | 1 |
| 1998 | Pirates | 31 | 0 | Pirates | 31 | 0 |
| 1999 | Braves | 26 | 1 | Braves | 26 | 1 |
| 2000 | Twins | 35 | 0 | Braves | 37 | 0 |
| 2001 | Braves | 33 | 0 | Braves | 33 | 0 |
| 2001 | Giants | 33 | 0 | Giants | 33 | 0 |
| 2002 | Giants | 36 | 0 | Giants | 36 | 0 |
| 2003 | Marlins | 40 | 0 | Marlins | 40 | 0 |
| 2003 | Dodgers | 40 | 1 | Dodgers | 40 | 1 |
| 2004 | Braves | 27 | 1 | Braves | 27 | 1 |
| 2005 | Braves | 32 | 0 | Braves | 32 | 0 |
| 2006 | Twins | 36 | 0 | Dodgers | 41 | 0 |
The team with the lowest season total of hit batters ever to include a plunking of Craig Biggio was the 1990 Padres who hit just 19 batters. They finished last in the NL in plunking batters, but the Orioles hit just 16 that year. Only 60 of Biggio's 285 career plunks have been thrown by teams that finished in the bottom 5 in plunks in the NL.
On the other end of the plunk standings, Biggio has only been hit 9 times by teams that have led the majors in hitting batters - but that is largely because an American League team has been the overall plunk leader in 14 of the past 19 seasons. He's been hit 32 times in all by the National League leaders in plunks, even though the Astros led the league in 2 seasons during Biggio's career. Biggio has been plunked 125 times by teams that finished in the top 5 in plunks in the National League, and the most batters any National League team has hit without plunking Biggio is 74 - by the 2006 Marlins and the 2003 Astros. The last teams to plunk 75 or more opposing batters in the National League without hitting Craig Biggio with a pitch were the New York Giants and the Chicago Orphans in the year 1900. The Reds have a chance to do that this year if they break their streak of plunking Biggio in 15 consecutive seasons.
3 Comments:
Now if you ask me, and plenty folk do now and again, me and Mama have taken to getting’ a half dozen votive candles from the local Piggly Wiggly each Tuesday when we go to do our trading. They keep them things out on hat back aisle near the pinto beans and masa. In recent years they have commenced to stocking piñatas on that aisle along with industrial quantity cans of refried beans. We get them votive candles even though we ain’t particularly religious and we get them home and place them in the new Huckabee Family Plunk Biggio Shrine down at the end of the car port where we got a little wooden wind break and some plastic flowers. I often pull up a lawn chair and sit here and listen to the game on the AM station out the other side of Stillwell what carries Astros games. I have broken down and freely admit that at this point I am now praying for the plunking opportunities to arise and then for the opportunities to transmorph in to official plunkings. As the days draw down I am sure enough worried that we are not going to see the last three plunks. I urge ever body to go out and get some votive candles from the aisle that carries pinto beans and then go home and make a little shrine at which ya’ll might could offer up some sort of good intentions – if not prayers. And I stress that this needs to be done quickly.
PBR,
I hate to add to your already busy day crunching the numbers to help us locate the next pitcher to unintentionally cheer for, but can you also please translate "cletus j. 'bubba' huckabee jr."'s comments for us?
I have a hard time reading his accent.
Thanks,
Kenny
Cletus has an accent?
He was just saying that he's built a shrine to the unnamed gods of plunks, and how he hopes lighting candles might make those plunk gods smile upon Craig Biggio, and steer pitches in his direction - but not ones that might cause injury. And, he was encouraging us to do the same, while recommending the votive candles sold in the pinto beans isle of the Piggly Wiggly. If you, like me, don't have a Piggly Wiggly near you, you can probably get other candles from other stores, or possible visit Piggly Wiggly's website.
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