A few days ago, my friend Steve P and I were having a discussion about former Expos second baseman Ron Hunt, who set a modern major league record when he was hit-by-pitch fifty times during the 1971 season. No, that’s not a typo…fifty times, in one season!
So then we wondered: Who were the current HBP leaders in my SP78 season? I didn’t know off-hand—either the player or the number—but my educated guess for the number was somewhere between 10 and 15. So today I went through every team’s current stats, and came up with the Top 5 for each league…and as it turned out, my estimate was correct, for both leagues:
National League
1) Dave Cash, Expos – 14
2) Willie Stargell, Pirates – 11
3) Gene Tenace, Padres – 9
4) Andre Dawson, Expos – 8
5) Tim Foli, Mets – 8
American League
1) Don Baylor, Angels – 12
2) Chet Lemon, White Sox – 9
3) Butch Wynegar, Twins – 8
4) ReJackson, Yankees – 8
5) Six tied with – 7
A long way to go, in a month’s time, to catch up with Hunt and his record…unless I start purposely plunking Cash and Baylor in every remaining game. And in case you’re wondering: pitcher David Clyde of the Indians leads the AL in hit-by-pitches delivered, with nine, while Mark Lemongello of the Astros leads the NL, with seven.