Ouch! These hitters took one for the team most often

Ty France made some painful history for the Mariners on June 7.

When France was hit in the lower left leg by a slider from the Royals’ Daniel Lynch IV at Kauffman Stadium, the Seattle first baseman broke a tie with Edgar Martinez for the most career HBPs in Mariners history.

It’s perhaps a bittersweet record for France, who was hit by an astounding 82 pitches between 2021 and 2023. But he still has a long ways to go to crack the all-time record books.

Officially, the all-time leader in times hit by a pitch is Hall of Famer Hughie Jennings with 287. But Jennings began his career way back in 1891, when players often took it upon themselves to get hit on purpose and hit-by-pitch rates were considerably higher than they are in the modern game.

Here are the career hit-by-pitch leaders in the Modern Era (since 1900).

1) Craig Biggio, 285
In his 20-year career, Biggio led the Majors in HBPs five times, getting plunked as many as 34 times during his career-best 1997 season. The Hall of Fame leadoff man admitted he stood close to the plate, and he paid the price with a Modern Era-record 285 HBPs. At least he managed to drive in some runs in the process: Biggio was hit with the bases loaded seven times in his career. The HBPs were certainly a help to Biggio’s career .363 on-base percentage, as much as they might have stung. Biggio began wearing an arm guard in 1996, and he never landed on the injured list because of a plunking -- something many hitters can’t say.

2) Don Baylor, 267
Baylor was a seven-time Major League leader in HBPs, including 35 of them in his age-37 season with the Red Sox in 1986. But what might be most impressive is that in 1971, his second MLB season, he played in just one game -- and still managed to get hit that night. The 1979 American League MVP “only” got hit 11 times in his award-winning season, but for his career, Baylor racked up the HBPs like almost no one else.

3) Jason Kendall, 254
Kendall was plunked at a fairly steady clip throughout his 15-year career, including 31 HBPs in both 1997 and 1998 with the Pirates. A year after being hit 20 times in 2001, the catcher got a reprieve in 2002 with only nine HBPs, only to be hit 25 times the next season. Kendall’s open batting stance, in which his upper body was closer to the plate, was a reason he was hit as often as he was.

4) Ron Hunt, 243
Hunt had quite the run of getting hit by pitches. Beginning in 1968, his first season with the Giants, he led the Major Leagues for SIX straight seasons (and topped the National League with 16 in 1974, his final campaign). Hunt managed to get hit 50 times alone as an Expo in 1971, a Modern Era record (Baylor’s 35 in 1986 are a distant second). Hunt, a righty-hitting infielder, certainly crowded the plate -- and that strategy worked, despite the pain it caused him.

5) Anthony Rizzo, 219
The active leader in being hit by pitches, the 34-year-old Rizzo has a chance to surpass Biggio’s record by the time all is said and done. Rizzo -- who typically stands on the inside of the left-handed batter’s box -- led the Majors in HBPs in 2015 (30), 2017 (24) and 2019 (27). He averages 21 HBPs per 162 games, five more than Biggio averaged during his career -- the Hall of Famer typically had a lot more plate appearances.

6) Chase Utley, 204
Utley was hit 10 or more times in 10 different seasons, including three straight years (2007-09) leading all of MLB in HBPs (76 in all). Utley got plunked all over his body during his 16-year career, but the second baseman certainly didn’t seem to mind it -- Utley once told the Los Angeles Times he didn’t dislike getting hit. Considering the boost to his on-base percentage, it’s understandable.

7) Frank Robinson, 198
Robinson racked up just about every possible accolade during his playing career, including Rookie of the Year honors, two MVP Awards, a Triple Crown, a World Series MVP and 14 All-Star nods. But the Hall of Famer was also a baseball magnet. Robinson led the American League in HBPs in 1969 and led the National League six times, including a career-high 20 as a rookie in 1956. He led the Majors in both 1963 (14) and 1965 (18).

8) Minnie Miñoso, 197
Miñoso was frequently the most-hit player in MLB, leading both leagues in HBPs nine times (including six in a row from 1956-61). Miñoso was hit a career-high 23 times in 1956, then 21 more the following season. Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022, Miñoso’s fearlessness was evident when it came to taking free bases via the HBP.

9) Jason Giambi, 180
In six seasons between 2001 and 2008, Giambi was hit 13 or more times, including AL-best marks of 21 in 2003 and 22 in 2008. Other than that, it was pure volume over his 20-year career that helped Giambi reach the all-time top 10. One HBP that won’t show up in his career totals was somewhat costly: Giambi suffered a broken rib after being plunked during Spring Training in 2014, his final season, and missed a large chunk of April.

10) Andrés Galarraga, 178
The Big Cat was plunked as many as 25 times in 1998, although he never topped 20 in any other season. During his time with the Expos, Galarraga led the Majors in HBPs in 1989 with just 13, two years after leading the NL with 10. Galarraga was best known for hitting a baseball a reported 529 feet, but he deserves to be known for being hit BY the ball, too.

Here are some other notable facts about hit by pitches:

• Hit-by-pitch rates are on the rise in recent years, in correlation with upward trends in velocity. Batters were hit in 1.23% of their plate appearances in 2020, a single-season high. After 1900 (1.18%), the next-highest rates have come in 2021, 2023, 2024, 2022, 2019 and 2018. Entering play Friday, 1.13% of hitters in 2024 had been hit by a pitch.
• Besides Rizzo, the active players who have been hit the most times in their career are Starling Marte (156), Mark Canha (133), José Abreu (125) and Justin Turner (124).
• The Modern Era pitchers who have hit the most batters in their career are Walter Johnson (205), Randy Johnson (190), Eddie Plank (190), Tim Wakefield (186), Charlie Morton (175) and Charlie Hough (174). Joe McGinnity holds the single-season Modern Era mark with 40 hit batsmen in 1900, but current A’s pitcher Austin Adams managed to set a Live Ball Era record (since 1920) by hitting 24 batters while with the Padres in 2021 -- quite a few for a reliever.
• No player has been hit more than three times in the same game, which has happened 36 times. Reed Johnson has been the victim of three such games, the most in Modern Era history.
• The most batters hit by one pitcher in a game is four, which has happened 50 times since 1900. Joe Musgrove of the Padres was the last pitcher to do so, plunking four Mets on July 9, 2023.
• It wasn't just Musgrove's outing: The Mets have been hit at a disproportionate rate in recent years. The 2022 Mets hold the Modern Era club record for the most batters hit by a pitch with 112, while the 2023 Mets (107 HBP) are third behind France and the 2023 Mariners (111).
• The team to hit the most batters in a season? That honor belongs to the 2022 Reds, who plunked 110 hitters -- 10 more than the 2023 A's, who are second.