Chase Utley is one of the best second basemen to ever play the game and he’s still playing at the highest level as an everyday starter at the age of 39.
On Tuesday night, the six-time All-Star and four-time Silver Slugger Award winner accomplished a feat that only seven other players have accomplished before him as he was hit by a pitch for the 200th time over the course of his 16-year career.
No one likes to get hit by a pitch when they step into the batter’s box, but Utley has never been one to shy away from doing whatever it takes to get on base for his team, hence becoming the eighth person in MLB history to get hit by 200 or more pitches.
While he’s made his way up the ranks over his lengthy career, he still has some ways to go to pass the other seven guys in front of him on the leaderboard, as some of them made their marks over 100 years ago.
7. Dan McGann
Dan McGann played over 100 years ago and spent 12 years as a professional baseball player from 1896-1908. The most times he was hit in a single season came in 1898 when he got smoked 39 different times, and he led the league the following year with 37 HBP. Over the course of his career he was hit by 230 pitches.
6. Ron Hunt
Ron Hunt played with the New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, San Francisco Giants, Montreal Expos and the St. Louis Cardinals over the course of his 12-year career that lasted from 1963-1974. The most times he was hit by a pitch in a single season came in 1971 when he was plunked a league-high 50 times, and he led the league in HBP from 1968-1974 and was hit 243 times over his career.
5. Jason Kendall
Jason Kendall is one of the more recent names on this leaderboard as he spent 15 seasons in the Major Leagues from 1996-2010, and spent a majority of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. The three-time All-Star led was hit by 31 pitches in back-to-back years in 1997 and 1998, and led the league in HBP in 1998. Over his career, Kendall was hit by 254 pitches.
4. Don Baylor
Don Baylor played in the Big Leagues for nearly three decades as he started his career in 1970 and retired in 1988, and he was a master of getting free bases during his career. The late Don Baylor led the league in HBP eight different times, including four straight years from 1984-1987, and got hit by 267 pitches over his 19-year career.
3. Tommy Tucker
Tommy Tucker was the original master of getting free bases by taking a pitch off his body from time to time. The Holyoke, Massachusetts native made his debut in 1887 and played professionally until 1899, and he led the league in HBP in five of his first six seasons. The most HBP he racked up in a single season was 33 and totaled 272 over his career.
2. Craig Biggio
Craig Biggio was an all-around beast when it came to stepping into the batter’s box. If he wasn’t getting a base hit or smoking the ball over the outfield wall, he was doing whatever it took to get on base, including stepping into a pitch or two. The 2015 Hall of Fame inductee didn’t really start stepping into pitches until his eighth season, but once he got a taste for it he didn’t stop. After getting hit by a total of 36 pitches over his first seven seasons, Biggio was hit 49 times over the next two seasons and led the league in HBP for three straight years from 1995-1997 and sits second on the all-time HBP list with 285.
1. Hughie Jennings
After Tommy Tucker and before Dan McGann there was Hughie Jennings. The Pittston, Pennsylvania native played professionally from 1891-1918 and led the league in HBP five straight years from 1894-1898. In 1896 he set a league record that still stands to this day as he was plunked 51 times and followed it up with back-to-back seasons of 46 HBP. Jennings sits at the top of the list with 287 HBP.
As for Chase Utley, he entered this season needing one more HBP to join the exclusive 200 HBP club, but he led the league in HBP from 2007-2009 and played a key role in helping the Phillies capture their second World Series title in 2008. It’s highly unlikely that Utley passes Dan McGann for 7th on the all-time list before his career wraps up, but anything is possible.
(H/T Baseball-Reference)
