Hamels is too young to have seen and learned from some of the mean but great old timers like Dizzy Dean, Early Wynn, Ewell Blackwell and Sal Maglie. They all did a real job of knocking down anyone they felt was getting too comfortable in that batter’s box.

And now they're all dead. Coincidence?

Koufax's career high HBP: 5. Somehow I doubt he was throwing too many purpose pitches.

Hamels is too young to have seen and learned from some of the mean but great old timers like Dizzy Dean, Early Wynn, Ewell Blackwell and Sal Maglie. They all did a real job of knocking down anyone they felt was getting too comfortable in that batter’s box.

It's remarkable how few batters these guys hit compared to Johnson/Clemens/Pedro. Johnson hit more batters by himself than the old four did as a group, and the ever-bloodthirsty Pedro came close to matching them in about 30% of the innings:

Namby-pamby? Seriously?

Early Wynn had 3 seasons (3rd, 6th, 9th) in the league top 10 for HBPs. He's 22nd all time in IP, 243rd in batter's hit.

HBP/9 for each Pitcher Mentioned in the Article

Pedro, 0.449
Randy Johnson, 0.414
Drysdale, 0.404

Blackwell, 0.323
Walter Johnson, 0.312
Smokey Joe Wood, 0.308

Clemens, 0.291
Gibson, 0.236
Maglie 0.229
Cole Hamels, 0.201

Wynn, 0.126
Dean, 0.124

Koufax, 0.070

Interesting stat: For the AL, the six highest yearly HBP rates were, in order, 2001, 2004, 2003, 2002, but then 1911 and 1901. In fact, the top 33 yearly rates were either after 1990 or before 1920. Makes you wonder what the spitball and the rise of the elbow pad had to do with this.

And the lowest 18 HBP rates were all in the 1930's and 1940's.

(I didn't look at the NL. Too lazy.)

Hell, in my day, pitchers used to throw at hitters before the game! In the on-deck circle! In the dugout! In the shower room! When they were young children, back before they even thought about being ballplayers!

[6] Based on B-R data, I get top 10 HBP NL rates since 1901: 2006, 2005, 1901, 2001, 2003, 1903, 2004, 2007, 1905, and 2002.

Apparently the HBP statistic was first codified in 1887. The top 5 HBP NL rates are 1899, 1898, 1897, 1900, 1895.

Steve Treder wrote this article in 2007: http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/the-hbp-explosion-that-almost-nobody-seems-to-have-noticed/

Through the early decades of the 20th century, the incidence of batters being struck by pitched balls steadily declined, in both the American and National Leagues. As the sport developed from its rough-and-tumble origins to its slick and professional maturity, the pitchers' control improved, and the batters' tactic of semi-intentionally taking the HBP as a means of getting on base faded. By the 1930s, the typical team had a hit batsman little more than once every 10 games.

In subsequent decades, the rate waxed and waned, but never in either league reached the levels of the 1900s and 1910s. Until the 1990s, that is, when, in both leagues, the occurrence of batters being pelted with pitches suddenly returned to the dead-ball era norm. But not for long; swiftly the rate soared past that, and in the past few seasons we've witnessed pitched balls smacking flesh at a frequency not known in more than 100 years. ...

After reaching historic lows in the 1930s and '40s, the incidence of HBPs slightly increased over the 1950s and '60s. The explanation for this may be found, ironically, in an innovation expressly designed to improve the safety of batters: the batting helmet. ...

By the late 1960s, the slow-but-steady growth stalled, and across the 1970s and into the 1980s the HBP rate slowly but steadily declined again. How might we explain this? Once again it's pure conjecture, but it might be that the same larger forces that had driven down the rate into the 1930s were coming to the fore again, as the now-universal use of helmets had stabilized. As pitching quality improved, the ability of pitchers to avoid the error of plunking hitters increased. ...

While the increasing use of body armor is obviously relevant, it would seem that by far the more causative factor in the exploding HBP rate is the plate posture of the typical modern batter, whether wearing armor or not.

Since the 1980s, umpires, presumably discreetly directed by MLB to do so, seem to have torn from the rule book the page that describes how close to the plate the batter may legally assume his stance. Coupled with hitters' unprecedented knowledge that any pitch more than a shade inside will generate a warning from the ump that the next inside delivery will send the pitcher to the showers, the result is a hegemony that earlier hitters could only dream about.

"Crowd" the plate? Many modern batters, with or without an elbow guard, set up permanent residence on the inner half.

Hell, in my day, pitchers used to throw at hitters... in the on-deck circle!

I didn't realize Ben Christiansen was that old

I don't like Cole Hamels, but if he pulled off a Triple Lindy even I'd be impressed.

Koufax's career high HBP: 5. Somehow I doubt he was throwing too many purpose pitches.

Wasn't Koufax famous for not throwing at batters?

Here's another factoid that just got mentioned on the Nats telecast, and it survived a BB-Ref. tracer: Mickey Mantle didn't get hit by a pitch until his 1894th at bat. He got hit only 13 times in his entire 18 year career. By contrast, Ty Cobb got plunked 94 times, Barry Elbow Pad 106, and Derek the Dive Bomber 158. I wonder what the "old school" folks would say about that.

But in the years of relatively low HBP rates, one player stood out, and yeah, you guessed it. He got 27 times a year, which is 11 a year more than the modern champ, Craig Biggio.

Here's another factoid that just got mentioned on the Nats telecast, and it survived a BB-Ref. tracer: Mickey Mantle didn't get hit by a pitch until his 1894th at bat. He got hit only 13 times in his entire 18 year career.

I can't prove this right at this particular moment, but I'm pretty sure that switch hitters are HBP less often than non-switchies, all else being equal.

I can't prove this right at this particular moment, but I'm pretty sure that switch hitters are HBP less often than non-switchies, all else being equal.

Good point, though the only three notably low career totals for switchers other than Mantle are Chipper and HoJo (17 each), and Eddie Murray (18). OTOH Pete Rose got hit 107 times, yet another category where he beat his great white whale, Ty Cobb.

Pedro, 0.449

Awesome

Ty Cobb got plunked 94 times, Barry Elbow Pad 106, and Derek the Dive Bomber 158.

Hey, you get what you deserve. No one liked/likes these guys anyway!

OTOH Pete Rose got hit 107 times, yet another category where he beat his great white whale, Ty Cobb.

Bryce Harper is on pace to beat both of them easily

Great read in #8 -- I have to wonder if the proliferation of various "armor" worn by the hitters has helped fuel the HPB numbers.

11-yup

I have to think that another significant factor is that umpires don't seem to bother with trying to decide if any attempt to avoid was made.

Getting hit is now a strategy. Down to high school ages, teams are taught that they better not EVER give ground. You turn your shoulder inward, thereby protecting your hands and face, and trot to first.

Getting hit is now a strategy. Down to high school ages, teams are taught that they better not EVER give ground.

I blame Rudi Stein.