How did Ron Hunt get hit 50 times in 1971 and still play 152 games?

PowderedH2O

Carlos Quentin's reaction to being hit last week got me to thinking about the legendary Ron Hunt. Hunt was the king of the HBP. Since the turn of the 20th century, only one player has ever had a season in which he got hit 36 times or more by pitches. That was Ron Hunt of the Expos, who got hit FIFTY times in 1971. Nolan Ryan hit Hunt four times that year. As I recall, Ryan wasn't exactly lobbing up slow curveballs. Bob Gibson hit him. It is easy to see how Hunt got hit so much. His stance was practically on the plate. It is the durabilitly I wonder about. How does a guy get hit that many times and still play almost every game?

digicat

<< <i>How does a guy get hit that many times and still play almost every game? >>



It'd be interesting to see how many of those HBPs were the ball brushing against his uniform, vs getting actually drilled.

Mickey71

I don't even want a brush of a Ryan fastball.

Dboneesq

And how many people know that he came in 2nd to Pete Rose in the 1963 ROY voting?

AC000000

From what I remember about Ron Hunt, he was almost like a stunt man when it came to getting hit. It seemed he would almost "pick his pitch" to get hit on, avoiding high heat, avoiding getting hit in vital places or bone. It was almost always on the arm or his uniform or something like that. He seemed to "know" how to get hit to avoid hurt and injury, and at times a pitch would hurt but he could shake it off. Plus, he hardly relied on muscle power so a bruise or three was no big deal for him to play through.

estang

http://www.baseballsavvy.com/w_hunt.html

Interesting read & website...