Famous Hit by Pitch Stories of Major League Baseball's Past

For any baseball player who steps up the plate to take his swings, the last thing he probably wants is to get hit by a pitch. This is especially true in Major League Baseball. Considering there are many pitchers who can throw over 100 miles per hour, getting hit with a baseball at that speed surely would sting. If you need proof just look up former Boston Red Sox player Tony Conigliaro.

Conigliaro made his pro debut in 1964 and played his last game in 1975. His entire life changed with one single pitch off the arm of the California Angels’ Jack Hamilton. The date was August 18, 1967, and Hamilton’s pitch struck Conigliaro on his left cheekbone causing a linear fracture and a dislocated jaw as well as suffering severe damage to his left retina.

The aftermath for the young outfielder was tragic. His vision was reduced to 20-300 and he was experiencing terrible headaches. Because at the time the batting helmets did not have a protective flap, the left side of his face was unprotected. Obviously, he missed the remainder of the 1967 season and due to poor vision missed the entire 1968 season.

In 1969 Conigliaro did the unthinkable. He returned to the Sox and even with a left eye that was near closed, he played in 141 games, hit 20 home runs and knocked in 81 runs. Strangely enough, Conigliaro was traded in 1970 with teammates Ray Jarvis and Jerry Moses to the Angels and California sent Ken Tatum, Jarvis Tatum, and Doug Griffin to Boston. That same year, Ken Tatum pulled a Jack Hamilton and one of his pitches struck Baltimore’s Paul Blair in the face just as Conigliaro had been hit and Blair suffered multiple fractures that required surgery.

As for Tony Conigliaro, by 1971 his vision became much poorer, and his depth perception lessened, and he was experiencing blind spots. He was placed on the disabled list and retired at season’s end. In 1975 he came back to Boston to be their designated hitter, but his season was cut short because of poor vision.

After retirement Conigliaro had a restaurant, did some time as a sports anchor, and owned a health food store. Tragically at the age of 37 in 1982 he suffered a heart attack and soon after a stroke. That cause him to fall into a coma and in 1990 he had a case of pneumonia and kidney failure and passed away just 45 years old.

As tragic as Tony Conigliaro’s story is, it wasn’t as horrifying as what happened to another baseball player named Ray Chapman. Chapman was the shortstop for the Cleveland Indians in 1920 and had been on the team since 1912. On August 16, 1920, the New York Yankees’ Carl Mays was on the mound throwing to Chapman and after the Indian shortstop had successfully put down a sacrifice bunt in the at the start of the game, reportedly Mays felt that Chapman was crowding the plate so he threw a high fastball which he believed was the strike zone. Chapman never saw the ball coming and it struck the batter on the head.

From witnesses and Mays, the sound of the ball hitting Chapman on the head was so loud the pitcher thought it hit the bat. The impact sent the ball bounding onto the playing field and Mays tossed it over the first baseman Wally Pipp. Chapman did try to make it to first base but fell down unable to rise. Chapman was rushed to a local hospital where he underwent surgery, and a skull fracture was discovered. Ray Chapman lost his life the next day, the only player in Major League Baseball history to die from an on-field incident.

Reportedly after being beaned, Chapman said “I’m all right. Tell Mays not to worry.” As for Mays, he said he did not feel guilty about the hit by pitch because he was not trying to purposely hit Chapman.

Growing up I remember a player named Ron Hunt. It seemed he was always getting on base because of a hit by pitch. In 6,158 plate appearances, Hunt got plunked 243 times. For all the bruises he may have suffered from being hit with a hard baseball, Hunt is now sixth all time on the list of being struck by an opposing pitcher. On top is old time player Hughie Jennings who earned a free base 287 times in 5,648 at-bats.

Craig Biggio is second and in 20 seasons in the bigs, the former player got struck 285 times. But his plate appearances are more than double that of Jennings. The rest of the list up to the top 10 are: Tommy Tucker (272), Don Baylor (267), Jason Kendall (8,702), Hunt, Dan McGann (230), Anthony Rizzo (222), Chase Utley (204), and Hall of Famer Frank Robinson (198).

Some other notable hit by pitches:

Mike Piazza

Anyone who follows baseball, especially when Roger Clemens was an active pitcher knows the fastballer was an aggressive, no holds barred type of player. His demeanor often came off as mean. In the 2000 season the New York Mets were facing the Yankees and catcher Mike Piazza came to the plate facing Clemens. With his go to pitch, Clemens plunked Piazza with a fastball to the head sending the batter to the ground and suffering a concussion. Because of that hit by pitch, Piazza could not play in the All-Star game that year. In the World Series that season the Mets and Yankees had both won their respective league pennants and once again, Clemens was throwing to Piazza. In one at-bat, Piazza broke his bat swinging at a Clemens’ pitch and part of the bat that had broken off was picked up by Clemens and thrown back at Piazza. Nice.

Dickie Thon

A well known player for the Houston Astros, in 1983 Thon had smacked 20 home runs. The following season in just the fifth game, Thon was facing Mike Torrez and with one pitch that hit Thon in the face, his career was forever altered. The ball had fractured Thon’s orbital bone and left him partially blinded. Thon did make it back to the field the following season however as he did manage to stick around the majors until 1993, he never hit more than 10 home runs in any season reaching 15 in 1989 as the only season he again topped 10 or more round trippers. A lifetime .264 hitter, through the first five games of 1984 Thon was hitting .353. His highest average for one season the rest of his career was just .271. In 1990, Thon would be hit by a pitch three more times. He is now 67.

Gary Roenicke

In 1979 as a Baltimore Oriole, Roenicke hit 25 home runs, along with 64 RBIs, and hit .261. But during the season a pitch hit him in the face and resulted in a wound that required 25 stitches to repair. To avoid another situation like this, Roenicke came back to play with a batting helmet fitted with a partial football facemask that he had been gifted by the Baltimore Colts. Roenicke would reach 20 or more home runs the remainders of his career (21 in 1982) and he would play just nine more seasons finishing his career with a .247 batting average. In 1979 the Baltimore Orioles lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series and Roenicke played in six of the seven games coming to the plate 16 times but managing just two hits. He also struck out six times in his plate appearances.

Mike Jorgensen

Jorgensen was playing for the Texas Rangers and suffered his hit by pitch the same year as Gary Roenicke (1979). The Boston Red Sox’ Andy Hassler threw a pitch to Jorgensen that hit him directly in the face. Jorgensen reportedly suffered headaches for days after and ended up in the hospital. During his stay he encountered a seizure that allegedly nearly ended his life. After a handful of seasons with over 100 games played in Montreal and as an Expo, became a journeyman for five other teams and hung around Major League Baseball until his retirement in 1985. He lasted 17 years but only managed a career batting average of .243 with only 833 hits.

Mickey Cochrane

Here we have one of the all-time great catchers in baseball. Cochrane played just 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Athletics and the Detroit Tigers. His career came to a crashing halt because of a hit by pitch. A .320 career hitter, despite his relatively short career, Cochrane is a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. Early in the season in 1937, Cochrane was facing the New York Yankees’ Irving Hadley and a pitch from the pinstriped pitcher struck Cochrane with such force it knocked him unconscious. The injury resulted in a fractured skull which subsequently ended Mickey Cochrane’s career. That season the all-star catcher was in just his 27th game but was hitting for a cool .306. He had walked 25 games up to that point and struck out just four times. Cochrane passed away at the age of 59 in 1962 suffering from lymphatic cancer. Strangely enough, the pitcher who hit Cochrane who had the nickname “Bump” died less than a year later at almost the same age as Cochrane (58).

Kirby Puckett

Those who remember this great player will recall a stocky 5’8” outfielder with a smooth bat. A career .318 hitter, Puckett is also enshrined in Cooperstown. Like Mickey Cochrane 58 years before him, Puckett had his career ended because of being hit by a pitch. It was the final season he would play in 1995, but Puckett was in his 137th game when a pitch from Dennis Martinez struck Puckett in the face breaking his jaw and creating vision problems that Kirby could not recover from, and his career was halted. In 12 years, Kirby Puckett had 2,304 hits, 207 home runs, and 414 doubles. He would make the All-Star game in every season of his career except his first two. Puckett also finished in the top 10 voting for American League Most Valuable Player seven times in his 12 seasons.

In the National Football League, injuries are commonplace. Some severe and season ending. Basketball has its share of injuries on the court and just this past season the Indiana Pacers lost Tyrese Haliburton for not just the NBA finals remaining games but for all of next season with a torn Achilles tendon. Hockey, being the physical sport that it is will see injuries often too. But in baseball, arm injuries are common but there is always that risk of getting hit with a baseball not just from pitchers who are throwing the ball over 100 miles per hour but also from line drives that can cause major damage as well.