Some pitchers are a little wild, and while some may give you a good, fat fastball to hit sometimes, they also try to toy with a batter’s head and pitch them inside. And when the pitcher in question throws upwards of 95 mph, it’s a scary proposition for the dude at the plate. Here is a Top 10 list of the active MLB pitchers who have a tendency to hit batters.
1. Randy Johnson, Arizona Diamondbacks (185)—Okay, so it’s not enough that this guy is 6’10” and it looks like the ball is coming from the upper deck when he throws it (I have never faced him, but I am making a strong assumption). The Big Unit also is a bit wild sometimes, and I can’t imagine any of those 185 batters he’s hit were by way of a curve or change-up.
2. Tim Wakefield, Boston Red Sox (158)—Wakefield’s knuckleball has kept him in the game for sixteen seasons now. Sometimes that knuckler is on target and baffling hitters, and other times it’s baffling his own catcher. And it’s times like that that a batter can’t help but get in the way.
3. Pedro Martinez, New York Mets (135)—It doesn’t matter that Pedro doesn’t have the same fastball he did when he was winning Cy Young Awards in Montreal and Boston. He still owns the inside part of the plate, and if you lean over it, Pedro’s coming in there.
4. Greg Maddux, San Diego Padres (133)—Maddux might look like an engineer or an accountant, but he’s all business on the mound. And the fact that he’s an artist that paints the corners of the plate to be effective, it’s no surprise that Maddux has hit 133 batters during his long career.
5. Chan Ho Park, Los Angeles Dodgers (127)—Park seems to have revived his career back where it started in the big leagues, with the same kind of nasty stuff he had after coming over from Japan. In 2001, Park hit 20 batters. Ouch.
6. Kenny Rogers, Detroit Tigers (125)—Here’s another guy who has been pitching for so long (since 1989) that he’s bound to let a few slip out of his hands. He also doesn’t like cameramen.
7. Jamey Wright, Texas Rangers (123)—Jamey Wright is a lifetime 75-106 pitcher, and has a bit of a wild streak as evidenced by his 123 hit batsmen, 58 wild pitches and 782 walks over thirteen seasons.
8. Jamie Moyer, Philadelphia Phillies (120)—Another lefty junk ball pitcher who normally has decent control, but has had double-digits in hit batsmen three times during his career.
9. Jeff Weaver, Milwaukee Brewers (118)—Weaver is currently toiling in the minors with AAA Nashville, and waiting for that call-up to the Brewers. (Has Ben Sheets really remained healthy the whole season?). Weaver is lanky, throws hard, and sometimes is a bit wild.
10. Julian Tavarez, Milwaukee Brewers (92)—I saw this guy come up with Cleveland in 1993, and it’s hard to believe he’s now in his sixteenth season, albeit with nine different teams.
Source: Baseball Reference
