The Short Answer: The hit-by-pitch rule awards first base to a batter who is directly struck by a pitch while standing in the batter’s box. While it may sound simple, there are exceptions to be aware of, which we will get into later in this article.
Understanding the Hit-by-Pitch Rule
Official Baseball Rule 5.05(b)(2) states that a batter is entitled to first base when a pitched ball touches him, his clothing, or his equipment. There are two exceptions:
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If the ball is inside the strike zone when it makes contact, it is a strike.
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If the batter does not attempt to avoid the pitch, no base is awarded.
In the scorebook, a hit batter is recorded as a hit batsman and charged to the pitcher.
The ball goes dead the instant it hits the batter. He becomes a runner at first base. If there is already a player at first base, they advance to second base. A hit by pitch also counts as a plate appearance rather than an at-bat, so it lifts a hitter's on-base percentage and leaves his batting average untouched.
Where the Rule Came From
Before 1887, a pitch that struck a batter in the National League was worth nothing more than a ball. The American Association had already started awarding first base in 1884, and when the two leagues adopted a shared rule book for the 1887 season, the base award came with it. Hitters had spent decades wearing fastballs for free.
When a Base Isn't Awarded
Four things can happen when a pitch hits a batter, and only one of them ends with a walk to first:
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A batter walks to first when the pitch is outside of the strike zone, and the batter tries to avoid the ball. The ruling is also considered a dead ball.
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If a pitch is inside the strike zone when it hits the batter, then it is considered a dead-ball strike, and the batter does not walk.
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If a batter swings or squares to bunt the ball and gets hit by the same pitch, then it is considered a dead-ball strike, and the batter does not walk.
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If the pitch is outside of the strike zone, but the batter makes no effort to move, then it is ruled a dead ball with a ball added to the count, and the batter does not walk.
The strike zone piece surprises people. If a batter drops his elbow or lets an arm drift into the zone, and the pitch catches him there, the umpire has a dead-ball strike, not a hit by pitch. The batter takes the welt and the strike.
The bunt is the version that costs teams outs. Squaring around counts as offering at the pitch, so a hitter who leaves the bat over the plate and takes the ball off his knuckles has a strike, not first base.
The Role of the Batter
How a batter reacts to a pitch can also influence whether or not the umpire implements the hit-by-pitch rule. If the pitch is on the inside and hits the batter, but the batter does not attempt to avoid it, it's still considered a "dead ball," and a ball is added to the batter's count, but there's no base reward.
Trying to avoid the pitch creates its own trap. A batter who spins away from an inside fastball and lets the ball nick his bat has fouled it off. The rule counts a hit-by-pitch when the ball touches the batter, his clothing, or his gear, and the bat is the one piece of equipment it excludes, which is why the same pitch produces two very different calls depending on what it hits first.
The Umpire Calls the Hit-By-Pitch
Three questions land on the home plate umpire in about half a second.
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Was the pitch in the strike zone when it made contact?
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Did the batter try to avoid it?
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Was he swinging?
None of those calls are reviewable, and the avoidance question is close to pure judgment. Umpires call it loosely most of the time, which is why crowd-the-plate hitters keep getting away with it.
Pitching Around the Hit-by-Pitch Rule
Baseball is a game of strategies, and the hit-by-pitch rule is wrapped up in several of them. Pitchers work the inside part of the plate to take away a hitter's comfort, and some of them go further than that.
Brushback Pitches
A brushback is a pitch thrown high and close to a batter’s body to move a hitter off the plate as a result of crowding. When a hitter is standing really close to the plate, the pitcher attempts to “brush them back,” and if the hitter does not attempt to move out of the way, then they will not be awarded a hit-by-pitch. It is legal, it is old, and it works, because a hitter thinking about his ribs is not covering the outside corner. Pitchers who lean on it too often pick up a reputation as headhunters. Throwing at a batter on purpose is a different thing entirely, and it is against the rules.
Plunking
Occasionally, if a player is having an extraordinarily good day or is displaying unsporting behavior, a pitcher may intentionally hit a batter to knock him down a peg. This strategy is often concealed as a curveball that slipped their control, commonly referred to as "plunking." The intent behind these pitches is often more about sending a message rather than intending harm. The opposing team usually hits the next batter in retaliation for this act, which can lead to incidents on the mound and sometimes bench-clearing brawls.
Warnings & Consequences
When an umpire believes a pitcher threw at a batter on purpose, he issues a warning to both dugouts. After that warning, the next pitch thrown at a hitter gets the offending player and his manager ejected on the spot. Umpires can also skip the warning and clear the mound immediately if the intent is obvious enough, usually when the target is a star or the pitch is up near the head.
Famous Instances of the Hit-By-Pitch Rule
Record Holders
|
Player |
Career HBP |
Era |
|
360+ and counting |
2005 to present |
|
|
287 |
1891-1903 |
|
|
285 |
1988 to 2007 |
|
|
272 |
1887 to 1899 |
|
|
267 |
1970 to 1988 |
Choi Jeong of the SSG Landers passed Jennings for the world professional record in August 2021 and had been hit 330 times by April 2024.
Jennings also owns the single-season MLB record with 51 in 1896, and Ron Hunt's 50 in 1971 is the modern mark.
League-wide, hit-by-pitch totals have climbed toward all-time highs in recent seasons, and the 2022 Mets took 112 of them as a team, the most by any club since 1900.
There Goes My Perfect Game
Two pitchers have lost a perfect game by hitting the 27th batter they faced.
Hooks Wiltse of the Giants plunked opposing pitcher George McQuillan on a 2-2 count in a scoreless game on July 4, 1908, then finished a 10-inning no-hitter.
Max Scherzer nicked pinch-hitter Jose Tabata with two outs in the ninth on June 20, 2015, and got the next man out for his no-hitter. Joe Musgrove came at it from the other direction in 2021, hitting Joey Gallo in the fourth inning of what became the first no-hitter in Padres history.
Tragic Incidents
The rule also sits at the center of the sport's worst day. Ray Chapman, Cleveland's starting shortstop on a club that won the World Series that October, was hit in the head by a Carl Mays fastball on August 16, 1920, and died the following morning. He remains the only player killed by a pitch in a major league game.
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