There are a barrage of ways for a batter to get to first safely in baseball, but by far the most painful one is reaching on a hit by pitch.
While most at-bats ending in a hit batter are a result of a miscue from the pitcher, reported newly acquired Giants outfielder Brandon Guyer has perfected the craft of being drilled by a pitch.
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SIGN UP HERE In 2015, Guyer led MLB after being plunked 24 times while with the Tampa Bay Rays. But that number becomes more impressive when you consider that Guyer registered just 385 plate appearances, while just about all everyday players end up over 600 for a full season.
Guyer got hit over 6 percent of the time, while only three players were hit even half as frequently with over 300 plate appearances.
But Guyer’s 2016 season was even more efficient as far as taking a painful walk to first is concerned.
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Despite missing a month of the season due to injury, Guyer became just the fifth player in the live-ball era (1920-present) to be hit more than 30 times in a single year. At the 2016 All-Star break, Guyer already had been hit 20 times, more than the entire A’s roster up to that point.
While Guyer reportedly has joined the Giants on a minor-league contract, San Francisco is getting someone who is elite at getting on base, even if it’s in the most painful of ways.
