Utley ties franchise record

by plunkeveryone on May 5, 2009 11:49 AM EDT Comment 5 comments

I don't know if they mentioned it in the broadcast of yesterdays game, but Chase Utley's 5th inning HBP moved him into a tie with Mike Lieberthal for the Phillies career HBP record, with 88. Lieberthal took the Phillies franchise lead on July 19, 2005, passing Ed Delahanty, who had held the record since 1897. Utley's on pace for 35 HBPs this season, at the moment, so if he can keep up that pace he'll have 87 HBPs in the span of three seasons, which would be in the league of the best three year totals posted by either Don Baylor or Craig Biggio.

Since 2003, Utley has accounted for slightly over 20% of the Phillies HBP production, and he's received 40.5% of Phillies HBPs since the beginning of 2008.

And, he's the all time HBP leader among players whose last name starts with U.

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conflicted

On the one hand, all the extra times on base are incredibly valuable. On the other, remember what happened when he got plunked by John Lannan in 2007?

In conclusion, I don’t know if the risk of losing him for any stretch is outweighed by the 25-ish extra times he gets on base per season.

http://www.thegoodphight.com

by WholeCamels on May 5, 2009 11:59 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I think a HBP should move ALL baerunners up a base. That ball would likely have been a wild pitch, thus allowing the runners to move to second or third. Makes more sense to me.

I wonder if they would ever make rule changes like that again in baseball. I doubt it, but I think it would be cool.

For Who? My teammates.

For What? To Win.

How Much? Where do I sign?

by jonk on May 5, 2009 12:27 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs