Baseball has a long history, dating back into the 1800s. The basic rules of the game were created then, and simply changed as the players and the game itself has changed. One of the older rules in the game is the Hit by Pitch or HBP. In 1887, it was decided that if a player gets hit, they are awarded first base. Seems fair enough, as long as the player was not hit in the head. At that point, seems like someone is going to the hospital.
It does not hurt a batter, from a statistical standing, to get hit by a pitch. In fact, it helps their On Base Percentage. Most of you know about the HBP, have probably have seen some guys get hit, and cringe after seeing it. I’m not here to talk about the history of the rule; I’m here to talk about current major league players and how they are dealing with getting hit.
