Plunk Everyone

Through yesterday, there have been 1,161 batters hit by pitches in the major leagues this season, but only 3 batters have been hit by a pitch on their birthday - Conor Jackson on May 7th, Wes Helms on May 12th, and Carlos Delgado on June 25th. Batters have had 397 plate appearance on there birthdays in 2008, so pitchers have plunked birthday batters just once per 132 plate appearances. Overall, batters are getting hit about once every 113.6 plate apperance, so that works out to a 13.7% reduction in plunk rates on a batters birthday. And I bet they think the pitchers aren't getting them something nice. A 13.7% reduction in plunks per plate appearance on your birthday is the gift that keeps on giving slightly less frequently than the rest of the time.

Last year pitchers were much more generous to birthday batters - they hit them with pitches 238% more often than the season plunks per plate appearance rate. 12 batters got hit by pitches on their 2007 birthday, in 542 birthday plate appearances, so a birthday plunk was delivered in about one out of every 45 such plate appearances.

Among active players, none have been hit more than twice in their career on their birthday, and Travis Hafner is the only one to get hit twice in one game on his birthday ( in 2005).

On the pitching side, only 2 pitchers have celebrated their birthday by going out and hitting a batter with a pitch, which is also way down from last years total of 9. Among active pitchers, Randy Johnson has hit the most batters on his birthday, with 3, but he's hit 186 batters in all. His birthday is just one of 15 calendar dates on which he's hit 3 batters in his career, and he has two dates when he's hit 4 and two more when he's hit 5. So he's certainly not making September 15th special by hitting batters.

There's still plenty of time for birthday plunks left this season - there are 139 players who have batted this year and have a birthday between today and the end of the season, and 110 players who have pitched and have a birthday coming up. And, there's always the September roster expansion.