Plunk Everyone

Here's how the MLB standings would look, as of today, if they only counted games in which a team got plunked at least once. Because really, if your team didn't get hit by a pitch, should the game count?

NATIONAL LEAGUE
EAST	W	L	PCT	HBP
Atlanta	11	2	.846	18
Philadelphia	17	4	.810	28
NY Mets	7	5	.583	14
Florida	6	8	.429	17
Washington	4	10	.286	22
CENTRAL
Pittsburgh	12	6	.667	21
Cincinnati	12	6	.667	21
Milwaukee	14	8	.636	28
St. Louis	9	9	.500	23
Houston	6	6	.500	15
Chicago Cubs	8	9	.471	21
WEST
LA Dodgers	10	4	.714	19
San Francisco	10	8	.556	21
San Diego	7	8	.467	17
Arizona	5	7	.417	14
Colorado	4	8	.333	13
AMERICAN LEAGUE
EAST	W	L	PCT	HBP
Tampa Bay	9	3	.750	15
Boston	17	7	.708	30
Toronto	7	3	.700	12
Baltimore	9	7	.563	16
NY Yankees	8	8	.500	19
CENTRAL
Minnesota	9	6	.600	19
Detroit	6	6	.500	16
Kansas City	6	6	.500	18
Chicago Sox	7	9	.438	20
Cleveland	12	16	.429	39
WEST
LA Angels	5	4	.556	9
Texas	6	5	.545	12
Oakland	6	8	.429	16
Seattle	4	8	.333	12

The Atlanta Braves have only been hit by pitches in 13 games, but they're 11-2 in games when they're plunked - that a win pct of .846, compared to their .385 win rate in games when they don't get plunked. The Braves have the biggest such difference in the league. Did the Braves know this when they acquired Nate McLouth, who's been hit by a respectable 4 pitches this season? The Pirates were 4-0 in games when McLouth got plunked. The Phillies, Rays and Red Sox are all under .500 when they don't get hit by any pitches, but win over 70% of games in which they get plunked. The Red Sox are 6-0 when they get hit twice in a game. The Pirates have an NL Central Division leading win pct of .667 when they get hit by a pitch, but they're dead last in the Central when they don't get hit, at a dismal .382 win pct.

On the other end of the spectrum, there are a few teams that get worse when they get hit by pitches. Seattle wins 52.4% of their games when they don't get plunked, but only one third (.333) when they get hit. If you want to beat the Mariners, it would seem that throwing inside a few times might help. The team with the next most negative impact on wins from HBPs is the Yankees. They've won at a .632 clip when they don't get hit, but drop to an even .500 when they get hit by at least one pitch. So, opposing teams should think about the benefits of hitting Yankees batters, which include a greater chance of winning, and a decent chance that AJ Burnett will get mad, throw at someone, and get suspended. Again. However, the Yankees are 2-1 when they get hit twice in a game, so the winning strategy is to only plunk them once. But maybe as an experiment, someone should try hitting them 7 or 8 times. If you want to get specific, the Yankees are 0-2 when Derek Jeter gets hit by a pitch, and 0-3 when Hideki Matsui gets plunked. (The author of this website does not support or endorse intentionally plunking batters, but will still point out when it could possibly help a team win.)
The Nationals are 0-6 in games when they get hit by two pitches, but there are plenty of other ways to beat the Nationals without having to resort to that strategy.