Plunk Everyone

The Los Angeles Lakers are in the NBA finals again this year, which means that if they lose, they can add to their record 15 championship losses (including 1 from the Minneapolis years). No team in any of the four major American sports has lost their league championship that many times. The Yankees are the closest, having reached and then lost the World Series 13 times. The Bruins and Red Wings have been the runners-up for the Stanley Cup 12 times each, and the Dodgers and Giants have each lost in the World Series 12 different times.

So, this may lead you to wonder (or not), who has been hit by the most pitches in major league baseball games played in years when the Lakers lost the NBA finals?
Here are the top 10:
Ron Hunt - 130
Frank Robinson - 103
Mack Jones - 64
Orlando Cepeda - 61
Bill Freehan - 59
Norm Cash - 54
Rick Reichardt - 50
Don Baylor - 49
Tony Gonzalez - 47
Lou Johnson - 45

Craig Wilson has the single season record for HBPs in a year when the Lakers lost the championship, with 30 in 2004, and Chase Utley is 2nd with 27 in 2008. At his current HBP rate, Utley could contend for Wilson's record in that category if the Lakers lose, but he'd need another 91 plunks to catch Ron Hunt on the career list for HBPs in years when the Lakers lost.

In the interest of fairness, here are the top 10 career HBP leaders in years in which the Orlando Magic have lost the NBA Championship:
Craig Biggio - 22
Ed Sprague - 15
Mo Vaughn - 14
Larry Walker - 14
Mike Macfarlane - 14
Andres Galarraga - 13
Jeff Blauser - 12
John Patterson - 12
Mark McGwire - 11
Pat Meares - 11
Brian Jordan - 11

Obviously, all those plunks happened in 1995, so that's the single season leader board too. Chase Utley already has 11 plunks this season, so he's half way to that record if the Magic lose.

And, just because sometimes the Lakers have won the championship, here are the career HBP leaders in years when they did so:
Don Baylor - 91
Fernando Vina - 68
Craig Biggio - 61
Andres Galarraga - 59
Carlton Fisk - 53
Chet Lemon - 52
Minnie Minoso - 49
Brian Downing - 49
David Eckstein - 48
Carlos Delgado - 44
Jason Kendall - 44

Don Baylor, Craig Biggio and Fernando Vina are all tied for the single season HBP record in a year with a Lakers title, with 28 each. Baylor had 28 in 1987, Biggio had 28 in 2001, and Vina had 28 in 2000.