Amidst all the disappointment and failure to hit the ball good in yesterday's dispiriting extra-inning loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers, an important--nay, historic--positive somehow got lost in the shuffle. With his beaning in the bottom of the tenth inning in last night's game at the hands of Ramon Troncoso, Utley amassed his 89th all-time Hit By Pitch, shattering the team's previous HBP record of 88, held by 13-year catcher Mike Lieberthal. According to HBP-tracking blog Plunk Everyone (proving once and for all that no subject remains on this planet without at least one blog devoted to it), it took Lieberthal 1174 games to reach what Utley has accomplished in a mere 866 outings. Chase is now in a sixth-way tie for 98th place on the all-time baseball hit list, although he remains well short of all-time leader Craig Biggio's positively Ruthian tally of 285. (If you're feeling nostalgic, PE has also done us the favor of listing the game, pitcher, and even the inning of each instance of Utley taking one for the team).
"This has been a goal of mine for a long time, and I feel that I've worked hard at it," Utley did not actually say in the post-game conference. "Do I have a couple bruises, welts and blisters to show for it? Sure. But the scars are just the cost of doing battle."
Original Story:
http://www.the700level.com/2009/05/yo...
