Carlos Quentin an HBP magnet

It’s not them, Carlos, it’s you.

Apr 12, 2013, 3:09 PM UTC

USA TODAY Sports

I listen to The Ancient World podcast regularly. This week, I learned about Thales of Miletus, who is considered the father of science in that he was among the first to use the scientific method. Thales, along with other leading thinkers of his day, was asked to inscribe a maxim to live by into the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. He wrote, “Know thyself.”

Carlos Quentin should take heed. It's understandable that a player would get angry at getting hit by a pitch. After all, that hurts like hell. But you'd think Quentin should be used to it by now. After all, he gets hit a lot. Like a lot, a lot. Since Carlos Quentin debuted in 2006, major leaguers have gotten hit by a pitch in roughly 0.9 percent of their plate appearances. That number has been steadily decreasing:

Year	HBP	PA	HBP%
2006	1817	188071	0.97%
2007	1755	188623	0.93%
2008	1672	187631	0.89%
2009	1590	187079	0.85%
2010	1549	185553	0.83%
2011	1554	185245	0.84%
2012	1494	184179	0.81%
Total	11431	1306381	0.88%

Carlos Quentin, on the other hand has been hit 115 times in 2m793 plate appearances, which is 4.1 percent. Again, Carlos Quentin gets hit more than four times more often than the major league average.

You might be thinking, “Wow, that sounds like a lot.” Congratulations -- you’re correct. Here are the active MLB leaders in HBP percentage (more than 1000 career PAs):

Player	HBP	PA	HBP/PA
Carlos Quentin	115	2793	4.12%
Reed Johnson	120	3641	3.30%
Kelly Shoppach	54	1739	3.11%
Chase Utley	151	5178	2.92%
Rickie Weeks	109	4053	2.69%
Sean Rodriguez	33	1384	2.38%
Josh Willingham	91	3821	2.38%
Kevin Youkilis	101	4352	2.32%
Nick Green	26	1155	2.25%
Jonny Gomes	68	3076	2.21%

Yes, Carlos Quentin gets hit almost 25 percent more often than his closest competitor. And if you think that seems ridiculous, just hold on a second while I blow your mind here:

Player	HBP	PA	HBP/PA
Carlos Quentin	115	2793	4.12%
Ron Hunt	243	6158	3.95%
Jason LaRue	107	3103	3.45%
Fernando Vina	157	4742	3.31%
Reed Johnson	120	3641	3.30%
Dan McGann	125	4141	3.02%
Jason Kendall	254	8702	2.92%
Chase Utley	151	5178	2.92%
Kid Elberfeld	147	5054	2.91%
Steve Evans	111	3893	2.85%

That's a list of the most-often hit players since 1901 with more than 2500 plate appearances. Quentin gets hit more often than Ron Hunt (#2 on the list above), who once got hit 50 times in one season. He gets hit more often than modern leader in HBP Craig Biggio (#25). He gets hit more often than Don Baylor (#11). These are guys who are incredibly famous in part (or in Hunt's case, in all) for getting hit by pitches and

Quentin beats them handily: Quentin gets hit by pitches at a higher rate than anyone in modern baseball history. The only man to get hit more regularly is Hall of Famer Hughie Jennings, who was hit 287 times between 1891 and 1903 in 5851 plate appearances.

So, look, I get getting hit by pitches hurts, and I understand being angry. But maybe when you’re the guy who gets hit more often than anyone else in the last 110 years, it’s more about you than it is about the guys who are hitting you. Maybe cut them some slack and don’t charge the mound like an idiot. You’re apparently really hard to miss.