Hit By Pitch - HBP

What does Hit By Pitch - HBP Mean?

A statistic in baseball that measure the times in which a player or a piece of equipment, excluding his bat, is contacted by the ball during a pitch. When the batter is hit by a pitch, they will be awarded first base and receive a Hit By Pitch - HBP.

In the context of a pitcher, this action is referred to as a "Hit Batsman - HB" and the pitcher receives an HB for every batter they hit.

Sporting Charts explains Hit By Pitch - HBP

For a batter to be awarded with a Hit By Pitch and progress to first base as a baserunner he must be 1) hit by a pitch outside of the strike zone, 2) had no opportunity to avoid it and 3) he did not swing at the ball.

Hit By Pitch Records

• Career: Hughie Jennings - 287 
• Career (Modern): Craig Biggio - 285
• Season: Hughie Jennings - 51 (1896)
• Season (Modern): Rob Hunt - 50 (1971)