Hit by Pitches

Abstract

It is commonly believed that baseball teams retaliate when one of their batters is hit by a pitch. In fact, Major League Baseball (MLB) has legislated to discourage this behavior. Previous analysts have disagreed about whether retaliation is likely directed at the offending pitcher or at one of his teammates; this distinction matters when considering impacts on pitcher behavior. This paper notes that when season-long hit-by-pitch totals—the data used to date — are disaggregated by team, they reveal no evidence of either formof retaliation. These researching this topic may need to develop new data sources.