Anthony Rizzo was eliminated in the first round of the HR Derby Monday night but not before he was hit by 14 pitches during the competition.
“No matter where I am, the pitches just find me,” said Rizzo in the locker room after the competition while soaking in an ice bath and jamming out to his latest walk-up song, Taylor Swift’s “Bad Blood.” “I swear I wasn’t leaning in or anything.”
Rizzo currently leads the majors with 19 HBPs. He had hoped the HR Derby beanings would count toward his league-leading season total of 19 as he works toward the modern era single season record of 50 set in 1970 by Montreal’s Ron Hunt. Commissioner Rob Manfred wasn’t having it.
“Baseball is in a pivotal stage right now and I’m not going to let some young punk who crowds the plate make a sideshow out of my first season as commissioner,” said Manfred. “If Rizzo thinks he can slow down our games even more by using the rules to legally to get on base more than his opponents, he’s got another thing coming.”
