The Feast of St. Hunt the Hurt

Not always “fun to read” or even “think momentarily about,” our exercise in blasphemy continues today with a minor, but compelling, figure from baseballing lore.

Life: Over a 12-year career with five different teams, largely as a second baseman, the otherwise unspectacular Hunt led the majors in hit-by-pitches for six consecutive years, including a total of 50 HBPs in 1971 — a total surpassed only by Hall of Famer Hughie Jennings‘ mark of 51 in 1896. Despite a lifetime batting average of just .273, only modest power (39 career home runs), and a below-average glove (-40 fielding runs per TotalZone), Hunt retired with a lifetime .368 OBP and 34.4 WAR.

Ritual: To commemorate and recognize Hunt the Hurt, build an entire career off of the strangest possible skill. Go!

Prayer of Hunt the Hurt

So far as anyone knows
you were never forced, Ron Hunt,
to suffer the slings and arrows
of outrageous fortune.
You did, however, suffer
repeated blows to the arm
and back and leg and chest
and probably even the beanbag
on occasion — proving,
for those of us who’d forgotten,
that the line between genius
and the merely foolish
is super, super fine.