What is the record number of pitches thrown during a single at bat, including balls, fouls, strikes, etc.?
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Are Dominican the new MLB leaders?
I couldn't find a definitive answer to your question, since Major League Baseball hasn't kept official statistics on the topic. However, I did find a lively discussion forum at Baseball Fever, which offered some likely nominees.Luke Appling, who played for the Chicago White Sox from 1930 to 1950, seems to be the frontrunner. His anecdotal pitch counts range from 19 to 24. One storied at bat went as follows: four fouls, one ball, six fouls, one ball, fourteen (!) fouls, and then two more balls for a walk.
The Baseball Guru also goes with Appling, mentioning that he once fouled off 15 pitches against Bob Feller in 1940. More recently, Pat Listach took 17 pitches before getting a walk in a 1992 game. Whether MLB billed these guys for all the foul ball souvenirs is unknown.
If you're looking for other arcane baseball stats, I suggest visiting the Record Books section of the Baseball Almanac. You'll pick up all sorts of useless trivia. For example, the record for most at-bats in a single game (albeit an extra-inning one) is a staggering 11 -- and that's held by 14 guys.
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