Most Foul Balls In A Single At Bat is by Brandon Belt. His 21-pitch at-bat included 16 foul balls, where 10 were consecutive of the 16 foul balls hit by Belt.
A unique record that is unlikely to be surpassed is for the foul balls in individual At Bats. There are several AT bat moments in the history of baseball remembered for their uncommon incident.
In a similar instance, San Francisco Giants player Brandon Belt made a recorded 21-pitch at-bat during a game against Los Angeles Angels. He hit 16 foul balls against Jaime Barria before hitting a fly ball to the right field.
The event is considered the longest record since 1988 in MLB games. However, the record by Belt was outperformed by New York Mets player Luis Guillorme during a spring training against the St. Loius Cardinals on 14th March 2021 in a 22-pitch walk.
Most Foul Balls In A Row
Most Foul Balls In An At Bat is by Brandon Belt. Belt frequently fouled off Jamie Barria's fastballs, sliders, and changeups during a match on 22nd April 2018.
Both players struggled in the field for about 13 minutes, and Belt's sign of stopping the foul was not near. He hit 16 foul balls and ended with a fastball lining to the right fielder Kole Calhoun.
The player's struggle on the field over fouls is considered one of the longest in history. Though in most of the fouls, the audience did not seem to be entertained, during that match, the performance of both players impressed the team and fans.
Belt made three hits in the tournament, including a home run for four consecutive games. The Giants, however, won the game with a homer ending the game at 4-2.
Jamie couldn't make it to the third inning after running up his pitch count. He threw a total of 77 pitches before he was replaced.
The epic At-bat of the season is well remembered and contemplated by baseball players and fans. However, Belt apologized later in a statement for hitting such a long foul.
Longest At Bat In The MLB
Longest at bat in MLB is by the Giants' Brandon Belt. He set an MLB record for the longest AT bats with 21 pitches against Angels pitcher Jamie Barria.
During the game, Belt hit 10 consecutive foul balls while hitting a total of 16. Previously, the record was held by Ricky Gutierrez of the Houston Astros in 1998.
There are several other players who have this notorious record of at-bats.
Here are all 21 pitches from the EPIC Brandon Belt/Jaime Barria at-bat
Ricky Gutierrez and Bartolo Colon held the previous record with a 20-pitch at-bat in 1998. Gutierrez was a shortstop for the Houston Astros.
He faced a right-handed pitcher for the Cleaveland Indians' Bartolo Colon. The 20-pitch at-bat in that game was the previous record for the longest in history.
In another game, Matt Wieters had a 19-pitch at-bat against Caleb Thielbar with the bases loaded in a tournament between the Cardinals and Twins in September 2020. The game was a part of 5 runs third inning for the Cardinals.
It set a new record for the highest pitches thrown in any bases-loaded-at-bat history. The Cardinals won that match after a flyout.
Other Players with Longest At-Bat in MLB
During a game on 23rd July 1988 between Houston Astros and Philadelphia Phillies, Steve Bedrosian concluded the Astros' rally by striking out Kevin Bass after a long 19-pitch battle. However, the Astros won the game in a walk-off.
In a game on 1st September 1990, Brian Downing of California Angels had an 18-pitch at-bat against Ken Patterson - a pitcher for the Chicago White Sox.
The battle was during the bottom of the ninth inning, and the Angels were trying to hold up from a four-run deficit. However, the Angels lose that game by 9-5.
Bip Roberts of Kansas City faced off Detroit's Felipe Lira on 18th May 1997. During that tournament, in the first inning, Robert had an 18-pitch at-bat against Lira. Meanwhile, Tom Goodwin of KC stole second base putting the Royals in a favorable scoring position.
Alex Cora hit a two-run homer to finish an 18-pitch battle with Matt Clement on 12th May 2004. It led the Dodgers to a win over the Cubs. The 18 pitches in that at-bat were more than Matt had pitched in any inning but the third.
On another match on 3rd June 2016, Marcus Semien drove the pitch count of Doug Fister. It was in an 18-pitch battle in the second inning. In the game, Semien also hit a leadoff homer in the seventh. However, A's lost the match against Astros by 12-2.
Drew Maggi First At Bat
Drew Maggi first MLB at bat was in the seventh inning on 30th April, 2023. It was during the match between Pittsburg Pirates and Washington Nationals.
After spending 13 seasons in the minor league, he debuted on 26th April 2023 for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Maggi even received a standing ovation but was unable to get a hit.
However, when he was activated as the team's 27th man for the Pirates' doubleheader against Washington Nationals, he made a hit with a 2-2 splitter centerfield and raised the lead to 13-0 for the Pirates.
The crowd in the stadium was in awe of the performance he made in the tournament. He made a career hit in extra base in the ninth with Lane Thomas.
The success of the player was short-lived because, despite the performance, he was optioned back to Double-A Altoona the next day.
Ted Williams Last At Bat
Ted Williams was a star player for the Boston Red Sox. Ted hit a last career home run in the last at-bat at Fenway Park.
The tournament was on 28th September 1960, when he offered his exceptional performance. Ted was known for being an incredible hitter and had led American League in Batting average, home runs, and runs batted in numerous times.
He was also one of only two men to win the Triple Crown of baseball twice. During the tournament of 1959, Red Sox Management suggested he retire after a bad season.
However, William instead returned in 1960 and hit 29 home runs with a .316 batting average.
Even in the player's last match at Fenway Park, he hit a home run, and again he refused to acknowledge his fans by taking off his hat.
