That’s gonna leave a mark!
Sacramento State outfielder Matt Masciangelo had a memorable start to the 2024 season, albeit not for reasons he’d typically celebrate. Across a doubleheader against Loyola Marymount on Friday, the 23-year-old found himself on the receiving end of an astonishing seven hit-by-pitch incidents out of eight plate appearances.
In the first game alone, he endured three hits by pitch, followed by four more in the second game.
To contextualize Masciangelo’s ordeal, it’s worth noting that the single-game hit-by-pitch record in the AL/NL stands at three, shared by several players. Moreover, in the annals of baseball history, only Hall of Famer Frank Chance, playing for the Cubs in 1904, has suffered as many as five hit-by-pitches in a doubleheader.
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Reflecting on his bizarre experience, Masciangelo couldn’t help but find humor in the absurdity of the situation. Transitioning from incredulity to acceptance, he recognized the statistical anomaly while embracing the on-base-percentage boost it provided.
Despite his remarkable resilience, Masciangelo asserted that he never perceived malice in the pitches directed at him, attributing the occurrences to the strategic nature of baseball. While Loyola Marymount’s pitching staff tallied 11 hit batsmen throughout the day, Masciangelo maintained a team-oriented perspective, focusing on leveraging each opportunity to contribute to his team’s success.
“That thought never crossed my mind, none of [them] felt malicious,” he said. “Baseball is a strategic game, and sometimes in the heat of the moment pitches get away from even the best pitchers. I like to give them the benefit of the doubt and focus on how I can use each opportunity to help my team win games, even if it means taking a few for the team.”
For Masciangelo, who hails from Gilbert, Ariz., the cascade of hit-by-pitches was a departure from his previous experiences on the diamond. Nonetheless, he remains steadfast in his approach at the plate for the 2024 season, viewing the incident as just another unexpected twist in the game of baseball.
As he navigates through this peculiar chapter in his baseball journey, Masciangelo embraces the unpredictability of the sport, acknowledging that, in baseball, even the most extraordinary occurrences are simply part of the game.
