By Peter Mendelsohn
Toronto Observer
DUNEDIN, Fla. — Most batters instinctively dodge fastballs careening towards their bodies.
Not Nick Sinay.
The Blue Jays outfield prospect set a Midwest League record in 2017 when he was hit by a pitch 38 times while playing for the Lansing Lugnuts.
“Not that I wanted to get hit, but I wanted to contribute any way I could,” said Sinay, who hit .215 when his bat came into play rather than his body. “Thank God I was able to do at least a little something.”
More than a little something.
With the help of 38 HBPs, Sinay had an on-base percentage of .405, fourth highest on the team.
Ron Hunt holds the modern-era major league record with 50 HBPs with the Montreal Expos in 1971. He was hit by a pitch in eight per cent of his plate appearances that year.
Sinay was hit in 13 per cent of his plate appearances last year.
His teammates got so used to seeing him get hit that they started taking it for granted.
“It was almost nothing new,” Sinay said. “Sometimes I got hit, and it wasn’t, ‘Hey, good job!’ It was just Sinay being Sinay, getting hit again.”
However, when Sinay approached the league record of 36, his teammates finally became more appreciative of the beating he took.
“When I was getting closer to the record, all my teammates were like, ‘You’ve got five more! Let’s go. You got this,’” Sinay said. “I’m like, ‘Yeah it’s great, but you’re not the one getting hit.’”
It’s not just at the plate where Sinay gets hit. He actually attempts to get struck by the ball in specific situations on the base paths.
If Sinay is on third base, and the catcher spots him leaning in the wrong direction, Nick does everything in his power to get hit by the ball while retreating to third.
“You look right in that third basemen’s eyes and you can almost tell where the ball is going because his eyes will be locked in on the ball,” Sinay said. “When you’re going back to third you just put your body right in front of that ball and let it hit you so if you get beat, you’re not out.”
With all of the pain he endured in 2017, Sinay hopes to rely less on getting plunked to get to first base in 2018.
“I’m planning to do a little bit more hitting this year instead of getting hit,” Sinay said. “But if they both come at the same time, that’s even better for me.”
And how is he able to willingly endure the pain that comes from being battered by fastballs?
“It’s always been ingrained in my head,” Sinay said. “If a ball’s coming at you, don’t get out of the way.”
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