What gives?
Sacramento State outfielder Matt Masciangelo will likely want to forget Friday’s season-opening doubleheader against Loyola Marymount, even though it will go down as one of the most memorable performances on a baseball diamond in recent memory.
Masciangelo reached base seven times in eight plate appearances, but did so in perhaps the most unique way possible. The Hornets outfielder was hit by a pitch three times in the first game, then four more times during the nightcap.
Masciangelo was a good sport about the sore subject after the game, joking that he would "take the on-base percentage bump," per Thomas Hartigan of MLB.com.
Here's footage of all eight of Masciangelo's plate appearances, complete with the incredulous reactions from the commentators, courtesy of Rob Friedman on X (formerly Twitter.)
Matt Masciangelo gets hit by a pitch 7 TIMES in a Doubleheader (3 times in the 1st game and 4 Times in the 2nd game)...
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) February 17, 2024
Then Brett Ott hits for him...and Ott gets Hit by a Pitch. ???? pic.twitter.com/URZOYc00Fs
“After the third HBP in the first game, I couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of the situation. It's not every day you find yourself trotting to first base, multiple times, without swinging," Masciangelo said. "I guess it was after that moment I realized this was completely ludicrous. I had four more balls unfortunately find me after that, but hey, I’ll take the on-base-percentage bump.”
The record for the most HBPs in a MLB game is three—and five for a doubleheader. If anything, Masciangelo can take solace in the fact that he wasn't being targeted intentionally, as the Loyola Marymount pitching staff had 11 hit batsmen across the two games played.
One thing is for sure.
Masciangelo's painful performance is a record that no one wants to break.
