Willi Castro Takes Chuck Knoblauch’s Painful Minnesota Twins Throne

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Willi Castro
Credit: David Richard-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Twins have struggled to keep pace with the Cleveland Guardians this season. Short of Carlos Santana winning a Gold Glove, they aren’t racking up accolades. Then there’s Willi Castro who has become an absolute menace when it comes to getting on base.

New plunking record for Minnesota Twins Willi Castro

This is Willi Castro’s sixth season in the major leagues. Castro made the All-Star Game for the first time in his career. He has seen a career resurgence with the Twins after coming over from the Detroit Tigers. On Wednesday night he set another record, but one that hurts a bit. Plunked a 21st time, and second time on the evening, he set a new Twins record for hit-by-pitch occurrences in a single season.

“No, not getting hit by the pitch. But [the record] is going to be there for the rest of my life. Yeah, that feels good. “They [Clevaland] got me four times. They were hitting me 98, 97 [mph], so that was probably the worst.”

Willi Castro on setting a HBP record (Star Tribune)

“As long as he’s still on the field, it’s not a terrible record. It’s a painful record, but it’s something that’s actually helping our team. He’s finding his way on base an extra [21] times over the course of a season. That’s pretty incredible.”

Rocco Baldelli on Willi Castro’s record (Star Tribune)

No one wants to get hit when stepping into the batter’s box. Castro was hit 12 times last year which was a previous career-high. His 21 bean balls leads the league this season and it rivals nearly half of the 48 walks he has taken. Surprisingly the .337 OBP trails his .339 mark from 2023 by the slimmest of margins.

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For a guy who plays all over the place and looks to impact the game any way he can offensively, Castro will take the beating. He has replicated the same 105 OPS+ he produced a year ago.

Twins taking a beating this season

Willi Castro isn’t the only Twins hitter getting hit regularly. Both Matt Wallner and Ryan Jeffers have been the victims of plunkings as well. Both have been hit 14 times with Byron Buxton adding another ten to the team tally. Rocco Baldelli, who was hit by 31 pitches in his career, has seen his Twins get beaned 98 times.

No one has been hit more in Major League Baseball than Willi Castro. The only team to be hit more than Minnesota is the Seattle Mariners (108). They also employ Randy Arozarena, who has been hit an equal 21 times. 11 of those came before the trade deadline with the Tampa Bay Rays.

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It’s fair to assume that Baldelli would prefer his lineup be hit by less pitchers. Then again, when they are struggling to score runs, finding any way to get on base is a must.

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