Baseball is a game of patience, but sometimes it just gets ridiculous. You’ve seen those at-bats where a guy fouls off three or four pitches and the announcer starts talking about a "great battle." That's amateur hour. We are talking about the kind of plate appearances that make fielders sit down on the grass and make managers start warming up the entire bullpen.
The record for the most pitches in single at bat is one of those stats that feels impossible until you actually see the video. Imagine standing at the plate for thirteen minutes. Imagine a pitcher throwing nearly a quarter of his entire night's workload to just one human being. It’s happened. And honestly, it’s kinda beautiful in its own exhausting way.
The Regular Season King: Brandon Belt’s 21-Pitch Marathon
On April 22, 2018, San Francisco Giants first baseman Brandon Belt stepped into the box against Los Angeles Angels righty Jaime Barria. It was the first inning. Nobody knew they were about to witness a 12-minute-and-45-second staring contest.
Barria threw 21 pitches to Belt.
To put that in perspective, many starting pitchers are on a pitch count of about 90 to 100. Barria used up 20% of his "gas" on the very first guy he faced. Belt didn't even get a hit. After fouling off 16 pitches, including 10 in a row at one point, he finally flied out to right field.
The stadium went absolutely nuts.
You’ve gotta feel for the fielders. Belt actually apologized after the game. He basically said that when he’s playing first base, he hates it when guys keep fouling balls off because it’s boring and makes his legs heavy. Then he went out and did the most "annoying" thing a hitter can do for nearly a quarter of an hour.
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Breaking Down the 21 Pitches
Barria threw everything at him. Fastballs, sliders, changeups—it didn't matter. Belt was just "spoiling" pitches. That’s the term ballplayers use when they aren't quite on the ball enough to drive it, but they’re too good to let it go by for a strike.
The count reached 3-2 (full count) on the seventh pitch. Then the real madness started. Foul. Foul. Foul. Foul. It happened 16 times. By the time it was over, Barria was visibly gassed, and the Angels' bullpen was already frantic.
The "Spring Training" Legend: Luis Guillorme’s 22-Pitch Walk
If we’re being technical—and baseball fans love being technical—the actual "most" belongs to Luis Guillorme. But there’s a catch. It happened in Spring Training.
In March 2021, Guillorme (playing for the Mets) faced Jordan Hicks of the Cardinals. Now, Jordan Hicks isn't just some guy. He’s a flamethrower who regularly hits 102 mph. Working a long at-bat against a guy like that is like trying to swat a fly with a toothpick while the fly is moving at the speed of sound.
Guillorme worked a 22-pitch walk.
It was 100% pure grit. He saw 22 pitches, 10 of which were over 99 mph. He fouled off 16 of them. When he finally took a slider for ball four, his teammates in the dugout were celebrating like they’d just won the World Series.
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Why the Guillorme AB was different
- The Velocity: Belt faced "normal" major league speed. Guillorme was fighting off triple-digit heat.
- The Result: Belt got out. Guillorme got on base. There’s something way more satisfying about a 22-pitch walk than a 21-pitch flyout.
- The Impact: Jordan Hicks was literally removed from the game after facing just that one batter. He had reached his pitch limit for the day on a single guy.
The "Old School" Myths: Luke Appling’s 24-Pitch Legend
Before we had Statcast and digital tracking (which really only became reliable for pitch counts around 1988), we had legends. The most famous one involves Hall of Famer Luke Appling.
Supposedly, Appling once fouled off 24 pitches in a single at-bat because he was annoyed with the front office. The story goes that he asked for a box of new baseballs and the team said no, so he decided to hit every pitch out of play until they ran out of balls.
Is it true? Maybe. Probably not. Without official tracking, we have to take these stories with a grain of salt. But it fits the "Old Aches and Pains" persona that Appling was known for. He was the original master of the foul ball.
The Longest At-Bats on Record (Since 1988)
Since MLB started officially tracking every single pitch, the leaderboard for the most pitches in single at bat looks like this:
- Luis Guillorme vs. Jordan Hicks (2021): 22 pitches (Spring Training)
- Brandon Belt vs. Jaime Barria (2018): 21 pitches (The official regular-season record)
- Ricky Gutierrez vs. Bartolo Colon (1998): 20 pitches (Ended in a strikeout—Colon was a beast)
- Matt Wieters vs. Caleb Thielbar (2020): 19 pitches
- Kevin Bass vs. Steve Bedrosian (1988): 19 pitches
It’s interesting that a lot of these happened recently. Pitchers throw harder now, but hitters are also more disciplined. They don't just swing at everything; they "protect" the plate.
The Physics of the Foul Ball Battle
How do you even stay focused for 21 pitches? Honestly, it’s a rhythm thing. After pitch ten, the hitter usually stops thinking about the situation and starts reacting to the release point.
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For the pitcher, it’s a nightmare. Your arm starts to get heavy. You start "nibbling" at the corners because you’re afraid to leave one over the middle. But when you nibble, the hitter just clips it into the stands. It’s a psychological war of attrition.
Jaime Barria actually threw 77 pitches in just over two innings that day against the Giants. One-fourth of his entire day was spent on Brandon Belt. That ruins a pitching staff’s plan for the whole week because the bullpen has to eat up all those extra innings.
Surprising Facts About Long Plate Appearances
- Most Home Runs on a Long AB: Alex Cora once hit a home run on the 18th pitch of an at-bat in 2004. That’s probably the most demoralizing thing that can happen to a pitcher.
- The Time Factor: These at-bats often last longer than a typical half-inning. Belt’s AB lasted nearly 13 minutes. You could watch a whole sitcom episode in the time it takes for some of these matchups to finish.
- The Strikeout Record: Ricky Gutierrez holds the record for the most pitches seen before striking out (20). Imagine fighting for 20 pitches just to walk back to the dugout with nothing to show for it.
Actionable Takeaways for Fans and Players
If you're a player or just a die-hard fan looking to understand the "grind" of the game, here is what these historic moments teach us:
- Protect the plate with two strikes: The goal of a long at-bat isn't necessarily to get a hit; it's to stay alive until the pitcher makes a mistake or gets tired.
- Value the "Productive Out": Even though Brandon Belt got out, he "won" that at-bat by forcing the starter out of the game early. In modern baseball, driving up the pitch count is a massive strategic advantage.
- Watch the "Release Point": If you're watching a game and a battle starts, pay attention to the pitcher’s mechanics. Usually, by pitch 12 or 13, their release point starts to drop slightly due to fatigue. That's when the hitter usually gets a ball to drive—or a walk.
Next time you see a guy foul off five pitches, don't look away. You might be watching the start of the next 20-pitch marathon that breaks the record books.
Check out the official MLB film room to see the supercut of Belt’s 21-pitch battle; it’s one of the few times a "flyout" actually feels like a legendary performance. It's a reminder that sometimes, the most interesting parts of baseball happen when absolutely nothing is officially happening on the scoreboard.