White Sox Rookie Sam Antonacci Sets 126-Year Franchise Record for Getting Hit By Pitches

Sam Antonacci does not hit for power. He does not steal a lot of bases. What he does, more than any player in the American League this year, is stand in the batter's box and take a fastball off the elbow.

The 23-year-old Chicago White Sox utility man got plunked by a Nolan McLean curveball in the bottom of the fifth inning Sunday against the New York Mets, according to Newsweek. That was his 24th hit by pitch of the 2026 season. It broke a White Sox franchise record that had stood since 1956, when Minnie Miñoso got hit 24 times. Carlos Quentin matched that mark in 2011. Antonacci now stands alone.

White Sox beat reporter Scott Merkin of MLB.com confirmed the milestone on X, writing that Antonacci's 24th HBP set "a new single season franchise record," as relayed by ClutchPoints. The pitch came on an 82 mph curveball, the fourth pitch of the at-bat, and forced a walk in the bottom of the fifth. New York got out of the inning on a ground out.

Antonacci wasn't done for the day. He grounded a fly out to right in the seventh, then singled to center off a 94 mph sinker later in the game, according to ClutchPoints. That single put him at third base, but Andrew Benintendi struck out to strand him.

None of it mattered much in the box score, because Chicago won anyway. Tristan Peters ended it with a walk-off homer in the bottom of the ninth off Mets right-hander Kodai Senga, according to ArcaMax. It was Chicago's second walk-off win of the series against New York, and it capped a comeback after Miguel Vargas scored the game's first run in the top of the eighth on an Andrew Benintendi RBI double.

The win pushed the White Sox to 68-62, keeping them atop the AL Central, according to ArcaMax. Two years ago this same franchise set the modern-era record for losses in a season with 121, a mark the Mets themselves had held since the club's inaugural 40-120 season. Now Chicago is on pace for its first playoff appearance since 2021 under second-year manager Will Venable.

The Record Itself

Historically, getting hit by pitches this often is rare company. Only 38 players since 1901 have been plunked more times in a single season than Antonacci has been this year, according to Newsweek. He's on pace to finish around 29 HBP, which would rank 11th all-time in AL/NL history and be the most since Seattle's Ty France was hit 34 times in 2023. Ron Hunt still owns the all-time record with 50 for the 1971 Montreal Expos.

Antonacci has a .363 on-base percentage through Saturday, the best mark on the team, despite hitting just eight home runs, according to Newsweek. He's third on the roster in hits with 100 and puts the ball in play at a strong rate for a young player.

He's not walking into Rookie of the Year conversations. A role player who gets on base by absorbing pain at a historic clip is exactly the kind of player that fuels a surprise contender.

A Crowded Roster, A Wild Month

Chicago's turnaround has come with roster churn most fans have never seen. Catcher Jake Rogers played for four different teams in 21 days this month, going from the Detroit Tigers to the Baltimore Orioles to the Boston Red Sox before landing with the White Sox, according to Forbes. That shattered a 122-year-old record set by Frank Huelsman, who needed 42 days to bounce through four teams back in 1904. Rogers called the stretch a "whirlwind" and told Forbes he was relieved to settle in Chicago, which is currently leading the division.

Across town in Queens, the Mets are dealing with their own roster shuffling as they try to salv