On Saturday, AJ Pierzynski got hit by a pitch in the first inning, giving him 90 career HBPs, with 75 of them while playing for teams in the American League Central Division (41 with the White Sox, and 34 with the Twins). That made him the first player ever to get hit by 75 pitches for AL Central teams, breaking the record originally set by Matt Lawton. Lawton and Pierzynski had been tied with Paul Konerko for 1st place on the AL Central HBP list at 74, but Konerko didn't let Pierzynski have the record to himself for long. Konerko got his 75th plunk as a White Sox batter in the 9th inning of the same game, tying Pierzynski again for the Division record. But on Sunday, Pierzynski got hit one more time, re-taking the Division record for himself, at 76 HBPs.
Here's how the AL Central HBP leaderboard looks now, with their career plunk rates for active players:
| Player | AL Central HBPs | 2010 HBPs | Career PA/HBP rate |
| A.J. Pierzynski | 76 | 5 | 53.9 |
| Paul Konerko | 75 | 2 | 91.5 |
| Matt Lawton | 74 | ||
| Damion Easley | 70 | ||
| David DeJesus | 70 | 3 | 52.5 |
| Travis Hafner | 66 | 8 | 54.7 |
| Mike Sweeney | 66 | 1* | 79.2 |
| Frank Thomas | 61 | ||
| Chuck Knoblauch | 60 | ||
| Brandon Inge | 60 | 1 | 75.6 |
| Grady Sizemore | 59 | 2 | 63.6 |
| Ryan Garko | 52 | 0* | 31.9 |
| Casey Blake | 51 | 4* | 69.2 |
| Jim Thome | 51 | 0 | 145.3 |
| Angel Berroa | 49 | ||
| Torii Hunter | 49 | 3* | 102.8 |
| Corey Koskie | 49 |
*- HBPs outside the AL Central Division.
Based on career plunk rates, Pierzynski should pull away from Konerko and keep the record to himself for a while, but David Dejesus, Travis Hafner, Grady Sizemore and probably Carlos Quentin could all be threats to Pierzynski's HBP record within the next few years.
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