The problem pitch for Craig Biggio as a hitter in Major League Baseball was the slider thrown low and away, so he moved closer to the plate to better reach the ball in that area and, more importantly, define the strike zone for himself. The flaw in that logic -- maybe cost is a more appropriate word than "flaw" -- was that Biggio put himself at greater risk.
Because the closer he was to the plate, the more that he'd be hit, and Biggio was hit often. Twenty-two HBPs in the strike-shortened 1995 season, 27 in 1996 and 34 in 1997, each a league-leading total. As Biggio explained recently on the Baseball Tonight podcast, he also recognized how his shift in the batter's box spiked his on-base percentage, a welcome byproduct; in eight of the 10 seasons beginning in 1995, he scored 100 or more runs, twice leading the league.
