Ouch! TinCap gets painful prize

Editors note: In more than six years, Chris Schanz has seen his fair share of individual performances, whether in a single contest or over the course of a career. In this “Exceptional Efforts” series, he will take a look back at some of those standout games or careers.

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One of the wonders about the game of baseball is the old saying, “Every time you go to the park you have a chance to see something you’ve never seen before.”

July 22 was most definitely one of those days.

I was at Parkview Field in Fort Wayne, covering the Fort Wayne TinCaps’ game against the Cedar Rapids Kernels, an affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.

Dwanya Williams-Sutton, a 22-year-old native of Wilson, North Carolina, was leading the TinCaps with a .386 on-base percentage, and had been hit by 15 pitches, good for third in the Midwest League.

Both of those numbers increased on that July summer evening.

Williams-Sutton, who the San Diego Padres drafted in the fifth round of the 2018 draft out of East Carolina, stepped into the right-handed batter’s box in the bottom of the first inning against Kernel starter Tyler Palm and drew a five-pitch walk.

One inning later, Palm’s first pitch of the at-bat struck Williams-Sutton on the left arm with bases loaded for an RBI hit by pitch.

Alex Schick’s first pitch of the fourth inning also hit Williams-Sutton on the left arm.

In the fifth frame, Schick hit him again.

Another plate appearance. Another hit by pitch. Another RBI for the 6-foot, 2-inch, 225-pound outfielder.

Williams-Sutton went to the plate in the seventh inning after Blake Hunt hit a leadoff double. In four trips to the dish, Williams-Sutton didn’t get to swing the bat but had reached base each time.

Of course he’d want to finally put the ball in play. There’s no way he can get hit again, right?

Nate Hadley’s first offering missed low and away. The second pitch was even closer to the dirt. Hadley’s third hit Williams-Sutton square in the left arm.

“It’s frustrating, but then it’s not,” Williams-Sutton said after the game. “The Padres organization really focuses on on-base percentage. That’s the good thing. The bad thing is not being able to swing the bat.”

This night, one in which the TinCaps won 10-2, Williams-Sutton set Fort Wayne franchise record for hit by pitches in a game. Minor League Baseball’s available statistics only go back to 2005. That July evening, Williams-Sutton became just the sixth MiLB player to be hit by a pitch four times in one game.

“I don’t try to get hit by a pitch,” he said. No player in Major League Baseball had ever been hit more than three times in a single contest. “My teammates think I try to lean into it.”

In the bottom of the eighth inning, Williams-Sutton got another plate appearance but grounded into an inning-ending double play, but not before fouling off five consecutive pitches. One of them deflected off his leg.

Ouch.

“It’s frustrating because I’m looking out for the health of my player,” TinCap manager Anthony Contreras said. Williams-Sutton had missed more than two weeks in July with a wrist injury. “You just want him to be as healthy as possible, trying to keep his spirits up and laugh.”

The four-HBP effort certainly came at a price. Heading to the post-game interview, Williams-Sutton was hobbling. While he didn’t have any ice as he spoke to reporters just outside the TinCaps’ clubhouse, it was clear he was in pain.

“Right now I’m just feeling a little down,” he said. “My arm is hurting, I’m going to go into the training room and get some ice on it. Hopefully I feel better tomorrow.

“Good thing we have an off day tomorrow because no way I will be able to play tomorrow,” he joked.

The feat — getting hit by four pitches in a single game — was without a doubt exceptional, even if it didn’t take much “effort.” But Williams-Sutton most definitely made the baseball adage come true.

No one could have expected to see such a game when they got to the ball park that evening.