In 1998, Kevin Bass hit a routine fly ball to left field off Steve Bedrosian in the 8th inning. That happened after a then record 15 previous pitches were fouled off.

Recently Brandon Belt was applauded by similar stat geeks and those obsessed with numbers and records that mean absolutely nothing when he fouled off 16 pitches in a single at bat.

Especially since he wound up just flying out harmlessly to right field.

But others would argue that since he “increased the pitch count”, he made Angels pitcher Jaime Barria waste valuable effort and energy. That the young man’s inability to get out of the fourth inning was because of all the pitches Belt faced.

That Belt’s patience was a virtue and he was rewarded with a single in his following at bat against Barria.

Or it could be that Barria was a 21-year old kid in his first year in the Big Leagues with options. That he was filling in for an injury-depleted staff, hence why he was optioned back to AAA later the same day.

If you can’t tell, I find this to be a bogus record for a bogus action that serves as the bane of my existence. OK, that’s clearly going to far, but there’s little to describe the momentary frustration when a good pitch is fouled back.