Here are the longest MLB plate appearances on record
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Giants first baseman Brandon Belt made history on April 22, 2018 when he worked a 21-pitch at-bat during San Francisco's 4-2 win over the Angels in Anaheim. Belt hit 16 foul balls in the first-inning battle against Jaime Barría that ended in a flyout to right field.
Belt's 21-pitch at-bat is the longest plate appearance since 1988, as far back as the data is available, but his regular-season feat was surpassed in a Spring Training game by the Mets' Luis Guillorme. The utility player worked a 22-pitch walk on March 14, 2021, against Cardinals right-hander Jordan Hicks, who was seeing his first game action in over a year.
Below is a look at Belt and the other plate appearances near the top of the list:
1. Brandon Belt, 1B, SF vs. Jaime Barria, RHP, LAA
April 22, 2018: 21 pitches, flyout
Belt wound up apologizing after his headline-grabbing showdown with Barria, because after years of standing at first base while opposing hitters fouled off pitch after pitch, he treated the Angels' fielders (and everyone in attendance) to a 13-minute affair.
"When I'm in the field I hate it when a batter keeps fouling pitches off," Belt said after the game. "I'm like 'Dude, just put it in play. It's not that hard. Let's go.' So I basically had to apologize to everybody after that."
2. Ricky Gutierrez, SS, HOU vs. Bartolo Colon, RHP, CLE
June 26, 1998: 20 pitches, strikeout swinging
Gutierrez and Colon combined for the previous record in a marathon at-bat to lead off the top of the eighth. Colon won, getting Gutierrez to strike out swinging, and then retired the Astros in order to complete his eight-inning outing in the Tribe's 4-2 win.
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3-T. Matt Wieters, C, STL vs. Caleb Thielbar, LHP, MIN
Sept. 8, 2020: 19 pitches, flyout
Wieters was the last of eight straight Cardinals hitters that came to the plate with the bases loaded against Twins pitchers, and he put a long exclamation point on the end of a five-run third inning. This 19-pitch battle shattered the previous high for deliveries in any bases-loaded at-bat on record.
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3-T. Kevin Bass, RF, HOU vs. Steve Bedrosian, RHP, PHI
July 23, 1988: 19 pitches, flyout
Bedrosian blew a two-run lead in his eighth-inning relief appearance, but he ended the Astros' rally by retiring Bass after a 19-pitch battle. The Astros went on to win in walk-off fashion on a wild pitch.
5-T. Tristan Peters, CF, CWS vs. Gavin Williams, RHP, CLE
Sept. 14, 2026: 18 pitches, walk
Peters proved quite the headache for Williams, who at the time was working on a shutout. That didn't last long after the right-hander had to spend 18 pitches only to issue a walk; the White Sox would go on to score six runs in the inning.
5-T. Marcus Semien, SS, OAK vs. Doug Fister, RHP, HOU
June 3, 2016: 18 pitches, groundout
Semien ran up Fister's pitch count with an 18-pitch groundout in the second inning. He also drew a walk in the fifth and launched a leadoff homer in the seventh for the A's first run in a 12-2 loss to the Astros.
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5-T. Adam Kennedy, 2B, ANA vs. Luis Vizcaíno, RHP, MIL
June 10, 2004: 18 pitches, walk
Vizcaíno entered this game in the bottom of the seventh to shut down an Angels rally only to throw his first 18 pitches all to the same batter, loading the bases on Kennedy's prolonged walk. He retired the next two batters on a combined five.
5-T. Alex Cora, 2B, LAD vs. Matt Clement, RHP, CHC
May 12, 2004: 18 pitches, home run
Cora punctuated an 18-pitch battle with Clement with a two-run homer into the Dodgers' bullpen that stretched the Dodgers' lead to 4-0 in the victory over the Cubs. The 18 pitches in that at-bat were more than Clement had thrown in any inning but the third.
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5-T. Bip Roberts, LF, KC vs. Felipe Lira, RHP, DET
May 18, 1997: 18 pitches, groundout
Roberts ran up Lira's pitch count early with 18 pitches in his first-inning at-bat. At 14 pitches, his teammate Tom Goodwin stole second base, giving the Royals a runner in scoring position.
5-T. Brian Downing, DH, CAL vs. Ken Patterson, LHP, CWS
Sept. 1, 1990: 18 pitches, lineout
Downing led off the bottom of the ninth inning as his California Angels looked to overcome a four-run deficit against the White Sox. Downing put up a valiant effort, working an 18-pitch at-bat against Patterson, but lined out in the 9-5 defeat.