Sam Antonacci has been hit by pitches 15 times in 48 major-league games, and the White Sox rookie keeps treating it as part of the job. That strange pace has already put him in a franchise note of his own, including being hit twice in the same inning on May 22.
Antonacci said he is not trying to get hit, but he is not backing away, either. “I’m not going up there trying to be hit by a pitch, but if he happens to throw one at me, I’m not going to move out of the way.”
Sam Antonacci and the White Sox lineup
The White Sox have used him leadoff against righties and ninth against lefties, a setup that asks him to get on base ahead of the order or restart an inning from the bottom. Through Thursday, he had a.380 on-base percentage for the White Sox, which is the practical payoff of all those bruises: extra baserunners without needing a hit.
That role fits a team built around power bats in the middle, with Colson Montgomery, Miguel Vargas and the injured Munetaka Murakami behind him. A hitter who reaches in different ways changes the shape of an inning before the sluggers even step in, and Antonacci has supplied that kind of traffic since the White Sox drafted him in the fifth round in 2024.
May 22 and June 7
The hit-by-pitch total is not a one-night fluke. On June 7 in Philadelphia, José Alvarado tagged him on the elbow guard with a 100-mph fastball, and Antonacci needed a minute to gather himself before telling the manager and trainer he was fine. That moment followed the May 22 inning in which he was hit twice, the kind of line that turns a rookie’s plate approach into a roster note.
Since the start of the 2024 season, Antonacci has been hit by pitches 91 times across Coastal Carolina University, the White Sox and their affiliates, Glendale of the Arizona Fall League and Team Italy in the World Baseball Classic. Josh Barfield had 1,075 career plate appearances and was hit by a pitch five times; Antonacci needed 70 plate appearances to match that total, which shows how far outside the norm his rate sits.
Josh Barfield on Antonacci
Barfield said, “It’s who he is, it’s the way he plays the game,” and added, “When he’s on your team, you love him. When he’s on the other team, you hate him. He’s just a grinder. He’s going to stick his nose in there, he’s an agitator on the field, and he just makes things happen. He brings so much energy to this team every day. You love him for it.” The White Sox were 39-34 after winning one of three against the Yankees this week, and Antonacci’s ability to take a hit and keep moving gives them another way to reach base while the lineup around him keeps taking shape.
The lingering question is not whether he can take the blow. It is how often he can keep turning those pitches into outsized value for the White Sox, because 15 hit-by-pitches in 48 games is already more than a quirk.
