If you’ve been following the Kansas City Royals closely during their 7-2 start, you notice one glaring thing. They have been hit with a LOT of pitches so far this season. In 9 games, Royals batters have worn 12 pitches while hitting 11 Home Runs. In 2014, the Royals got hit 53 times while hitting only 95 Home Runs. The ratio of HRs hit to times hit by a pitch should be well under 1 HBP to every HR in a regular year. The Royals are 12-11.
What is the cause of this? Is it just being early in the year for pitchers?