Zero hits in at least 18 at bats: Kyle Higashioka, Yankees, and counting. David Ortiz in 1999, Minnesota: 0 for 20.

Kyle Higashioka is currently 0 for 18 this season and for his career. The Yankee record appears to be SS Kevin Elster in 1994: 0 for 20.

The biggest surprise among the 19 non-pitchers listed below who had zero hits in at least 18 at bats for a season is David Ortiz in 1999 with Minnesota.

Rk	Player	AB	H	Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	R	2B	3B	HR	RBI	BB	IBB	SO	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos
1	Eugenio Velez	37	0	2011	29	LAD	NL	34	40	5	0	0	0	1	2	0	11	1	0	0	0	1	0	.000	.075	.000	.075	*H4/7
2	Hal Finney	35	0	1936	30	PIT	NL	21	35	3	0	0	0	3	0		8	0	0		0	0		.000	.000	.000	.000	*2/H
3	Stephen Vogt	25	0	2012	27	TBR	AL	18	27	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.074	.000	.074	*H/2D7
4	Jason Smith	25	0	2009	31	HOU	NL	21	27	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	9	0	1	1	1	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	*H/465
5	Larry Littleton	23	0	1981	27	CLE	AL	26	27	2	0	0	0	1	3	0	6	0	0	1	2	0	0	.000	.111	.000	.111	*7/8H9
6	Brad Nelson	21	0	2009	26	MIL	NL	19	23	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	9	0	0	0	1	0	0	.000	.087	.000	.087	*H/79
7	Casey Kotchman	20	0	2013	30	MIA	NL	6	21	0	0	0	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	.000	.048	.000	.048	/*3
8	David Ortiz	20	0	1999	23	MIN	AL	10	25	1	0	0	0	0	5	0	12	0	0	0	2	0	0	.000	.200	.000	.200	/*H*D3
9	Don Slaught	20	0	1997	38	SDP	NL	20	26	2	0	0	0	0	5	0	4	0	1	0	1	0	0	.000	.200	.000	.200	*H/2
10	Kevin Elster	20	0	1994	29	NYY	AL	7	22	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	6	0	1	0	0	0	0	.000	.048	.000	.048	/*6
11	Fred Tauby	20	0	1937	31	PHI	NL	11	20	2	0	0	0	3	0		5	0	0		0	1		.000	.000	.000	.000	/*H879
12	Bill Plummer	19	0	1971	24	CIN	NL	10	19	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0	0	0	2	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.000	/H25
13	Ron Hansen	19	0	1958	20	BAL	AL	12	22	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	7	1	1	1	0	0	0	.000	.048	.000	.048	*6
14	Chuck Harmon	19	0	1956	32	TOT	NL	33	21	4	0	0	0	0	2	0	2	0	0	0	0	1	0	.000	.095	.000	.095	*H/98375
15	Harry Redmond	19	0	1909	21	BRO	NL	6	20	3	0	0	0	1	0		6	0	1			0		.000	.000	.000	.000	/*4
16	Kyle Higashioka	18	0	2017	27	NYY	AL	9	20	2	0	0	0	0	2	0	6	0	0	0	0	0	0	.000	.100	.000	.100	/*2HD
17	Jim Driscoll	18	0	1972	28	TEX	AL	15	20	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	3	0	0	0	1	0	0	.000	.100	.000	.100	*H/45
18	Ron Slocum	18	0	1971	25	SDP	NL	7	20	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	8	1	1	0	0	0	0	.000	.053	.000	.053	/*5H
19	Cy Wright	18	0	1916	22	CHW	AL	8	22	0	0	0	0	0	1		7	0	2			0		.000	.053	.000	.053	/*6

Adam Jones or Manny Machado: worse treatment in Boston?

Baltimore Orioles in recent games against Boston Red Sox:
Adam Jones: called a nigger by some Boston Red Sox fans in center field; fan conduct universally condemned.

Manny Machado: thrown at multiple times by Boston Red Sox pitchers; no big deal by baseball protocol.

Both Jones and Machado were upset but Machado seemingly much more so as indicated in his interview after last night's game. His remarks had words censored many times. This, of course, was not possible for the words shouted at Jones by those fans.

When Jones batted last night Boston fans rose and applauded, apparently to show their condemnation of the uncivil behavior of the relatively few who had shouted nigger at Jones in the previous game. However, when Machado batted there was no indication that Boston fans condemned their starting pitcher Chris Sale for throwing behind the knees of Machado. Machado had been targeted previously as retribution for his slide into Red Sox second baseman Dustin Predoia, who had publicly made peace with Machado. Then Baltimore retaliated against a Boston batter, ... the usual primitive behavior.

"Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.''

Obviously, the old saying is a bit trite but it does provide some perspective. Who among us would rather have a 90 mph fastball thrown at us instead of being called a name? For me it's not even close. Call me anything you want: dago, wop, guinea, ... but keep that fastball away from me. I'll forget the word quickly enough but the potential damage caused by actually being hit is likely to be much worse. And even if the ball is a near miss, the trauma and outrage, as exhibited by Machado, would have a far longer lasting impact on me. I'd remember it for a very long time ... and want revenge.

The commissioner should ensure a civil environment for fans and players at the ballparks. Foul language of all sorts has long been a part of it, as has physical intimidation among the players. Violent slides and collisions have been outlawed in recent years at the plate and then at second base. Many objected when these reforms were being considered and then implemented. But play at both places is much better since it has been cleaned up. You hardly hear anyone advocating for a return to the barbarism of just a few years ago.

But a post game discussion on MLB Network by former pitcher Pedro Martinez and former third baseman Mike Lowell about the Red Sox throwing at Machado contained the same nonsense that's been accepted for over a century: retaliation by throwing at batters is part of the game and we have no intention of changing that, just adhering to an accepted protocol. Martinez was a head hunter of the first order, yet he was elected to the Hall of Fame. That shows the state of things. Words are condemned but not actions.

Aaron Judge: 12 home runs in 83 at bats, 11 batting 6 or 7.

When will the Yankees remove the training wheels from Aaron Judge? In the Yankees 11-5 victory over Toronto in Yankee Stadium Judge was 2 for 3: two more home runs giving him 12. But Judge was batting number 6. Here are his stats prior to that game:

Split	G	GS	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	TB	GDP	HBP	SH	SF	IBB	ROE	BAbip	tOPS+	sOPS+
Batting 3rd	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0					0		0	0			0
Batting 5th	5	5	24	21	4	5	1	0	1	1	0	0	3	6	.238	.333	.429	.762	9	3	0	0	0	0	0	.286	42	98
Batting 6th	7	7	28	24	7	7	0	1	3	8	0	0	3	10	.292	.393	.750	1.143	18	1	1	0	0	0	0	.364	101	216
Batting 7th	6	6	26	20	11	10	0	0	6	11	1	0	6	4	.500	.615	1.400	2.015	28	0	0	0	0	1	0	.400	245	468
Batting 8th	4	4	16	15	1	2	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	5	.133	.188	.200	.388	3	2	0	0	0	0	1	.200	-26	13

If Judge is so good, why are the Yankees afraid to have him bat in one of the key places for a slugger: 3 or 4?

In the Toronto game here are the two players batting right in front of Judge:
4 Starlin Castro 2B
5 Didi Gregorius SS
6 Aaron Judge RF

Judge raised his OPS to 1.219. So why are the Yankees still protecting Judge?