THE HISTORY OF CHARGING THE MOUND, EPISODE 3

TL;DR

Episode 3 profiles pitcher Bruce Kesson, who tied Pedro Martinez's record of being charged four times due to his fearless inside pitching.

Key Points

• 1.George Bell's 1985 flying kick sparked this episode's subject. On June 23rd at Exhibition Stadium, Bell charged the mound and delivered a Street Fighter-style kick that landed in Kesson's groin area, earning a five-out-of-five individual fight score.
• 2.Bruce Kesson is one of only two pitchers ever charged four separate times. The other is Pedro Martinez; out of 7,000+ pitchers between 1950–2025, only 29 were charged multiple times across 264 total recorded mound chargings.
• 3.A childhood beaning permanently altered Kesson's pitching mechanics. Hit in the funny bone by a pickoff throw at age 14, he abandoned his overhand delivery for a sidearm style, later evolving to a 3/4 motion, defining his entire career.
• 4.Kesson set a likely all-time professional record with seven hit batters in one game. In a 1970 Double-A start, he hit seven batters in five innings — nearly doubling the MLB single-game record of four — including hitting one batter named Merlay four times.
• 5.Kesson won the World Series and got married on the same day in 1971. His wedding was scheduled October 17th; his brilliant relief pitching (including a 6+ inning scoreless performance in Game 4 despite hitting three batters) forced a Game 7, requiring a police escort to his wedding.
• 6.His 1977 fight with Mike Schmidt revealed Kesson's fearlessness. When Schmidt charged after being hit and threatened him, Kesson replied 'What's so special about next time? Let's go,' landed punches, and later said he genuinely enjoyed it.
• 7.In 1980, Kesson was charged twice in the same game by the Rangers. Buddy Bell charged in the sixth inning and Johnny Grub in the eighth — this happened despite the Rangers being historically passive, with only one prior mound charging in franchise history.
• 8.Kesson's career-ending injury came from Bell's brawl in his final start. Despite a 3.94 ERA entering that June 1985 game, he injured his shoulder in the melee, compelled him to retire, and ended a postseason career of 36.1 innings with a 1.98 ERA across six postseasons.