I usually assume people who are fans of a given team know these things, but this might be a little off the beaten path so I thought I would bring it to the attention of you Marlins fans. The Florida Marlins have been plunked 997 times in franchise history, and could pass the historic milestone of 1000 HBPs any day now. So, I was wondering if anyone was planning a big celebration or if maybe the players would celebrate with a bench-clearing hug on the pitchers mound, possibly on top of the opposing pitcher. Or, if the celebration might take shape more like a gasp and a quick prayer that no one is hurt, and then moving on as though nothing important just happened. Any predictions on which Marlin will be the (un)lucky recipient of the 1000th free pass the painful way?

Personally, I think it is an important milestone in a team's history, and notable just because the Marlins will beat the Rockies to that mark, and be the quickest to 1000 plunks of any of the modern MLB teams. And, if they time it right by getting hit twice in Atlanta this weekend, and make sure they don't hit anyone before they get hit at home against the Mets next weekend, they can have the 1000th HBP for a Marlins batter coincide with the 1000th plunk in the history of Land Shark Stadium.

So far, 356 different players have taken one for the Marlins franchise, for a total of 997 HBPs. In their relatively short history, their have been 16 different players to get hit 20 or more times in a Marlins uniform, which is as many players as the Mets have had do that, with a 30 year head start. Since entering the league in 1993, only 6 teams have collected more HBPs than the Marlins.

Here's how the team-by-team breakdown looks, by which opposing teams have contributed most to the Marlins first 1000 plunks (through 997):

Phillies - 112
Nats/Expos - 103
Mets - 90
Cubs - 70
Astros - 63
Braves - 62
Rockies - 55
Rays - 54
Cardinals - 53
Pirates - 49
Dodgers - 45
Reds - 44
Giants - 41
Padres - 38
Brewers - 30
Diamondbacks - 28
Red Sox - 16
Blue Jays - 10
Orioles - 8
Royals - 5
Yankees - 5
A's - 5
Indians - 4
Tigers - 2
Twins - 2
Rangers - 2
White Sox - 1

They've never been plunked by either the Angels or the Mariners though.

Finally, I'll go ahead and predict right here that the Marlins 1000th HBP will be recorded by Cody Ross on Tuesday, August 25th. (But you should know that I've never gotten one of these right.)