HIT MEN

Orel Hershiser wasted no time.

A day after Alex Rodriguez upset the San Francisco Giants with a slide that injured second baseman Jeff Kent, Hershiser got even--not that he admits it.

On his first pitch, he nailed the Seattle shortstop in the shoulder.

Brushbacks, knockdowns, chin music.

Nolan Ryan called them “the ol’ bow tie.” Bob Gibson and Don Drysdale made a living throwing beanballs.

But as the recent rash of basebrawls has shown, times have changed. And so have the rules--the ones not written down in the rule book.

“Nobody really knows the proper time to throw at somebody,” Detroit Manager Buddy Bell said. “What happens is somebody gets hit for no real reason and it escalates into something that should never really happen to begin with.

“I don’t remember it happening as much 15 or 20 years ago,” he said. “Now it’s like, ‘You hit me because of that?’ Sometimes pitchers throw in and they nick a guy. You should be able to throw inside. Now if you throw inside and you accidentally hit some guy, now it’s a major deal.”

The Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees were involved in a wild fight in May after Armando Benitez drilled Tino Martinez in the back with a fastball after giving up a home run.

Two weeks later, the Angels and Kansas City Royals got into several fights after five players were hit with pitches. More recently, Tigers pitcher Doug Brocail was suspended for hitting Oakland’s Rickey Henderson and Hershiser and the Giants had trouble with the Mariners.

That said, maybe it’s time to review the do’s and don’ts in the art of beanballs:

--Rule No. 1: Don’t throw at a batter’s head.

Kenny Lofton started yelling at Randy Johnson earlier this season after the Big Unit buzzed a fastball past his head, triggering a bench-clearer between the Cleveland Indians and Mariners. Had Johnson plunked Lofton in the torso, that might have been OK.

Exception: If the batter is a player known for his speed, don’t throw at his feet, either. Brocail was suspended for two games after hitting Henderson, baseball’s career steals leader, in the left ankle.

--Rule No. 2: Pick out targets with a purpose.

Hershiser hit Rodriguez because of what the Giants believed was a dirty slide. But Johnson flattened Lofton after the Cleveland leadoff man had done well against him in the past.

“To throw at somebody because they’re hitting well against you is one of the stupidest things to do,” Chicago Cub Manager Jim Riggleman said in general. “And gutless.”

Hitters who showboat or pop off, he added, “They’ve got it coming.”

But Colorado slugger Dante Bichette, who’s been known to admire his longest drives, disagrees.

“Never! It is never appropriate to be thrown at,” he said.

Pitching high-and-tight used to be common. It was just understood--if the guy up before you hit a home run, there was a good chance you were going down. Sometimes, it didn’t even take that much.

“If you talk to some of the older guys, like my father, they say that if a guy looked at you funny, you throw it up around their neck,” said Cleveland pitcher Jaret Wright, son of former major leaguer Clyde Wright. “You do that now and guys get a little upset.”

--Rule No. 3: Take care of business with the first pitch.

No need to monkey around on the mound by throwing a couple of sliders low-and-away and trying to lull the batter into a false sense of security. Get it over with right away.

Hershiser, ever the true professional, followed the creed perfectly when he plunked Rodriguez.

--Rule No. 4: Don’t drill a batter with your best fastball.

Benitez broke this code, trying to break the radar gun when he zinged Martinez up near the neck. No wonder the Yankees came charging after Benitez, who got suspended for eight games.

Hershiser, however, stayed within the lines when he hit Rodriguez.

“It had to slip because it didn’t hurt,” Rodriguez said.

--Rule No. 5: Be ready for retaliation.

In the AL, where the pitcher does not hit, that means one of his teammates might pay the price. Or a pitcher might face a charging batter.

“Back when I played, the players didn’t wear helmets. So batters were much more aware when pitchers pitched inside,” Hall of Famer Bob Feller said.

“In my opinion, 6 inches on either side of the plate, plus the plate, belongs to the pitcher. I never threw at anybody, but I didn’t let them dig in, either,” he said. “Walter Johnson probably hit more batters than any pitcher in history. And you didn’t see people running out with a bat in their hands to fight him.”

Riggleman, though, suggests another way for an angry pitcher to make his point with a hitter.

“Meet him in the parking lot, man to man, and fight him,” he said. “Don’t throw at him.”