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In nearly four seasons in Montreal, he batted .277, including a career high .309 in {{Baseball year|1973}}.<ref name=":1" /> After his record of being hit 50 times in 1971, he would follow that up with 26, 24, and 16 (14 with the Expos) in the next three years.<ref name=":1" /> Late in the {{Baseball year|1974}} season, the struggling Expos, seeking to turn over their roster, made Hunt the first to go by placing him on waivers.<ref>{{cite book|last=Iber|first=Jorge|page=111|title=Mike Torrez: A Baseball Biography|publisher=McFarland|location=Jefferson, NC|year=2016|isbn=978-0-7864-9632-7}}</ref><ref name=":3" /> He was claimed by his hometown St. Louis Cardinals, with whom he closed out his career after playing 12 games.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3" /> The Cardinals brought Hunt to [[Spring training]] in 1975, but released him in March,<ref name=":3" /> after which he retired.
In his 12-year career Hunt batted .273 with 39 home runs and 370 RBIs in 1483 [[games played]].<ref name=":1" /> He was also one of the most difficult batters to [[strikeout|strike out]], fanning 382 times in 5235 [[at-bat]]s,<ref name=":1" /> or once in every 13.70 at-bats (tied for 369th best as of 2024).<ref>{{Cite web |title=Career Leaders & Records for AB per SO |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/at_bats_per_strikeout_career.shtml |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> In 1973, he set an Expos record by only striking out 19 times in 401 at-bats, the fewest ever in franchise history by a player who had at least 400 at-bats on the season.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}
Hunt hit his last major league home run on September 21, 1971, against the Phillies as a member of the Expos at [[Jarry Park]]. He then went 1,302 at-bats and 378 games without hitting another when he closed out his career at the end of the 1974 season.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://retrosheet.org/boxesetc/H/Phuntr101.htm|title=Ron Hunt Career Stats At Retrosheet|website=retrosheet.org|accessdate= December 13, 2023}}</ref>
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Hunt, who batted right-handed, would stand with his "left arm hanging over the plate" and allow himself to be hit to make up for his lack of hitting power.<ref name="jonah">{{cite web |url=http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-year-ron-hunt-got-hit-by-50-pitches/|title=The Year Ron Hunt Got Hit By 50 Pitches|first=Jonah|last=Keri|authorlink=Jonah Keri|date=February 3, 2015|accessdate=February 12, 2015|work=[[FiveThirtyEight]]}}</ref> On June 25, 1971, he was hit three times during a [[Doubleheader (baseball)|doubleheader]].<ref name="jonah" /> He had the habit of tossing back the ball that had hit him to the pitcher.<ref name="jonah" />
On September 29, 1971, against the [[Chicago Cubs]] at [[Jarry Park Stadium|Jarry Park]], Hunt was hit by a [[Milt Pappas]] pitch to give him 50 on the season,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chicago Cubs vs Montreal Expos Box Score: September 29, 1971 |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MON/MON197109290.shtml |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> obliterating the post-1900 record of 31 by [[Steve Evans (baseball)|Steve Evans]].<ref name="base" /> Pappas, furious at Hunt, argued to home plate umpire [[Ken Burkhart]] that the pitch was directly over the plate,<ref name=":4" /> that Hunt got hit by the ball without even trying to get out of the way.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}} Earlier in the year, Pappas had also contributed #27 in the Hunt collection, prompting Cub manager [[Leo Durocher]] to cry foul after home plate umpire [[Augie Donatelli]] awarded Hunt first base on that pitch.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}} [[Cincinnati Reds]] manager [[Sparky Anderson]] had a similar complaint after Hunt was hit by a [[Jim McGlothlin]] pitch on August 7 of that year{{citation needed|date=December 2024}}; the HBP was Hunt's 32nd of the season,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Montreal Expos vs Cincinnati Reds Box Score: August 7, 1971 |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/CIN/CIN197108070.shtml#:~:text=Cincinnati%20Reds%203%2053-63%20Prev%20GameNext%20Game%20Saturday,,0%200%200%200%200%204%2012%200 |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> which broke the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] record set by [[Steve Evans (baseball)|Steve Evans]] of the {{Baseball year|1910}} [[St. Louis Cardinals]].<ref name=":5" />
On April 29, {{Baseball year|1969}}, Hunt tied a Major League record with three HBPs in a game against the Cincinnati Reds.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Cincinnati Reds vs San Francisco Giants Box Score: April 29, 1969 |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/SFN/SFN196904290.shtml#:~:text=Cincinnati%20Reds%20vs%20San%20Francisco%20Giants%20Box%20Score:,April%2029,%201969%20Attendance:%203,247%20Venue:%20Candlestick%20Park |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}</ref> At the time, he was only the fifth player to be hit by a pitch three times in one game.{{citation needed|date=December 2024}} As of 2024, the feat has been done over 30 times.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web |title=MLB Hit by a Pitch Records {{!}} Baseball Almanac |url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/recbooks/rb_hbp2.shtml |access-date=2024-12-16 |website=www.baseball-almanac.com |language=en-us}}</ref>
Upon his retirement, his 243 HBPs were a post-[[dead-ball era]] career record. [[Hughie Jennings]] holds the all-time record with 287.<ref name=":5" /> [[Don Baylor]] would break the [[live-ball era|live-ball]] record in {{Baseball year|1987}}<ref name=":4" /> and retire with 267 HBPs. [[Craig Biggio]] would break Baylor's record in {{Baseball year|2005}} and retire at the end of the {{Baseball year|2007}} season with 285 HBPs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/HBP_career.shtml|title = Career Leaders & Records for Hit by Pitch}}</ref>
==Personal life==
After baseball, Hunt owned a liquor store and a sporting goods store in [[Wentzville, Missouri]]. Hunt later raised cattle. He founded The Ron Hunt Eagles Baseball Association, a non-profit corporation. It is a live-in training program for 14-18
As of 2018, Hunt was reportedly suffering from [[Parkinson's disease]].<ref name="Davidoff" />
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