Anyone have an overcharging alternator fry a battery?

I'm not an electrical genius by any stretch, but If I had to "guess" it would be that the battery was bad causing the charging system to max out. Usually, the lower a battery "gets" the more the alternator will charge in an effort to keep up. The jingle simply could be "something" inside the alternator that did not agree with putting out 17 plus volts. But of course, I'm sure I'm wrong. LOL