Barry Bonds holds the record for being walked the most times in MLB history.
Barry Bonds holds the record for being walked the most times in MLB history.

A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls, and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules,[1] and further detail is given in 6.08(a).[2]

The following table lists the top 100 career base on balls leaders in Major League Baseball history. Since 2007, Barry Bonds[3][4] holds the record for most career walks drawn with 2,558. Rickey Henderson[5] (2,190), Babe Ruth[6] (2,062), and Ted Williams[7] (2,021) are the only other players to draw more than 2,000 walks in their careers. The active leader in walks is Albert Pujols[8] with 1,345.

Key

Rank Rank amongst leaders in career walks. A blank field indicates a tie.
Player (2022 BB) Number of walks drawn during the 2022 Major League Baseball season
BB Total career walks drawn
* Denotes elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame.
Bold Denotes active player.[a]

List

Rank Player (2022 BB) BB
1 Barry Bonds 2,558
2 Rickey Henderson * 2,190
3 Babe Ruth * 2,062
4 Ted Williams * 2,021
5 Joe Morgan * 1,865
6 Carl Yastrzemski * 1,845
7 Jim Thome * 1,747
8 Mickey Mantle * 1,733
9 Mel Ott * 1,708
10 Frank Thomas * 1,667
11 Eddie Yost 1,614
12 Darrell Evans 1,605
13 Stan Musial * 1,599
14 Pete Rose 1,566
15 Harmon Killebrew * 1,559
16 Chipper Jones * 1,512
17 Lou Gehrig * 1,508
18 Mike Schmidt * 1,507
19 Eddie Collins * 1,499
20 Bobby Abreu 1,476
21 Gary Sheffield 1,475
22 Willie Mays * 1,464
23 Jimmie Foxx * 1,452
24 Eddie Mathews * 1,444
25 Frank Robinson * 1,420
26 Wade Boggs * 1,412
27 Hank Aaron * 1,402
28 Jeff Bagwell * 1,401
29 Dwight Evans 1,391
30 Tris Speaker * 1,381
31 Reggie Jackson * 1,375
32 Jason Giambi 1,366
33 Rafael Palmeiro 1,353
34 Albert Pujols (4) 1,349
35 Willie McCovey * 1,345
36 Alex Rodriguez 1,338
37 Todd Helton 1,335
38 Eddie Murray * 1,333
39 Tim Raines * 1,330
40 Manny Ramirez 1,329
41 David Ortiz * 1,319
Tony Phillips 1,319
43 Adam Dunn 1,317
Mark McGwire 1,317
45 Ken Griffey, Jr. * 1,312
46 Joey Votto (12) 1,306
47 Fred McGriff 1,305
48 Luke Appling * 1,302
49 Edgar Martínez * 1,283
50 Al Kaline * 1,277
Rank Player (2022 BB) BB
51 John Olerud 1,275
52 Ken Singleton 1,263
53 Jack Clark 1,262
54 Rusty Staub 1,255
55 Ty Cobb * 1,249
56 Willie Randolph 1,243
57 Jimmy Wynn 1,224
58 Dave Winfield * 1,216
59 Pee Wee Reese * 1,210
60 Miguel Cabrera (7) 1,206
61 Lance Berkman 1,201
62 Richie Ashburn * 1,198
63 Brian Downing 1,197
Lou Whitaker 1,197
65 Chili Davis 1,194
66 Billy Hamilton * 1,189
67 Charlie Gehringer * 1,186
68 Brian Giles 1,183
69 Craig Biggio * 1,160
70 Donie Bush 1,158
71 Max Bishop 1,156
72 Luis Gonzalez 1,155
73 Toby Harrah 1,153
74 Harry Hooper * 1,136
75 Jimmy Sheckard 1,135
76 Brett Butler 1,129
Cal Ripken Jr. * 1,129
78 Carlos Delgado 1,109
79 Ron Santo * 1,108
80 Jim Gilliam 1,102
81 George Brett * 1,096
82 Paul Molitor * 1,094
83 Lu Blue 1,092
Stan Hack 1,092
85 Carlos Santana (14) 1,091
Paul Waner * 1,091
87 Graig Nettles 1,088
88 Bobby Grich 1,087
89 Carlos Beltrán 1,084
90 Derek Jeter * 1,082
91 Mark Grace 1,075
Bob Johnson 1,075
Robin Ventura 1,075
94 Ozzie Smith * 1,072
95 Harlond Clift 1,070
Keith Hernandez 1,070
97 Bernie Williams 1,069
98 Bill Dahlen 1,064
99 Harold Baines * 1,062
100 Joe Cronin * 1,059

Notes

  1. ^ A player is considered inactive if he has announced his retirement or not played for a full season.

References

  1. ^ rule 2.00
  2. ^ rule 6.00
  3. ^ "Barry Bonds Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  4. ^ Jensen, Don. "Barry Bonds Bio". Society For American Baseball Research. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  5. ^ "Rickey Henderson Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  6. ^ "Babe Ruth Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  7. ^ "Ted Williams Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  8. ^ "Albert Pujols Career Stats". Baseball Reference. Retrieved August 1, 2021.

External links

Major League Baseball records
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