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 Joey Votto with 1,354.[8]

Key

Rank Rank among players in career walks. A blank field indicates a tie.
Player (2023 BB) Name (walks in 2023)
BB Career walks
Elected to Hall of Fame
Bold Active player[a]

List

Albert Pujols, 32nd all-time in career bases on balls.
Rank Player (2023 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 Albert Pujols 1,373
33 Jason Giambi 1,366
34 Joey Votto (17) 1,355
35 Rafael Palmeiro 1,353
36 Willie McCovey 1,345
37 Alex Rodriguez 1,338
38 Todd Helton 1,335
39 Eddie Murray 1,333
40 Tim Raines 1,330
41 Manny Ramirez 1,329
42 David Ortiz 1,319
Tony Phillips 1,319
44 Adam Dunn 1,317
Mark McGwire 1,317
46 Ken Griffey Jr. 1,312
47 Fred McGriff 1,305
48 Luke Appling 1,302
49 Edgar Martínez 1,283
50 Al Kaline 1,277
Rank Player (2023 BB) BB
51 John Olerud 1,275
52 Ken Singleton 1,263
53 Jack Clark 1,262
54 Rusty Staub 1,255
55 Miguel Cabrera (24) 1,251
56 Ty Cobb 1,249
57 Willie Randolph 1,243
58 Jimmy Wynn 1,224
59 Dave Winfield 1,216
60 Pee Wee Reese 1,210
61 Lance Berkman 1,201
62 Richie Ashburn 1,198
63 Brian Downing 1,197
Lou Whitaker 1,197
65 Carlos Santana (47) 1,195
66 Chili Davis 1,194
67 Billy Hamilton 1,189
68 Charlie Gehringer 1,186
69 Brian Giles 1,183
70 Craig Biggio 1,160
71 Donie Bush 1,158
72 Max Bishop 1,156
73 Luis Gonzalez 1,155
74 Toby Harrah 1,153
75 Harry Hooper 1,136
76 Jimmy Sheckard 1,135
77 Brett Butler 1,129
Cal Ripken Jr. 1,129
79 Carlos Delgado 1,109
80 Ron Santo 1,108
81 Jim Gilliam 1,102
82 George Brett 1,096
83 Paul Molitor 1,094
84 Lu Blue 1,092
Stan Hack 1,092
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. ^ "Joey Votto Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2023-04-05.

"Career Leaders & Records for Bases on Balls". Baseball-Reference.com.