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, and tied for 40th all time, is Carlos Santana with 1,330. [8]
Rank | Rank among players in career walks. A blank field indicates a tie. |
Player (2025 BB) | Name (walks in 2025) |
BB | Career walks |
* | Elected to Hall of Fame |
---|---|
Bold | Active player [a] |
"Career Leaders & Records for Bases on Balls". Baseball-Reference.com.