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 1,365.[8]
Rank Rank among players in career walks. A blank field indicates a tie. Player (2024 BB) Name (walks in 2024 ) BB Career walks Elected to Hall of Fame Bold Active player[a]
Joey Votto , the active leader and 34th all-time in career bases on balls. Stats updated as of April 15, 2024. Rank Player (2024 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 (0) 1,365 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 (2024 BB) BB 51 John Olerud 1,275 52 Ken Singleton 1,263 53 Jack Clark 1,262 54 Miguel Cabrera 1,258 55 Rusty Staub 1,255 56 Ty Cobb 1,249 57 Willie Randolph 1,243 58 Jimmy Wynn 1,224 59 Carlos Santana (5) 1,218 60 Dave Winfield 1,216 61 Pee Wee Reese 1,210 62 Lance Berkman 1,201 63 Richie Ashburn 1,198 64 Brian Downing 1,197 Lou Whitaker 1,197 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 Andrew McCutchen (7) 1,065 99 Bill Dahlen 1,064 100 Harold Baines 1,062
^ A player is considered inactive if he has announced his retirement or has not played for a full season. References [ edit ] ^ rule 2.00 ^ rule 6.00 ^ "Barry Bonds Career Stats" . Baseball Reference . Retrieved August 1, 2021 . ^ Jensen, Don. "Barry Bonds Bio" . Society For American Baseball Research . Retrieved August 1, 2021 . ^ "Rickey Henderson Career Stats" . Baseball Reference . Retrieved August 1, 2021 . ^ "Babe Ruth Career Stats" . Baseball Reference . Retrieved August 1, 2021 . ^ "Ted Williams Career Stats" . Baseball Reference . Retrieved August 1, 2021 . ^ "Joey Votto Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More" . Baseball-Reference.com . Retrieved 2023-04-05 . External links [ edit ] "Career Leaders & Records for Bases on Balls" . Baseball-Reference.com .
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