Intentional base on balls
Encyclopedia
In baseball
, an intentional base on balls, usually referred to as an intentional walk and denoted in baseball scorekeeping
by IBB, is a walk
issued to a batter
by a pitcher
with the intent of removing the batter's opportunity to swing at the pitched ball. A pitch that is intentionally thrown far outside the strike zone
for this purpose is referred to as an intentional ball.
Informally, it is often referred to as a "four-finger salute". This reference stems from the manager's holding up four fingers to signal an intentional walk to his pitcher
or catcher
.
for a batter, but does count as a plate appearance
and a base on balls
. A ball that is thrown intentionally for the purpose of giving up an intentional base on balls is called an intentional ball. A base on balls counts as an intentional base on balls if and only if the final pitch thrown in the at bat is an intentional ball, even if not all the pitches are intentional balls.
Before the 1920
season, catchers typically stood far to the side of the plate to receive intentional balls. In an effort to increase scoring and attendance and end the so-called dead ball era, major league baseball team owners (at the annual rules meeting in Chicago
on February 9, 1920) attempted to ban the intentional base on balls by instituting a penalty that an intentional ball be counted as a balk
(which would award each runner the next base). Veteran NL
umpire Hank O'Day
argued successfully against the proposal and the owners succeeded only in mandating that "the catcher must stand with both feet within the lines of the catcher’s box until the ball leaves the pitcher’s hand", a rule still in force today.
and the Baltimore Orioles
. The Marlins' Miguel Cabrera
hit an intentional ball thrown by Todd Williams
during the 10th inning resulting in a run scored for the Marlins. Outside the professional leagues however, such as in high school or college baseball but not Little League Baseball, the manager may simply ask the plate umpire to let the batter go to first instead of having the pitcher waste four outside pitches.
ball by putting a runner on first base, or to set up a force play
at any base in situations where the batter's run cannot affect the outcome of the game (ex: bottom of the 9th, runner on second and third, visiting team ahead by 1). In situations other than these, issuing intentional walks is typically seen as bad strategy, as the danger of them is that an extra runner is now on base for the following hitter. Practically any runner has a better chance of scoring a run from first base (as on a double or triple or two singles, among other following events) through the actions of later batters than the batter has of hitting a home run.
holds most of the records for intentional walks, including four in a nine-inning game (2004), 120 in a season (2004), and 668 in his career (more than the next two players on the all-time list, Hank Aaron and Willie McCovey
, combined).
Bonds, a prolific home run
hitter, was a common target for the intentional walk. Nevertheless, many times the decision to walk Bonds was a futile strategy, as the San Francisco Giants
still had the National League
's second-best offense in 2004, scoring 820 runs. In the first month of the 2004 baseball season, Bonds drew 43 walks, 22 of them intentional. He broke his previous record of 68 intentional walks, set in 2002, on July 10, 2004 in his last appearance before the All-Star
break.
There are claims that Mel Ott was also intentionally walked four times in a game against the Phillies in 1929. The claim has not been confirmed (intentional walks have only been an officially tracked statistic since 1955) and the evidence suggests otherwise. Mel Ott was tied with Chuck Klein for the season home run title in 1929 and the Phillies manager told the pitcher to pitch around Ott so he wouldn't pass Klein for the title. When Ott received his bases loaded walk he was facing a 3-2 pitch count suggesting that the walk was not intentional.
Hideki Matsui
drew five consecutive intentional walks in a game in Japanese High School Baseball Championship at Koshien Stadium
in 1992 and became a nationwide topic of conversation.
, six players have been issued intentional walks with the bases loaded
(thus giving the batting team an automatic run). This is similar to the intentional safety in American football
, which also concedes a certain amount of points to the opposing team in order to avoid a situation in which the opposing team might score more points than the safety itself. This is only done in the rarest of cases, typically when the pitching team is leading by four runs or less late in the game and a particularly feared hitter is at the plate. The six players given such passes are Abner Dalrymple
(1881), Nap Lajoie
(1901), Del Bissonette
(1928), Bill Nicholson
(1944), Barry Bonds
(1998), and Josh Hamilton (2008). In all six cases, the pitching team went on to win the game.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, an intentional base on balls, usually referred to as an intentional walk and denoted in baseball scorekeeping
Baseball scorekeeping
Baseball scorekeeping is the practice of recording the details of a baseball game as it unfolds. Professional baseball leagues hire official scorers to keep an official record of each game , but many fans keep score as well for their own enjoyment...
by IBB, is a walk
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
issued to a batter
Batting (baseball)
In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher...
by a pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
with the intent of removing the batter's opportunity to swing at the pitched ball. A pitch that is intentionally thrown far outside the strike zone
Strike zone
In baseball, the strike zone is a conceptual right pentagonal prism over home plate which defines the boundaries through which a pitch must pass in order to count as a strike when the batter does not swing.-Definition:...
for this purpose is referred to as an intentional ball.
Informally, it is often referred to as a "four-finger salute". This reference stems from the manager's holding up four fingers to signal an intentional walk to his pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
or catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
.
Rules and scoring
When a batter receives an intentional base on balls, he is entitled to take first base without being put out. Receiving an intentional base on balls does not count as an official at batAt bat
In baseball, an at bat or time at bat is used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on base percentage, and slugging percentage. It is a more restricted definition of a plate appearance...
for a batter, but does count as a plate appearance
Plate appearance
In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance each time he completes a turn batting. A player completes a turn batting when: He strikes out or is declared out before reaching first base; or He reaches first base safely or is awarded first base ; or He hits a fair ball which...
and a base on balls
Base on balls
A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...
. A ball that is thrown intentionally for the purpose of giving up an intentional base on balls is called an intentional ball. A base on balls counts as an intentional base on balls if and only if the final pitch thrown in the at bat is an intentional ball, even if not all the pitches are intentional balls.
Before the 1920
1920 in baseball
-Champions:*World Series: Cleveland Indians over Brooklyn Robins -MLB statistical leaders:-American League final standings:-National League final standings:-Negro National League final standings:-East final standings:...
season, catchers typically stood far to the side of the plate to receive intentional balls. In an effort to increase scoring and attendance and end the so-called dead ball era, major league baseball team owners (at the annual rules meeting in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
on February 9, 1920) attempted to ban the intentional base on balls by instituting a penalty that an intentional ball be counted as a balk
Balk
In baseball, a pitcher can commit a number of illegal motions or actions that constitute a balk. In games played under the Official Baseball Rules, a balk results in a dead ball or delayed dead ball. In certain other circumstances, a balk may be wholly or partially disregarded...
(which would award each runner the next base). Veteran NL
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
umpire Hank O'Day
Hank O'Day
Henry Francis O'Day was an American right-handed pitcher, umpire and manager in Major League Baseball who worked as a National League umpire for 30 years between 1895 and 1927, and was the only person in major league history to appear as a player, manager and umpire. His 3,986 total games as an...
argued successfully against the proposal and the owners succeeded only in mandating that "the catcher must stand with both feet within the lines of the catcher’s box until the ball leaves the pitcher’s hand", a rule still in force today.
Technique and usage
When pitching an intentional ball, the pitcher will generally throw to an area several feet outside the plate, where it would be physically impossible for the batter to hit the ball. The pitcher still has to be careful that he doesn't allow runners to advance via a balk or a wild pitch. In addition, the batter can choose to swing at an intentional ball, although this almost never occurs since it is rarely to the batter's advantage. A swing at an intentional ball resulting in a hit occurred during a June 22, 2006 game between the Florida MarlinsFlorida Marlins
The Miami Marlins are a professional baseball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1993 as an expansion franchise called the Florida Marlins, the Marlins are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Marlins played their home games at...
and the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
. The Marlins' Miguel Cabrera
Miguel Cabrera
José Miguel Cabrera Torres nicknamed "Miggy", is a Venezuelan professional baseball first baseman with the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball. He bats and throws right-handed....
hit an intentional ball thrown by Todd Williams
Todd Williams
Todd Michael Williams is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He last pitched for the Long Island Ducks of the independent Atlantic League in , and is currently a free agent...
during the 10th inning resulting in a run scored for the Marlins. Outside the professional leagues however, such as in high school or college baseball but not Little League Baseball, the manager may simply ask the plate umpire to let the batter go to first instead of having the pitcher waste four outside pitches.
Strategy
The purpose of an intentional walk is to bypass the current hitter in order to face the following batter whom the defensive team expects a better chance of getting out, to set up a double playDouble play
In baseball, a double play for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. In baseball slang, making a double play is referred to as "turning two"....
ball by putting a runner on first base, or to set up a force play
Force play
In baseball, a force is a situation when a baserunner is compelled to vacate his time-of-pitch base—and thus try to advance to the next base—because the batter became a runner. A runner at first base is always forced to attempt to advance to second base when the batter becomes a runner...
at any base in situations where the batter's run cannot affect the outcome of the game (ex: bottom of the 9th, runner on second and third, visiting team ahead by 1). In situations other than these, issuing intentional walks is typically seen as bad strategy, as the danger of them is that an extra runner is now on base for the following hitter. Practically any runner has a better chance of scoring a run from first base (as on a double or triple or two singles, among other following events) through the actions of later batters than the batter has of hitting a home run.
Records and notable occurrences
Barry BondsBarry Bonds
Barry Lamar Bonds is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. Bonds played from 1986 to 2007, for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds...
holds most of the records for intentional walks, including four in a nine-inning game (2004), 120 in a season (2004), and 668 in his career (more than the next two players on the all-time list, Hank Aaron and Willie McCovey
Willie McCovey
Willie Lee McCovey , nicknamed "Mac", "Big Mac", and "Stretch", is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played nineteen seasons for the San Francisco Giants, and three more for the San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics, between and...
, combined).
Bonds, a prolific home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
hitter, was a common target for the intentional walk. Nevertheless, many times the decision to walk Bonds was a futile strategy, as the San Francisco Giants
San Francisco Giants
The San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
still had the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
's second-best offense in 2004, scoring 820 runs. In the first month of the 2004 baseball season, Bonds drew 43 walks, 22 of them intentional. He broke his previous record of 68 intentional walks, set in 2002, on July 10, 2004 in his last appearance before the All-Star
Major League Baseball All-Star Game
The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by a combination of fans, players, coaches, and managers...
break.
There are claims that Mel Ott was also intentionally walked four times in a game against the Phillies in 1929. The claim has not been confirmed (intentional walks have only been an officially tracked statistic since 1955) and the evidence suggests otherwise. Mel Ott was tied with Chuck Klein for the season home run title in 1929 and the Phillies manager told the pitcher to pitch around Ott so he wouldn't pass Klein for the title. When Ott received his bases loaded walk he was facing a 3-2 pitch count suggesting that the walk was not intentional.
Hideki Matsui
Hideki Matsui
is a Japanese Major League Baseball designated hitter and outfielder. He bats left-handed and throws right-handed.After playing the first ten seasons of his career for the Yomiuri Giants of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, he played the next seven seasons, from 2003–2009, for the New York...
drew five consecutive intentional walks in a game in Japanese High School Baseball Championship at Koshien Stadium
Koshien Stadium
is a baseball park located near Kobe in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The stadium was built to host the national high school baseball tournaments, and opened on April 1, 1924. It was the largest stadium in Asia at the time it was completed, with a capacity of 55,000.The name Kōshien comes...
in 1992 and became a nationwide topic of conversation.
Intentional walks with the bases loaded
In the history of Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
, six players have been issued intentional walks with the bases loaded
Bases loaded
In the sport of baseball, the bases are loaded when there is a runner on each base . This presents a great scoring opportunity for the batting team, but it also presents an easy double play opportunity for the defense. Causing the bases to become loaded is called loading the bases...
(thus giving the batting team an automatic run). This is similar to the intentional safety in American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, which also concedes a certain amount of points to the opposing team in order to avoid a situation in which the opposing team might score more points than the safety itself. This is only done in the rarest of cases, typically when the pitching team is leading by four runs or less late in the game and a particularly feared hitter is at the plate. The six players given such passes are Abner Dalrymple
Abner Dalrymple
Abner Frank Dalrymple was an American left fielder in Major League Baseball who hit 43 home runs and batted .288 during his 12-season career spent primarily with the Chicago White Stockings, for whom he starred as the leadoff hitter on five National League pennant winners...
(1881), Nap Lajoie
Nap Lajoie
Napoléon "Nap" Lajoie , also known as Larry Lajoie, was an American Major League Baseball second baseman. He was born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island...
(1901), Del Bissonette
Del Bissonette
Adelphia Louis Bissonette was an American first baseman, manager and coach in Major League Baseball.Born in Winthrop, Maine, Bissonette attended Westbrook Seminary, the University of New Hampshire and Georgetown University before signing a professional baseball contract with Valleyfield-Cap de la...
(1928), Bill Nicholson
Bill Nicholson (baseball)
William Beck "Swish" Nicholson was a right fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Philadelphia Athletics , Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies...
(1944), Barry Bonds
Barry Bonds
Barry Lamar Bonds is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. Bonds played from 1986 to 2007, for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds...
(1998), and Josh Hamilton (2008). In all six cases, the pitching team went on to win the game.