List of Major League Baseball career bases on balls leaders

This article is about the batting leaders. For the pitching leaders, see List of Major League Baseball career bases on balls allowed leaders.
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 Carlos Santana with 1,278.[8]

Key

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]

List

Carlos Santana, the active leader and 50th all-time in career bases on balls.
  • Stats updated as of the end of the 2024 season.
Rank Player (2025 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 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 Carlos Santana (0) 1,278
Rank Player (2025 BB) BB
51 Al Kaline* 1,277
52 John Olerud 1,275
53 Ken Singleton 1,263
54 Jack Clark 1,262
55 Miguel Cabrera 1,258
56 Rusty Staub 1,255
57 Ty Cobb* 1,249
58 Willie Randolph 1,243
59 Jimmy Wynn 1,224
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 Andrew McCutchen (0) 1,116
80 Carlos Delgado 1,109
81 Ron Santo* 1,108
82 Jim Gilliam 1,102
83 George Brett* 1,096
84 Paul Molitor* 1,094
85 Lu Blue 1,092
Stan Hack 1,092
87 Paul Waner* 1,091
88 Graig Nettles 1,088
89 Bobby Grich 1,087
90 Carlos Beltrán 1,084
91 Derek Jeter* 1,082
92 Mark Grace 1,075
Bob Johnson 1,075
Robin Ventura 1,075
95 Ozzie Smith* 1,072
96 Harlond Clift 1,070
Keith Hernandez 1,070
98 Bernie Williams 1,069
99 Bill Dahlen 1,064
100 Harold Baines* 1,062

Notes

  1. ^ A player is considered inactive if he has announced his retirement or has 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. ^ "Carlos Santana Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2024-08-22.

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