Baseball has endless abbreviations for stats, making it confusing for the casual fan to follow along.
If you’re checking the box score in the morning paper of a recent baseball game, it can almost look like a foreign language.
RBI, HR, LOB, K, and BB are some of the many baseball abbreviations used.
So, what does BB mean in Baseball?
BB means based on balls, a statistic that indicates that four balls were thrown during an at-bat, resulting in the hitter being rewarded with a free trip to first base.
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Why Is BB Called a Walk
A base on balls (or BB) is also described as a walk because hitters almost always walk or slowly jog down to first base.
There is no real hurry for the hitter to get to first base since the game pauses until they reach the base.
However, it’s common courtesy for a hitter to take a jog instead of a walk to help speed the game up.
Who Gets to Walk Who
Pitchers walk hitters by throwing four balls during an at-bat or intentional walk.
Pitchers want to avoid walking hitters because the hitters get a free pass to first base these runners count against the pitcher’s ERA.
It drives baseball coaches nuts when pitchers walk a lot of batters since fielders aren’t given an opportunity to make a play.
They are often called getting a “free pass” by broadcasters and players as well.
How Does the BB Affect the Batter’s Performance
A base on balls does not count against hitters batting statistics. So let’s say a better had four plate appearances during a game and walked four times.
They would actually be 0-0 for the day without adjustments to their batting average.
If a hitter had one hit, one strikeout, and two walks out of their four appearances, they would be hitting .500 on the day because they got a hit one out of two times while the walks they couldn’t control.
MLB Hitters with Highest Walk Rates
Having a high walk rate as a hitter is a good indication that you have good self-discipline at the plate to lay off bad pitches.
It can also mean that Pitchers want to avoid throwing hittable pitches anywhere near the plate because they are fearful that the ball will get crushed.
Barry Bonds is a perfect example of someone with exceptional discipline at the plate, and someone who pitchers feared.
The opposing coaches and pitchers sometimes felt it was better to walk Barry Bonds than give him a chance at a legitimate at-bat where he could potentially hit a home run.
Barry Bonds has the most Bases on Balls of all time with 2,558, and he was intentionally walked 688 times.
Bonds was such a feared hitter during his prime that some teams decided to walk him even with the bases loaded:
Most Walks in MLB History
|
Hitter |
Walks |
|
Barry Bonds |
2,558 |
|
Rickey Henderson |
2,190 |
|
Babe Ruth |
2,062 |
|
Ted Williams |
2,021 |
|
Joe Morgan |
1,865 |
|
Carl Yastremski |
1,845 |
|
Jim Thome |
1,845 |
As you can see, there is no coincidence that some of the best hitters of all time have the highest walk rates.
They all have exceptional discipline at the plate combined with being great hitters, which means pitchers were always hesitant to throw anything over the heart of the plate!
MLB Pitcher Walk Rates
To be a major league pitcher requires exceptional control and typically low base-on-ball rates.
However, some pictures are wildly effective they may have higher wall rates than normal, but they make up for it with exceptional pitching talent, like being a high-velocity thrower or having awesome breaking pitches like a curveball or slider.
Aroldis Chapman is a perfect example of a pitcher that is wildly effective:
Many relievers have better arm strength than some starting pitchers do but end up as relievers because they have higher walk rates than normal relievers can be effective in short bursts of two to three Innings at a time, but if they were a starter, their lack of control and walk rates typically catch up with them and result in a big inning from hitters.
Most Walks Allowed in MLB History
|
Player |
Walks |
|
Nolan Ryan |
2,795 |
|
Steve Carlton |
1,833 |
|
Phil Niekro |
1,809 |
|
Early Wynn |
1,775 |
|
Bob Feller |
1,764 |
|
Bobo Newsom |
1,732 |
Walk vs. Hit-by-pitch
A walk is as described above when a hitter gets four balls thrown to them during it at bad and is given a free pass to first base, while a hit by pitch is when a ball is thrown from a pitcher and hits the batter somewhere on their body. when this happens
The umpire pauses the game and the batter is awarded first base.
A hit by pitch can occur during the first pitch in and at bat or anytime during a plate appearance, with the hitter awarded first base immediately if a ball hits them from the pitcher.
Intentional Walks
Intentional walks occur when a pitcher intentionally throws 4 balls outside of the strike zone to give the hitter a free pass to first base, or when the manager signals to the umpire that they want to walk the hitter thus avoid throwing the 4 balls at the major league level.
This rule change took place in the 2017 season as a way to help speed up the game.
College baseball followed suit and changed their rule in 2019 to no longer require pitchers to throw 4 balls in a row.
Prior to these rule changes, there have been some crazy endings to games where pitchers were trying to intentionally walk a hitter but ended up throwing the ball past the catcher and allowed runs to score.
Here are a few of my favorite endings:
FAQ
Does a base on balls count as a base?
Base on Balls does not count toward the total base statistic. Total bases only count bases that come from hits.
Final Word
Base on balls (BB) are a staple part of baseball that help keep games flowing and pitchers in check.
With the recent changes in Major League Baseball to speed up the game, I wouldn’t be surprised if eliminating a ball from the 4 required to get a walk at some point!