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,rule 2.00 and further detail is given in 6.08(a).rule 6.00

The following table lists the top 100 career base on balls leaders in Major League Baseball history. Since 2007, Barry Bonds holds the record for most career walks drawn with 2,558. Rickey Henderson (2,190), Babe Ruth (2,062), and Ted Williams (2,021) are the only other players to draw more than 2,000 walks in their careers. The active leader in walks, and 40th all time, is Carlos Santana with 1,332.

Key Rank Rank among players in career walks. A blank field indicates a tie. Player (2027 BB) Name (walks in 2027) BB Career walks*Elected to Hall of Fame BoldActive playerA player is considered inactive if he has announced his retirement or has not played for a full season.

List

Stats updated as of 2026 season. RankPlayer (2027 BB)BB1Barry Bonds2,5582Rickey Henderson*2,1903Babe Ruth*2,0624Ted Williams*2,0215Joe Morgan*1,8656Carl Yastrzemski*1,845 7Jim Thome*1,7478Mickey Mantle*1,733 9Mel Ott*1,708 10Frank Thomas*1,66711Eddie Yost1,61412Darrell Evans1,60513Stan Musial*1,59914Pete Rose1,56615Harmon Killebrew*1,55916Chipper Jones*1,51217Lou Gehrig*1,50818Mike Schmidt*1,50719Eddie Collins*1,49920Bobby Abreu 1,47621Gary Sheffield 1,47522Willie Mays*1,46423Jimmie Foxx*1,45224Eddie Mathews*1,44425Frank Robinson*1,42026Wade Boggs*1,41227Hank Aaron*1,40228Jeff Bagwell*1,40129Dwight Evans1,39130Tris Speaker*1,38131Reggie Jackson*1,37532Albert Pujols 1,37333Jason Giambi1,36634Joey Votto1,36535Rafael Palmeiro1,35336Willie McCovey*1,34537Alex Rodriguez1,33838Todd Helton*1,33539Eddie Murray*1,33340Carlos Santana (0)1,33241Tim Raines*1,33042Manny Ramirez1,32943David Ortiz*1,319Tony Phillips1,31945Adam Dunn1,317Mark McGwire1,31747Ken Griffey Jr.*1,31248Fred McGriff*1,30549Luke Appling*1,30250Edgar Martínez*1,283 RankPlayer (2027 BB)BB51Al Kaline*1,27752John Olerud1,27553Ken Singleton1,26354Jack Clark1,26255Miguel Cabrera1,25856Rusty Staub1,25557Ty Cobb*1,24958Willie Randolph1,24359Jimmy Wynn1,22460Dave Winfield*1,21661Bryce Harper (0)1,21262Pee Wee Reese*1,21063Lance Berkman1,20164Richie Ashburn*1,19865Brian Downing1,197Lou Whitaker1,19767Chili Davis1,19468Andrew McCutchen (0)1,19269Billy Hamilton*1,18970Charlie Gehringer*1,18671Brian Giles1,18372Mike Trout (0)1,17473Craig Biggio*1,16074Donie Bush1,15875Max Bishop1,15676Luis Gonzalez1,15577Toby Harrah1,15378Freddie Freeman (0)1,136Harry Hooper*1,13680Jimmy Sheckard1,13581Brett Butler1,129Cal Ripken Jr.*1,12983Paul Goldschmidt (0)1,11584Carlos Delgado1,10985Ron Santo*1,10886Jim Gilliam1,10287George Brett*1,09688Paul Molitor*1,09489Lu Blue1,092Stan Hack1,09291Paul Waner*1,09192Graig Nettles1,08893Bobby Grich1,08794Carlos Beltrán*1,08495Derek Jeter*1,08296Mark Grace1,075Bob Johnson1,075Robin Ventura1,07599Ozzie Smith*1,072100Harlond Clift1,070Keith Hernandez1,070

Notes

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