Intentional Base on Balls Single Season Leaders on Baseball Almanac

Single Season Leaders for Intentional Bases on Balls

An intentional base-on-balls is an officially recognized statistic (since 1955) that counts the number of times a batter reaches first base after accepting four intentionally wide pitches outside the strike zone. Baseball Almanac is pleased to present the top one-hundred (100) single season leaders in Major League intentional bases on balls. Note: A bold faced entry denotes that the player was active during the previous Major League season.

"I was so excited they walked Barry Bonds. I wanted to make them pay again." - San Francisco Giants Catcher Benito Santiago on ESPN.com (Santiago makes Cardinals pay, 10/13/2002)

Intentional Base on Balls Single Season Leaders 'Top 100'
Name	IBB	Year	Team	League	Rank
Barry Bonds	120	2004	San Francisco Giants	NL	1
Barry Bonds	68	2002	San Francisco Giants	NL	2
Barry Bonds	61	2003	San Francisco Giants	NL	3
Willie McCovey	45	1969	San Francisco Giants	NL	4
Albert Pujols	44	2009	St. Louis Cardinals	NL	5
Barry Bonds	43	2007	San Francisco Giants	NL	6
Barry Bonds	43	1993	San Francisco Giants	NL
Willie McCovey	40	1970	San Francisco Giants	NL	8
Barry Bonds	38	2006	San Francisco Giants	NL	9
Cliff Floyd	37	2002	Boston Red Sox	AL	10
			Florida Marlins	NL
			Montreal Expos	NL
Ryan Howard	37	2006	Philadelphia Phillies	NL
Sammy Sosa	37	2001	Chicago Cubs	NL
Barry Bonds	35	2001	San Francisco Giants	NL	13
Ryan Howard	35	2007	Philadelphia Phillies	NL
Barry Bonds	34	1997	San Francisco Giants	NL	15
Albert Pujols	34	2008	St. Louis Cardinals	NL
John Olerud	33	1993	Toronto Blue Jays	AL	17
Ted Williams	33	1957	Boston Red Sox	AL
Barry Bonds	32	1992	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL	19
Vladimir Guerrero	32	2002	Montreal Expos	NL
Kevin Mitchell	32	1989	San Francisco Giants	NL
George Brett	31	1985	Kansas City Royals	AL	22
Barry Bonds	30	1996	San Francisco Giants	NL	23
Barry Bonds	29	1998	San Francisco Giants	NL	24
Frank Howard	29	1970	Washington Senators	AL
Dale Murphy	29	1987	Atlanta Braves	NL
Adolfo Phillips	29	1967	Chicago Cubs	NL
Frank Thomas	29	1995	Chicago White Sox	AL
Ernie Banks	28	1960	Chicago Cubs	NL	29
Vladimir Guerrero	28	2007	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	AL
Mark McGwire	28	1998	St. Louis Cardinals	NL
Albert Pujols	28	2006	St. Louis Cardinals	NL
Manny Ramirez	28	2003	Boston Red Sox	AL
Jeff Bagwell	27	1997	Houston Astros	NL	34
Miguel Cabrera	27	2006	Florida Marlins	NL
Will Clark	27	1988	San Francisco Giants	NL
Roberto Clemente	27	1968	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL
Albert Pujols	27	2005	St. Louis Cardinals	NL
Ichiro Suzuki	27	2002	Seattle Mariners	AL
Vladimir Guerrero	26	2005	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	AL	40
Tony Gwynn	26	1987	San Diego Padres	NL
Fred McGriff	26	1991	San Diego Padres	NL
Stan Musial	26	1958	St. Louis Cardinals	NL
Tim Raines	26	1987	Montreal Expos	NL
Duke Snider	26	1956	Brooklyn Dodgers	NL
Frank Thomas	26	1996	Chicago White Sox	AL
Jim Thome	26	2004	Philadelphia Phillies	NL
Wade Boggs	25	1991	Boston Red Sox	AL	48
Barry Bonds	25	1991	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL
Leo Cardenas	25	1965	Cincinnati Reds	NL
Ken Griffey, Jr.	25	1993	Seattle Mariners	AL
Vladimir Guerrero	25	2006	Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim	AL
Howard Johnson	25	1988	New York Mets	NL
Ted Kluszewski	25	1955	Cincinnati Redlegs	NL
Willie McCovey	25	1973	San Francisco Giants	NL
Eddie Murray	25	1984	Baltimore Orioles	AL
Spike Owen	25	1989	Montreal Expos	NL
Manny Ramirez	25	2001	Boston Red Sox	AL
Bill Russell	25	1974	Los Angeles Dodgers	NL
Mike Schmidt	25	1986	Philadelphia Phillies	NL
Ted Simmons	25	1977	St. Louis Cardinals	NL
Willie Stargell	25	1967	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL
Warren Cromartie	24	1980	Montreal Expos	NL	63
Leon Durham	24	1985	Chicago Cubs	NL
Jason Giambi	24	2001	Oakland Athletics	AL
Brian Giles	24	2002	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL
Luis Gonzalez	24	2001	Arizona Diamondbacks	NL
Vladimir Guerrero	24	2001	Montreal Expos	NL
Eddie Murray	24	1989	Los Angeles Dodgers	NL
Dave Parker	24	1985	Cincinnati Reds	NL
Manny Ramirez	24	2008	Boston Red Sox	AL
Manny Ramirez	24	2008	Los Angeles Dodgers	NL
Rusty Staub	24	1968	Houston Astros	NL
Garry Templeton	24	1985	San Diego Padres	NL
Dave Winfield	24	1979	San Diego Padres	NL
Hank Aaron	23	1968	Atlanta Braves	NL	75
Johnny Bench	23	1972	Cincinnati Reds	NL
Miguel Cabrera	23	2007	Florida Marlins	NL
Orlando Cepeda	23	1967	St. Louis Cardinals	NL
Will Clark	23	1992	San Francisco Giants	NL
Chili Davis	23	1986	San Francisco Giants	NL
Carlos Delgado	23	2003	Toronto Blue Jays	AL
Ken Griffey, Jr.	23	1997	Seattle Mariners	AL
Vladimir Guerrero	23	2000	Montreal Expos	NL
Chipper Jones	23	2002	Atlanta Braves	NL
Harmon Killebrew	23	1970	Minnesota Twins	AL
Derrek Lee	23	2005	Chicago Cubs	NL
Mickey Mantle	23	1957	New York Yankees	AL
Fred McGriff	23	1992	San Diego Padres	NL
David Ortiz	23	2006	Boston Red Sox	AL
Dave Parker	23	1978	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL
Dave Rader	23	1973	San Francisco Giants	NL
Frank Robinson	23	1961	Cincinnati Reds	NL
Ichiro Suzuki	23	2005	Seattle Mariners	AL
Garry Templeton	23	1984	San Diego Padres	NL
Frank Thomas	23	1993	Chicago White Sox	AL
Mo Vaughn	23	1993	Boston Red Sox	AL
Harold Baines	22	1991	Oakland Athletics	AL	97
Lance Berkman	22	2006	Houston Astros	NL
Barry Bonds	22	1989	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL
Barry Bonds	22	1995	San Francisco Giants	NL	100
Barry Bonds	22	2000	San Francisco Giants	NL
Carlos Delgado	22	2001	Toronto Blue Jays	AL
Adrian Gonzalez	22	2009	San Diego Padres	NL
Shawn Green	22	2002	Los Angeles Dodgers	NL
Vladimir Guerrero	22	2003	Montreal Expos	NL
Todd Helton	22	2005	Colorado Rockies	NL
Todd Helton	22	2000	Colorado Rockies	NL
Ted Kluszewski	22	1956	Cincinnati Redlegs	NL
Rafael Palmeiro	22	1993	Texas Rangers	AL
Albert Pujols	22	2007	St. Louis Cardinals	NL
Ted Simmons	22	1979	St. Louis Cardinals	NL
Willie Stargell	22	1973	Pittsburgh Pirates	NL
Name	IBB	Year	Team	League	Rank
Current Through 2009 Season

There are sixteen (16) instances in Major League history where a player has been intentionally walked at least thirty (30) times during a single season. Fourteen (14) of those sixteen instances occurred in the National League. Why is this ratio so high? Is it all because of Bonds or is there something more about the senior circuit? Share your thoughts on Baseball Fever.

The American League single season record for intentional bases on balls was set in 1957 by Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox and tied in 1993 by John Olerud of the Toronto Blue Jays. The National League single season record for intentional bases on balls was set in 2004 by Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants.

Future hall of Famer Barry Bonds holds six of the top ten positions for single season intentional bases on balls marks. Is he also the career leader for intentional bases on balls? Click the link to find out who dominates the board like no other in history.

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