Base on Balls Single Season American League Leaders on Baseball Almanac

Single Season Leaders for Base on Balls in the American League

A base-on-balls is an officially recognized statistic that counts the number of times a batter reaches first base after accepting four pitches outside the strike zone. Prior to 1889, the rule regarding the walk statistic was different and used the following rules of the day: 1876-1879 nine balls, 1880-1882 eight balls, 1882-1884 seven balls, 1884-1885 six balls, 1886 seven balls, 1887-1888 five balls and from 1889 forward it has, and still remains four balls.

Baseball Almanac is pleased to present the top one-hundred all-time single season American League leaders in Major League base on balls. Note: A bold faced entry denotes that the player was active during the most recently completed Major League season.

"Here's some eye-popping numbers from baseballhistorian.com Statistics Dept. - Babe Ruth's ratio of home runs to at bats is by far the best in baseball history. Babe Ruth batted 8,399 times while Aaron batted 12,364 times. Aaron hit 755 career homers, Ruth hit 714 in 3,965 less times at bat (Ruth batted 8,399 times). Babe Ruth walked 2,213 times, (811 more times) than Aaron's 1,402 walks." - BaseballHistorian.com

Base on Balls Single Season American League Leaders 'Top 100'
Name	Base on Balls	Year	Team	League	Rank
Babe Ruth	170	1923	New York Yankees	AL	1
Ted Williams	162	1947	Boston Red Sox	AL	2
Ted Williams	162	1949	Boston Red Sox	AL
Ted Williams	156	1946	Boston Red Sox	AL	4
Eddie Yost	151	1956	Washington Senators	AL	5
Babe Ruth	150	1920	New York Yankees	AL	6
Eddie Joost	149	1949	Philadelphia Athletics	AL	7
Ted Williams	147	1941	Boston Red Sox	AL	8
Mickey Mantle	146	1957	New York Yankees	AL	9
Harmon Killebrew	145	1969	Minnesota Twins	AL	10
Babe Ruth	145	1921	New York Yankees	AL
Ted Williams	145	1942	Boston Red Sox	AL
Babe Ruth	144	1926	New York Yankees	AL	13
Ted Williams	144	1951	Boston Red Sox	AL
Babe Ruth	142	1924	New York Yankees	AL	15
Eddie Yost	141	1950	Washington Senators	AL	16
Frank Thomas	138	1991	Chicago White Sox	AL	17
Roy Cullenbine	137	1947	Detroit Tigers	AL	18
Jason Giambi	137	2000	Oakland Athletics	AL
Babe Ruth	137	1928	New York Yankees	AL
Babe Ruth	137	1927	New York Yankees	AL
Ferris Fain	136	1949	Philadelphia Athletics	AL	22
Babe Ruth	136	1930	New York Yankees	AL
Frank Thomas	136	1995	Chicago White Sox	AL
Ted Williams	136	1954	Boston Red Sox	AL
Eddie Yost	135	1959	Detroit Tigers	AL	26
Ferris Fain	133	1950	Philadelphia Athletics	AL	27
Lou Gehrig	132	1935	New York Yankees	AL	28
Frank Howard	132	1970	Washington Senators	AL
Tony Phillips	132	1993	Detroit Tigers	AL
Harmon Killebrew	131	1967	Minnesota Twins	AL	31
Eddie Yost	131	1954	Washington Senators	AL
Lou Gehrig	130	1936	New York Yankees	AL	33
Babe Ruth	130	1932	New York Yankees	AL
Jason Giambi	129	2003	New York Yankees	AL	35
Jason Giambi	129	2001	Oakland Athletics	AL
Mickey Mantle	129	1958	New York Yankees	AL
Eddie Yost	129	1952	Washington Senators	AL
Max Bishop	128	1930	Philadelphia Athletics	AL	39
Max Bishop	128	1929	Philadelphia Athletics	AL
Harmon Killebrew	128	1970	Minnesota Twins	AL
Babe Ruth	128	1931	New York Yankees	AL
Carl Yastrzemski	128	1970	Boston Red Sox	AL
Lu Blue	127	1931	Chicago White Sox	AL	44
Lou Gehrig	127	1937	New York Yankees	AL
Jim Thome	127	1999	Cleveland Indians	AL
Lu Blue	126	1929	St. Louis Browns	AL	47
Rickey Henderson	126	1989	New York Yankees	AL
Rickey Henderson	126	1989	Oakland Athletics	AL
Mickey Mantle	126	1961	New York Yankees	AL
Ted Williams	126	1948	Boston Red Sox	AL
Eddie Yost	126	1951	Washington Senators	AL
Wade Boggs	125	1988	Boston Red Sox	AL	52
Tony Phillips	125	1996	Chicago White Sox	AL
Eddie Yost	125	1960	Detroit Tigers	AL
Norm Cash	124	1961	Detroit Tigers	AL	55
Carlos Delgado	123	2000	Toronto Blue Jays	AL	56
Edgar Martinez	123	1996	Seattle Mariners	AL
Jim Thome	123	1996	Cleveland Indians	AL
Eddie Yost	123	1953	Washington Senators	AL
Luke Appling	122	1935	Chicago White Sox	AL	60
Lou Gehrig	122	1929	New York Yankees	AL
Eddie Joost	122	1952	Philadelphia Athletics	AL
Mickey Mantle	122	1962	New York Yankees	AL
John Mayberry	122	1973	Kansas City Royals	AL
Mickey Tettleton	122	1992	Detroit Tigers	AL
Frank Thomas	122	1992	Chicago White Sox	AL
Jim Thome	122	2002	Cleveland Indians	AL
Luke Appling	121	1949	Chicago White Sox	AL	68
Roy Cullenbine	121	1941	St. Louis Browns	AL
Topsy Hartsel	121	1905	Philadelphia Athletics	AL
Darrell Porter	121	1979	Kansas City Royals	AL
Rickey Henderson	120	1993	Oakland Athletics	AL	72
Rickey Henderson	120	1993	Toronto Blue Jays	AL	72
Eddie Lake	120	1947	Detroit Tigers	AL
Jim Thome	120	1997	Cleveland Indians	AL
Jay Buhner	119	1997	Seattle Mariners	AL	75
Eddie Collins	119	1915	Chicago White Sox	AL
Jimmie Foxx	119	1938	Boston Red Sox	AL
Hank Greenberg	119	1938	Detroit Tigers	AL
Eddie Joost	119	1948	Philadelphia Athletics	AL
Edgar Martinez	119	1997	Seattle Mariners	AL
John Mayberry	119	1975	Kansas City Royals	AL
Fred McGriff	119	1989	Toronto Blue Jays	AL
David Ortiz	119	2006	Boston Red Sox	AL
Willie Randolph	119	1980	New York Yankees	AL
Elmer Valo	119	1949	Philadelphia Athletics	AL
Ted Williams	119	1957	Boston Red Sox	AL
Carl Yastrzemski	119	1968	Boston Red Sox	AL
Sal Bando	118	1970	Oakland Athletics	AL	88
Donie Bush	118	1915	Detroit Tigers	AL
Harlond Clift	118	1938	St. Louis Browns	AL
Ty Cobb	118	1915	Detroit Tigers	AL
Rickey Henderson	118	1998	Oakland Athletics	AL
Burt Shotton	118	1915	St. Louis Browns	AL
Ken Singleton	118	1975	Baltimore Orioles	AL
Jim Thome	118	2000	Cleveland Indians	AL
Donie Bush	117	1912	Detroit Tigers	AL	96
Lou Gehrig	117	1931	New York Yankees	AL
Rickey Henderson	117	1980	Oakland Athletics	AL
Lyn Lary	117	1936	St. Louis Browns	AL
Max Bishop	116	1926	Philadelphia Athletics	AL	100
Jimmie Foxx	116	1932	Philadelphia Athletics	AL
Rickey Henderson	116	1982	Oakland Athletics	AL
Edgar Martinez	116	1995	Seattle Mariners	AL
Mark McGwire	116	1996	Oakland Athletics	AL
Name	Base on Balls	Year	Team	League	Rank
Current Through 2009 Season

Does an intentional walk truly show respect in modern baseball? How about a "simple" walk? Can we accurately measure respect? Share your opinion on our baseball message boards today.

The code to write the single season base on balls league splits was developed in 2005, launched during 2006 and made possible by your support — please continue helping us create these kinds of pages by supporting our site.

The National League single season record for base on balls was set in 2004 by Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants. The American League single season record for base on balls is on this page. Is either one the Career Leader for Bases on Balls?

Copyright © 2000-2009. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Design by Geisler Young. Hosted by Hosting 4 Less.
Part of the Baseball Almanac family: 755 Home Runs | Baseball Box Scores | Baseball Fever | Football Almanac | Pigskin Fever | Today in Baseball History.