Single Season Leaders for Base on Balls in the National 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 National 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.
"His (Barry Bonds) combination of power and speed have been matched only by his godfather, Willie Mays. In 2001 Bonds broke two of the oldest of Babe Ruth's records — most walks and highest slugging percentage in a season." - BaseballHistorian.com
Base on Balls
Single Season National League Leaders

'Top 100'
Barry Bonds 232 2004 San Francisco Giants NL 1
Barry Bonds 198 2002 San Francisco Giants NL 2
Barry Bonds 177 2001 San Francisco Giants NL 3
Mark McGwire 162 1998 St. Louis Cardinals NL 4
Barry Bonds 151 1996 San Francisco Giants NL 5
Jeff Bagwell 149 1999 Houston Astros NL 6
Barry Bonds 148 2003 San Francisco Giants NL 7
Eddie Stanky 148 1945 Brooklyn Dodgers NL  
Jimmy Wynn 148 1969 Houston Astros NL  
Jimmy Sheckard 147 1911 Chicago Cubs NL 10
Barry Bonds 145 1997 San Francisco Giants NL 11
Eddie Stanky 144 1950 New York Giants NL 12
Gary Sheffield 142 1996 Florida Marlins NL 13
Ralph Kiner 137 1951 Pittsburgh Pirates NL 14
Willie McCovey 137 1970 San Francisco Giants NL  
Eddie Stanky 137 1946 Brooklyn Dodgers NL  
Jack Clark 136 1987 St. Louis Cardinals NL 17
Jack Crooks 136 1892 St. Louis Browns NL  
Jeff Bagwell 135 1996 Houston Astros NL 19
Brian Giles 135 2002 Pittsburgh Pirates NL  
Mark McGwire 133 1999 St. Louis Cardinals NL 21
Barry Bonds 132 2007 San Francisco Giants NL 22
Jack Clark 132 1989 San Diego Padres NL  
Joe Morgan 132 1975 Cincinnati Reds NL  
Bob Elliott 131 1948 Boston Braves NL 25
Barry Bonds 130 1998 San Francisco Giants NL 26
Lenny Dykstra 129 1993 Philadelphia Phillies NL 27
Adam Dunn 128 2002 Cincinnati Reds NL 28
Mike Schmidt 128 1983 Philadelphia Phillies NL  
Bobby Abreu 127 2004 Philadelphia Phillies NL 30
Jeff Bagwell 127 1997 Houston Astros NL  
Lance Berkman 127 2004 Houston Astros NL  
Barry Bonds 127 1992 Pittsburgh Pirates NL  
Todd Helton 127 2004 Colorado Rockies NL  
Eddie Stanky 127 1951 New York Giants NL  
Jimmy Wynn 127 1976 Atlanta Braves NL  
Barry Bonds 126 1993 San Francisco Giants NL 37
Darrell Evans 126 1974 Atlanta Braves NL  
Billy Hamilton 126 1894 Philadelphia Phillies NL  
Chipper Jones 126 1999 Atlanta Braves NL  
Richie Ashburn 125 1954 Philadelphia Phillies NL 41
Rickey Henderson 125 1996 San Diego Padres NL  
John Olerud 125 1999 New York Mets NL  
Gene Tenace 125 1977 San Diego Padres NL  
Darrell Evans 124 1973 Atlanta Braves NL 45
Eddie Mathews 124 1963 Milwaukee Braves NL  
John McGraw 124 1899 Baltimore Orioles NL  
Ken Singleton 123 1973 Montreal Expos NL 48
Ralph Kiner 122 1950 Pittsburgh Pirates NL 49
Jimmy Sheckard 122 1912 Chicago Cubs NL  
Jack Crooks 121 1893 St. Louis Browns NL 51
Von Hayes 121 1987 Philadelphia Phillies NL  
Willie McCovey 121 1969 San Francisco Giants NL  
Gary Sheffield 121 1997 Florida Marlins NL  
Barry Bonds 120 1995 San Francisco Giants NL 55
Cupid Childs 120 1893 Cleveland Spiders NL  
Joe Morgan 120 1974 Cincinnati Reds NL  
Mike Schmidt 120 1979 Philadelphia Phillies NL  
Dolph Camilli 119 1938 Brooklyn Dodgers NL 59
Elbie Fletcher 119 1940 Pittsburgh Pirates NL  
Brian Giles 119 2005 San Diego Padres NL  
Earl Torgeson 119 1950 Boston Braves NL  
J.D. Drew 118 2004 Atlanta Braves NL 63
Elbie Fletcher 118 1941 Pittsburgh Pirates NL  
Mel Ott 118 1938 New York Giants NL  
Arky Vaughan 118 1936 Pittsburgh Pirates NL  
Bobby Abreu 117 2005 Philadelphia Phillies NL 67
Barry Bonds 117 2000 San Francisco Giants NL  
Jeff Burroughs 117 1978 Atlanta Braves NL  
Cupid Childs 117 1892 Cleveland Spiders NL  
Darren Daulton 117 1993 Philadelphia Phillies NL  
Ralph Kiner 117 1949 Pittsburgh Pirates NL  
Joe Morgan 117 1977 Cincinnati Reds NL  
Richie Ashburn 116 1960 Chicago Cubs NL 74
Dolph Camilli 116 1936 Philadelphia Phillies NL  
Roger Connor 116 1892 Philadelphia Phillies NL  
Todd Helton 116 2007 Colorado Rockies NL  
Miller Huggins 116 1910 St. Louis Cardinals NL  
Pee Wee Reese 116 1949 Brooklyn Dodgers NL  
Sammy Sosa 116 2001 Chicago Cubs NL  
Barry Bonds 115 2006 San Francisco Giants NL 81
Joe Morgan 115 1972 Cincinnati Reds NL  
Dale Murphy 115 1987 Atlanta Braves NL  
Roy Thomas 115 1899 Philadelphia Phillies NL  
Roy Thomas 115 1900 Philadelphia Phillies NL  
Pat Burrell 114 2007 Philadelphia Phillies NL 86
Adam Dunn 114 2005 Cincinnati Reds NL  
Augie Galan 114 1945 Brooklyn Dodgers NL  
Brian Giles 114 2000 Pittsburgh Pirates NL  
Joe Morgan 114 1976 Cincinnati Reds NL  
Cap Anson 113 1890 Chicago Colts NL 91
Eddie Mathews 113 1954 Milwaukee Braves NL  
Mel Ott 113 1929 New York Giants NL  
Eddie Stanky 113 1949 Boston Braves NL  
Adam Dunn 112 2006 Cincinnati Reds NL 95
Ralph Kiner 112 1948 Pittsburgh Pirates NL  
Willie Mays 112 1971 San Francisco Giants NL  
John McGraw 112 1898 Baltimore Orioles NL  
Rusty Staub 112 1970 Montreal Expos NL  
Elbie Fletcher 111 1946 Pittsburgh Pirates NL 100
Todd Helton 111 2003 Colorado Rockies NL  
John Kruk 111 1993 Philadelphia Phillies NL  
Eddie Mathews 111 1960 Milwaukee Braves NL  
Joe Morgan 111 1973 Cincinnati Reds NL  
Mel Ott 111 1936 New York Giants NL  
Jim Thome 111 2003 Philadelphia Phillies NL  
Current Through End of 2007 Regular Season


Does a base on balls truly show respect in modern baseball? How about an intentional 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 American League single season record for base on balls was set in 1923 by Babe Ruth of the New York Yankees. The National League single season record for base on balls is on this page. Is either one the Career Leader for Bases on Balls?
Advertising | All-Star Game | Autographs | Awards | Ballparks | The Ballplayers | Baseball Cards | Baseball Families | Biographies | Book Shelf | College Baseball
Division Series | Downloads | Fabulous Feats | Famous Firsts | Feedback | Fun & Games | Grave Sites | Hall of Fame | Hitting Charts | Humor & Jokes | Interviews
Legendary Lists | Managers | Movie Time | News Feeds | Newsletter | Obituaries | Opening Day | Pitching Charts | Poetry & Song | Quotes | Record Books | Rules
Scoring | Search & Find | Statmaster | Stats 101 | Support | Team by Team | US Presidents | Umpires | World Series | Year by Year

Copyright © 2000-2008. 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 | Today in Baseball History.