Single Season Leaders for Bases on Balls / Walks Allowed

Other than giving up the long ball, the quickest way for a manager to pull their starting pitcher from the mound is giving up the base on balls a few too many times. The walk has decided not a few games, not a couple hundred games, but literally thousands of games over the course of Major League history. Listed below are the pitchers who gave up the most walks during a single season on the mound and a bold faced entry denotes that the player was active during the previous Major League season.
"The starting times are different all over. Twilight games, night games, day games, night double-headers, day double-headers, it ruins your diet." - Hall of Fame Pitcher Bob Feller (#14 Ranked Single Season Base on Balls Leader)
Base on Balls
Single Season Leaders

'Top 100'
Amos Rusie 289 1890 New York Giants NL 1
Mark Baldwin 274 1889 Columbus Colts AA 2
Amos Rusie 267 1892 New York Giants NL 3
Amos Rusie 262 1891 New York Giants NL 4
Mark Baldwin 249 1890 Chicago Pirates PL 5
Jack Stivetts 232 1891 St. Louis Browns AA 6
Mark Baldwin 227 1891 Pittsburgh Pirates NL 7
Phil Knell 226 1891 Columbus Colts AA 8
Bob Barr 219 1890 Rochester Rochesters AA 9
Amos Rusie 218 1893 New York Giants NL 10
Cy Seymour 213 1898 New York Giants NL 11
Gus Weyhing 212 1889 Philadelphia Athletics AA 12
Ed Crane 210 1890 New York Giants PL 13
Bob Feller 208 1938 Cleveland Indians AL 14
Toad Ramsey 207 1886 Louisville Colonels AA 15
Elton Chamberlain 206 1891 Philadelphia Athletics AA 16
Mike Morrison 205 1887 Cleveland Blues AA 17
Henry Gruber 204 1890 Cleveland Infants PL 18
Nolan Ryan 204 1977 California Angels AL  
John Clarkson 203 1889 Boston Beaneaters NL 20
Ed Crane 203 1891 Cincinnati Reds NL  
Cincinnati Porkers AA
Nolan Ryan 202 1974 California Angels AL 22
Bert Cunningham 201 1890 Buffalo Bisons PL 23
Philadelphia Quakers PL
Amos Rusie 200 1894 New York Giants NL 24
Bill Hutchison 199 1890 Chicago Colts NL 25
Mark Baldwin 194 1892 Pittsburgh Pirates NL 26
Bob Feller 194 1941 Cleveland Indians AL  
Bobo Newsom 192 1938 St. Louis Browns AL 28
Ted Breitenstein 191 1894 St. Louis Browns NL 29
Bill Hutchison 190 1892 Chicago Colts NL 30
Ed Crane 189 1892 New York Giants NL 31
Tony Mullane 189 1893 Baltimore Orioles NL  
Cincinnati Reds NL
Kid Gleason 187 1893 St. Louis Browns NL 33
Tony Mullane 187 1891 Cincinnati Reds NL  
Ed Beatin 186 1890 Cleveland Spiders NL 35
Sam Jones 185 1955 Chicago Cubs NL 36
Tom Vickery 184 1890 Philadelphia Phillies NL 37
Nolan Ryan 183 1976 California Angels AL 38
Frank Killen 182 1892 Washington Senators NL 39
Matt Kilroy 182 1886 Baltimore Orioles AA  
Bob Harmon 181 1911 St. Louis Cardinals NL 41
Willie McGill 181 1893 Chicago Colts NL  
Bob Turley 181 1954 Baltimore Orioles AL  
Tommy Byrne 179 1949 New York Yankees AL 44
Jack Stivetts 179 1890 St. Louis Browns AA  
Gus Weyhing 179 1890 Brooklyn Wonders PL  
Ted Breitenstein 178 1895 St. Louis Browns NL 47
Bill Hutchison 178 1891 Chicago Colts NL  
Bob Turley 177 1955 New York Yankees AL 49
George Hemming 176 1893 Louisville Colonels NL 50
Phenomenal Smith 176 1887 Baltimore Orioles AA  
Silver King 174 1892 New York Giants NL 52
Bump Hadley 171 1932 Chicago White Sox AL 53
St. Louis Browns AL
Jouett Meekin 171 1894 New York Giants NL  
Jack Stivetts 171 1892 Boston Beaneaters NL  
Elton Chamberlain 170 1892 Cincinnati Reds NL 56
Cy Seymour 170 1899 New York Giants NL  
Ed Stein 170 1894 Brooklyn Bridegrooms NL  
Brickyard Kennedy 168 1893 Brooklyn Bridegrooms NL 59
Willie McGill 168 1891 Cincinnati Porkers AA  
St. Louis Browns AA
Elmer Myers 168 1916 Philadelphia Athletics AL  
Gus Weyhing 168 1892 Philadelphia Phillies NL  
Bill Daley 167 1890 Boston Red Stockings PL 63
Kid Gleason 167 1890 Philadelphia Phillies NL  
Bobo Newsom 167 1937 Boston Red Sox AL  
Washington Senators AL
Darby O'Brien 167 1889 Cleveland Spiders NL  
Toad Ramsey 167 1887 Louisville Colonels AA  
Gus Weyhing 167 1887 Philadelphia Athletics AA  
Chick Fraser 166 1896 Louisville Colonels NL 69
Phil Knell 166 1890 Philadelphia Quakers PL  
Sadie McMahon 166 1890 Baltimore Orioles AA  
Philadelphia Athletics AA
Tony Mullane 166 1886 Cincinnati Red Stockings AA  
Dan Casey 165 1890 Syracuse Stars AA 73
Elton Chamberlain 165 1889 St. Louis Browns AA  
Kid Gleason 165 1891 Philadelphia Phillies NL  
Weldon Wyckoff 165 1915 Philadelphia Athletics AL  
Earl Moore 164 1911 Philadelphia Phillies NL 77
Phil Niekro 164 1977 Atlanta Braves NL  
Cy Seymour 164 1897 New York Giants NL  
George Haddock 163 1892 Brooklyn Bridegrooms NL 80
Silver King 163 1890 Chicago Pirates PL  
Hank O'Day 163 1890 New York Giants PL  
Mickey Welch 163 1886 New York Giants NL  
Nolan Ryan 162 1973 California Angels AL 84
Johnny Vander Meer 162 1943 Cincinnati Reds NL  
Kid Carsey 161 1891 Washington Senators AA 86
John Sowders 161 1890 Brooklyn Wonders PL  
Gus Weyhing 161 1891 Philadelphia Athletics AA  
Tommy Byrne 160 1950 New York Yankees AL 89
George Hemming 159 1894 Baltimore Orioles NL 90
Louisville Colonels NL
Marty O'Toole 159 1912 Pittsburgh Pirates NL  
Amos Rusie 159 1895 New York Giants NL  
Joe Coleman 158 1974 Detroit Tigers AL 93
Bert Cunningham 157 1888 Baltimore Orioles AA 94
Pink Hawley 157 1896 Pittsburgh Pirates NL  
Matt Kilroy 157 1887 Baltimore Orioles AA  
Grover Lowdermilk 157 1915 Detroit Tigers AL  
St. Louis Browns AL
Nolan Ryan 157 1972 California Angels AL  
Ted Breitenstein 156 1893 St. Louis Browns NL 99
Ed Doheny 156 1899 New York Giants NL 100
Duke Esper 156 1893 Washington Senators NL  
Bill Hutchison 156 1893 Chicago Colts NL  
Sadie McMahon 156 1893 Baltimore Orioles NL  
Current Through 2008 Season


The most recent "active" pitchers to break into the top one-hundred (100) single season leaders for bases on balls were Phil Niekro and Nolan Ryan, who both made the chart last during the 1977 season.

Did you know that Nolan Ryan first appears on this top one-hundred (100) single season leaders for bases on balls chart tied for eighteenth with Henry Gruber, but still remains the all-time record holder for career base on balls allowed?

Do you believe the record of two-hundred eighty-nine (289) walks in a season will ever be broken? Will the modern Major League manager ever allow it to happen? Is Amos Rusie's record a lock — forever? Share your opinion on Baseball Fever.
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