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This article is about the batting leaders. For the pitching leaders, see List of Major League Baseball career bases on balls allowed leaders.
Barry Bonds holds the record for being walked the most times in MLB history.

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,[1] and further detail is given in 6.08(a).[2]

The following table lists the top 100 career base on balls leaders in Major League Baseball history. Since 2007, Barry Bonds[3][4] holds the record for most career walks drawn with 2,558. Rickey Henderson[5] (2,190), Babe Ruth[6] (2,062), and Ted Williams[7] (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.[8]

Key

Rank Rank among players in career walks. A blank field indicates a tie.
Player (2026 BB) Name (walks in 2026)
BB Career walks
* Elected to Hall of Fame
Bold Active player[a]

List

Carlos Santana, the active leader and 40th all-time in career bases on balls.
  • Stats updated as of April 16, 2026.
Rank Player (2026 BB) BB
1 Barry Bonds 2,558
2 Rickey Henderson* 2,190
3 Babe Ruth* 2,062
4 Ted Williams* 2,021
5 Joe Morgan* 1,865
6 Carl Yastrzemski* 1,845
7 Jim Thome* 1,747
8 Mickey Mantle* 1,733
9 Mel Ott* 1,708
10 Frank Thomas* 1,667
11 Eddie Yost 1,614
12 Darrell Evans 1,605
13 Stan Musial* 1,599
14 Pete Rose 1,566
15 Harmon Killebrew* 1,559
16 Chipper Jones* 1,512
17 Lou Gehrig* 1,508
18 Mike Schmidt* 1,507
19 Eddie Collins* 1,499
20 Bobby Abreu 1,476
21 Gary Sheffield 1,475
22 Willie Mays* 1,464
23 Jimmie Foxx* 1,452
24 Eddie Mathews* 1,444
25 Frank Robinson* 1,420
26 Wade Boggs* 1,412
27 Hank Aaron* 1,402
28 Jeff Bagwell* 1,401
29 Dwight Evans 1,391
30 Tris Speaker* 1,381
31 Reggie Jackson* 1,375
32 Albert Pujols 1,373
33 Jason Giambi 1,366
34 Joey Votto 1,365
35 Rafael Palmeiro 1,353
36 Willie McCovey* 1,345
37 Alex Rodriguez 1,338
38 Todd Helton* 1,335
39 Eddie Murray* 1,333
40 Carlos Santana (2) 1,332
41 Tim Raines* 1,330
42 Manny Ramirez 1,329
43 David Ortiz* 1,319
Tony Phillips 1,319
45 Adam Dunn 1,317
Mark McGwire 1,317
47 Ken Griffey Jr.* 1,312
48 Fred McGriff* 1,305
49 Luke Appling* 1,302
50 Edgar Martínez* 1,283
Rank Player (2026 BB) BB
51 Al Kaline* 1,277
52 John Olerud 1,275
53 Ken Singleton 1,263
54 Jack Clark 1,262
55 Miguel Cabrera 1,258
56 Rusty Staub 1,255
57 Ty Cobb* 1,249
58 Willie Randolph 1,243
59 Jimmy Wynn 1,224
60 Dave Winfield* 1,216
61 Pee Wee Reese* 1,210
62 Lance Berkman 1,201
63 Richie Ashburn* 1,198
64 Brian Downing 1,197
Lou Whitaker 1,197
66 Chili Davis 1,194
67 Billy Hamilton* 1,189
68 Charlie Gehringer* 1,186
69 Andrew McCutchen (2) 1,185
70 Brian Giles 1,183
71 Craig Biggio* 1,160
72 Donie Bush 1,158
73 Max Bishop 1,156
74 Luis Gonzalez 1,155
75 Toby Harrah 1,153
76 Harry Hooper* 1,136
77 Jimmy Sheckard 1,135
78 Brett Butler 1,129
Cal Ripken Jr.* 1,129
80 Bryce Harper (10) 1,115
81 Carlos Delgado 1,109
82 Ron Santo* 1,108
83 Jim Gilliam 1,102
84 George Brett* 1,096
85 Paul Molitor* 1,094
86 Lu Blue 1,092
Stan Hack 1,092
88 Paul Waner* 1,091
89 Paul Goldschmidt (3) 1,089
90 Graig Nettles 1,088
91 Bobby Grich 1,087
92 Mike Trout (18) 1,085
93 Carlos Beltrán* 1,084
94 Derek Jeter* 1,082
95 Freddie Freeman (5) 1,075
Mark Grace 1,075
Bob Johnson 1,075
Robin Ventura 1,075
99 Ozzie Smith* 1,072
100 Harlond Clift 1,070
Keith Hernandez 1,070

Notes

  1. ^ A player is considered inactive if he has announced his retirement or has not played for a full season.

References

  1. ^ rule 2.00
  2. ^ rule 6.00
  3. ^ “Barry Bonds Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More”. Baseball Reference. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  4. ^ Jensen, Don. “Barry Bonds Bio”. Society For American Baseball Research. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  5. ^ “Rickey Henderson Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More”. Baseball Reference. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  6. ^ “Babe Ruth Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More”. Baseball Reference. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  7. ^ “Ted Williams Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More”. Baseball Reference. Retrieved August 1, 2021.
  8. ^ “Carlos Santana Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More”. Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2024-08-22.

“Career Leaders & Records for Bases on Balls”. Baseball-Reference.com.