Catcher signals for intentional walk 2014

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

, an intentional base on balls, usually referred to as an intentional walk and denoted in

baseball scorekeeping Baseball scorekeeping is the practice of recording the details of a baseball game as it unfolds. Professional baseball leagues hire official scorers to keep an official record of each game (from which a box score can be generated), but many fans ...

by ''IBB'', is a

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

issued to a batter by a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or dr ...

with the intent of removing the batter's opportunity to swing at the pitched ball. A pitch that is intentionally thrown far outside the

strike zone In baseball, the strike zone is the volume of space through which a pitch must pass in order to be called a strike even if the batter does not swing. The strike zone is defined as the volume of space above home plate and between the batter's k ...

for this purpose is referred to as an ''intentional ball''. Beginning with the 2017 season,

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

has removed the requirement to throw four intentional balls. In MLB and in amateur baseball, such as high school and college games, and in most levels of

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Strategy

The purpose of an intentional walk is to bypass the current batter in order to face the following batter, whom the defensive team expects to be easier to put out. The risk to the fielding team issuing an intentional walk is that they turn the batter into a baserunner, which runs counter to the fielding team's objective of making outs. Situations that may call for an intentional walk include the following: *With one out and a runner on second or third base, converting a powerful batter to a runner on first base means that a subsequent ground ball may become a

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Lea ...

that ends the scoring threat. With a runner on second, this move lets fielders put the lead runner out using a

force play In baseball, a force is a situation when a baserunner is compelled (or ''forced'') to vacate their starting base ( time-of-pitch base) and try to advance to the next base. When a runner is forced to advance to a base, they are forced out if an o ...

rather than the more difficult tag play. *In the bottom of the ninth or an extra inning, having a runner on first base might not affect the outcome of the game at all. For example, if the game is tied and there is a runner on third base, the game is over if that runner scores. The benefit of an intentional walk is as set out above, and in this case, the risk is minimal. *Prior to the adoption of the

designated hitter The designated hitter (DH) is a baseball player who bats in place of another position player, most commonly the pitcher. The position is authorized by Major League Baseball Rule 5.11. It was adopted by the American League in 1973 and later by t ...

rule, if there were a runner on base, the defense might walk the number-8 hitter to instead pitch to the opposing pitcher. Pitchers tended to bat 9th and not bat well. This would give the offensive manager a dilemma: the manager could

pinch-hit In baseball, a pinch hitter is a substitute batter. Batters can be substituted at any time while the ball is dead (not in active play); the manager may use any player who has not yet entered the game as a substitute. Unlike basketball, Americ ...

for the pitcher to capitalize on the offensive threat, but at the cost of removing the pitcher from the game. The intentional walk disfavors a team that has one batter who is much better than the others, as it often lets opponents " take the bat out of his hands" and opt to pitch to the next batter.

Rules and scoring

An intentional base on balls — whether achieved through intentional balls or through declaration — has the effect of any other

base on balls 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 Sec ...

. The batter is entitled to take first base without being put out. Any runner already on first base is awarded second base, and so on; if the bases are loaded, an intentional base on balls results in the scoring of a run. Statistically, receiving an intentional base on balls does not count as an official

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

for a batter, but does count as a

plate appearance In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. Under Rule 5.04(c) of the Official Baseball Rules, a player completes a turn batting when he is put out or becomes a runn ...

and a

. An intentional ball is counted as a ball in the count of the pitcher's balls and strikes thrown.

Semi-intentional walk

Even in leagues where a team can walk a batter by declaration, the pitcher may be instructed to " pitch around" the batter. The manager defers the decision to intentionally walk the pitcher to see whether the batter swings at bad pitches. If the count goes to three balls, where the pitcher would have to deliver an attractive pitch to hit, the manager elects the intentional base on balls. A base on balls counts as an intentional base on balls if and only if the final pitch thrown in the plate appearance is an intentional ball. For example, on August 17, 2004, following an unintentional ball, called strike, and unintentional ball,

Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Gian ...

was walked with two intentional balls on his third plate appearance. This was scored an intentional walk.

Technique

In leagues where a pitcher must throw balls to issue an intentional walk, the catcher signals the intent to walk the batter by standing up in the catcher's box and extending one arm straight to the side away from the batter. The pitcher then throws the ball, usually over the opposite batter's box, and the catcher usually has to step to the side to catch the ball. This process is repeated four times, or fewer if the decision to issue an intentional walk is made when there are already one or more balls already on the

count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York ...

. Pitching an intentional ball, like a

point after touchdown The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

in football and a

free throw In basketball, free throws or foul shots are unopposed attempts to score points by shooting from behind the free-throw line (informally known as the foul line or the charity stripe), a line situated at the end of the restricted area. Free throws ...

in basketball, is designed not to be automatic. The rules on pitcher, catcher, and batter positioning at the time of the pitch still apply, and a pitcher could potentially

balk In baseball, a pitcher can commit a number of illegal motions or actions that constitute a balk. Most of these violations involve pitchers pretending to pitch when they have no intention of doing so. In games played under the Official Baseball R ...

or throw a

wild pitch In baseball, a wild pitch (WP) is charged against a pitcher when his pitch is too high, too short, or too wide of home plate for the catcher to control with ordinary effort, thereby allowing a baserunner, or the batter (on an uncaught third str ...

or a

passed ball In baseball, a catcher is charged with a passed ball when he fails to hold or control a legally pitched ball that, with ordinary effort, should have been maintained under his control, and, as a result of this loss of control, the batter or a ru ...

. The batter can swing at an intentional ball, but cannot leave the

batter's box A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers ...

to follow the pitch. Swinging is rarely to the batter's advantage unless it could yield a better result than the batter reaching first base. An example of such a situation would be if there was a runner on second or third base that would not be forced to advance on an intentional walk, but could advance or even score on a base hit,

sacrifice fly In baseball, a sacrifice fly (sometimes abbreviated to sac fly) is defined by Rule 9.08(d): "Score a sacrifice fly when, before two are out, the batter hits a ball in flight handled by an outfielder or an infielder running in the outfield in fair o ...

, or fielding

error An error (from the Latin ''error'', meaning "wandering") is an action which is inaccurate or incorrect. In some usages, an error is synonymous with a mistake. The etymology derives from the Latin term 'errare', meaning 'to stray'. In statistics ...

. In the Major Leagues, there were 12 cases from 1900 through 2011 of a batter making contact with an intentional ball. In 9 of these cases, the batter reached first base safely (six by hits, one by fielder's choice, and two by errors). The batter's team won in all nine of those instances. Most recently, on September 10, 2016, the

Tampa Bay Rays The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home v ...

opted to walk

Gary Sanchez Gary may refer to: *Gary (given name), a common masculine given name, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name *Gary, Indiana, the largest city named Gary Places ;Iran * Gary, Iran, Sistan and Baluchestan Province ;Uni ...

of the hosting

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one ...

. He drove an intentional ball to left field for a sacrifice fly.

History

Before the 1920 season, the catcher was allowed to set up anywhere within a roughly right triangle behind home plate, the back line being behind the plate. The catcher could stand at a corner of this triangle to receive the four wide pitches, too far away for the batter to have any chance at hitting the ball. As the intentional walk became more frequent following the end of the

dead ball era In baseball, the dead-ball era was the period from around 1900 to the emergence of Babe Ruth as a power hitter in 1919, when he hit a then-major league record 29 home runs; only three players since 1890 had even hit 20. This era was characterized ...

, batters such as

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

complained about the unfairness of it. To give the batter a better chance (and to potentially increase scoring and attendance), major league baseball team owners (at the annual rules meeting in Chicago on February 9, 1920) initially attempted to ban the intentional base on balls by instituting a penalty that an intentional ball be counted as a

(which would award each runner the next base). Veteran NL

umpire An umpire is an official in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The term derives from the Old French nonper, ''non'', "not" and ''per' ...

Hank O'Day argued successfully against the proposal and the owners succeeded only in mandating that "the catcher must stand with both feet within the lines of the catcher's box until the ball leaves the pitcher's hand," a rule still in force today. The newly-redrawn catcher's box reduced the back line from behind the plate, and with sides apart. Intentional walks have been an officially tracked statistic only since 1955. Prior to the 2017 season, as part of Major League Baseball's efforts to improve the pace of play, the rules were amended to allow a manager to order an intentional walk by simply signaling the umpire.

Records and notable occurrences

holds most of the records for intentional walks, including four in a nine-inning game (2004), 120 in a season (2004), 668 in his career—more than the next two players on the all-time list,

Albert Pujols José Alberto Pujols Alcántara () (); born January 16, 1980) is a Dominican-American former professional baseball first baseman, designated hitter and third baseman who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed "The Machine ...

(309) and

Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. One of the gre ...

(293), combined— and 21 in the

postseason The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

. Bonds, a prolific

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

hitter, was a common target for the intentional walk. In the first month of the 2004 baseball season, Bonds drew 43 walks, 22 of them intentional. He broke his previous record of 68 intentional walks, set in 2002, on July 10, 2004 in his last appearance before the All-Star break. There are claims that Mel Ott was also intentionally walked four times in a game against the Phillies in 1929 (see below).

Hideki Matsui , nicknamed " Godzilla", is a Japanese former professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played baseball in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB). He batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Mats ...

drew five consecutive intentional walks in a game in

Japanese High School Baseball Championship The of Japan, commonly known as , is an annual nationwide high school baseball tournament. It is the largest scale amateur sport event in Japan. The tournament, organized by the Japan High School Baseball Federation and ''Asahi Shimbun'', ta ...

Koshien Stadium , commonly referred to as simply Koshien Stadium, is a baseball park located near Kobe in Nishinomiya, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. The stadium was built to host the national high school baseball tournaments, and opened on August 1, 1924. It w ...

in 1992 and became a nationwide topic of conversation.

With the bases loaded

With the

bases loaded B backdoor breaking ball :A breaking pitch, usually a slider, curveball, or cut fastball that, due to its lateral motion, passes through a small part of the strike zone on the outside edge of the plate after seeming as if it would miss the p ...

, an intentional base on balls forces in a run. This might be advisable if a team with a lead of two to four runs elects to concede one run of its lead so as not to have to pitch to a batter who might hit a home run to tie the game or take the lead. The following table shows each batter who has gotten this treatment in the history of

. Cases before 1955 are researched from newspaper reports, which may be subjective. The Mel Ott case, which is not included in the ''Baseball Almanac'' list, was not a result of in-game strategy. On October 5, 1929, in the first game of a Giants-Phillies doubleheader, Chuck Klein took the lead for the season home run titl
(box score)
The Phillies' manager told the pitcher to pitch around Ott so he wouldn't challenge Klein for the title. In the top of the ninth inning of the second game, the bases were full and the Giants were already well ahead of the Phillies. "The sign came from the bench to walk Ott." When the count got to 3-0, Ott swung at two wide ones but then accepted ball four and a run was forced in. A disputed anecdote says that, in 1926, the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

elected to walk Babe Ruth with the bases loaded. This angered Ruth; he swung anyway, and the result of the time at bat was a

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is den ...

. This may refer to the game o
July 10
in which Cleveland pitcher

Joe Shaute Joseph Benjamin Shaute (August 1, 1899 in Peckville, Pennsylvania – February 21, 1970 in Scranton, Pennsylvania) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He pitched from 1922 to 1934, and during his 13-year career, he played primarily for the Cl ...

purposely walked Ruth three times. Ruth was also called out once for stepping out of the batter's box. Contemporary newspaper accounts give no indication that Ruth was walked with the bases full in that game.

Slang

The intentional base on balls is often referred to as a " four-fingered salute." This reference stems from the manager's holding up four fingers to signal an intentional walk to the

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the cat ...

. It is a "salute" to the batter that the manager admits to wanting to pitch to someone else instead.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Intentional Base On Balls Batting statistics Pitching statistics Baseball pitching es:Base por bolas#Base por bolas intencional pt:Base por bolas#Base por bolas intencional