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 ...

, a

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 ca ...

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

runner Running is a method of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. Running is a type of gait characterized by an aerial phase in which all feet are above the ground (though there are exceptions). This is ...

on base advances. A runner who advances due to a passed ball is not credited with a stolen base unless he breaks for the base before the

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 draw ...

begins his delivery. A passed ball may be scored when a runner on first, second, or third base reaches the next base on a bobble or missed catch by the catcher, or when the batter-runner reaches first base on an

uncaught third strike In baseball and softball, an uncaught third strike (sometimes referred to as dropped third strike or non-caught third strike) occurs when the catcher fails to cleanly catch a pitch for the third strike of a plate appearance. In Major League Bas ...

(''see also'' Strikeout). The list of career leaders is dominated by players from the 19th century, when fielding equipment was very rudimentary;

baseball glove A baseball glove or mitt is a large glove (traditionally made of leather, today other options do exist) worn by baseball players of the defending team, which assists players in catching and fielding balls hit by a batter or thrown by a teammate ...

s only began to steadily gain acceptance in the 1880s, and were not uniformly worn until the mid-1890s, resulting in a much lower frequency of defensive miscues. Other

protective equipment Personal protective equipment (PPE) is protective clothing, helmets, goggles, or other garments or equipment designed to protect the wearer's body from injury or infection. The hazards addressed by protective equipment include physical, ele ...

for catchers was also gradually introduced; the first masks were developed in the late 1870s, with improvements in the 1890s, but shin guards were not introduced to the major leagues until 1907. The top 47 players in career passed balls all played primarily in the 19th century, with two-thirds playing their entire careers prior to 1894; only eight were active after 1900, and none were active after 1912.

Pop Snyder Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

, who retired in 1891 with a record 877 games as a catcher, is the all-time leader in passed balls with 763, nearly four times as many as any catcher who began their career after 1915. Silver Flint, who ended his career in 1889, is second with 639, and holds the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

record of 602.

Lance Parrish Lance Michael Parrish (born June 15, 1956), nicknamed "Big Wheel", is an American former baseball catcher who played Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1977 through 1995. Born in Pennsylvania, Parrish grew up in Southern California and excelled in ...

has the most passed balls (192) of any catcher after 1915, and holds the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

record of 158.

Key

List

Other Hall of Famers

Sources

Baseball-Reference.com
{{Baseball records Passed balls leaders Major League Baseball statistics