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List of Major League Baseball career bases on balls leaders

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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]

Barry Bonds holds the record for being walked the most times in MLB history.

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

More information *, Bold ...
RankRank among players in career walks. A blank field indicates a tie.
Player (2026 BB)Name (walks in 2026)
BBCareer walks
* Elected to Hall of Fame
Bold Active player[a]
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List

Carlos Santana, the active leader and 40th all-time in career bases on balls.
  • Stats updated as of September 9, 2026.
More information Rank, Player (2026 BB) ...
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
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More information Rank, Player (2026 BB) ...
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 Bryce Harper (102) 1,207
63 Lance Berkman 1,201
64 Richie Ashburn* 1,198
65 Brian Downing 1,197
Lou Whitaker 1,197
67 Chili Davis 1,194
68 Andrew McCutchen (9) 1,192
69 Billy Hamilton* 1,189
70 Charlie Gehringer* 1,186
71 Brian Giles 1,183
72 Craig Biggio* 1,160
73 Donie Bush 1,158
74 Mike Trout (90) 1,157
75 Max Bishop 1,156
76 Luis Gonzalez 1,155
77 Toby Harrah 1,153
78 Harry Hooper* 1,136
79 Freddie Freeman (65) 1,135
Jimmy Sheckard 1,135
81 Brett Butler 1,129
Cal Ripken Jr.* 1,129
83 Paul Goldschmidt (28) 1,114
84 Carlos Delgado 1,109
85 Ron Santo* 1,108
86 Jim Gilliam 1,102
87 George Brett* 1,096
88 Paul Molitor* 1,094
89 Lu Blue 1,092
Stan Hack 1,092
91 Paul Waner* 1,091
92 Graig Nettles 1,088
93 Bobby Grich 1,087
94 Carlos Beltrán* 1,084
95 Derek Jeter* 1,082
96 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
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Notes

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

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