By John Schwartz

    The intentional base on balls was a part of professional baseball long before it became a part of baseball's official statistics. The Sporting News's Baseball Record Book lists Napoleon Lajoie of the Philadelphia Athletics of the American League as the first player to receive an intentional walk with the bases full, in the ninth inning of a game played on May 23, 1901. The same source also credits Mel Ott of the New York Giants with receiving 5 intentional passes in the game of October 5, 1929, which is a major league record. Unofficial research done by SABR member John Tattersall credits Babe Ruth with 80 IBB in 1923. Unfortunately, official records of IBB were not compiled by the league statisticians until 1955, and this article will discuss research findings from an examination of IBB statistics over the past 25 seasons.

    Three tables accompany this article. The first lists the season leaders in IBB in the American and National Leagues, 1955-79, plus the total number of IBB each year. The second lists the top 50 batters based on IBB received. These batters are also ranked by the ratio of IBB to total plate appearances. The third table is a listing of the 50 pitchers who have faced the most batsmen since 1955, ranked according to the frequency with which they yielded IBB.

    There have been 27,543 intentional bases on balls in the major leagues, 1955-1979. This works out to an average of one for every 116 plate appearances. There is quite a marked difference between the two leagues, however. In every season, the National League has had more IBB than the American League. This gap had widened markedly since the introduction of the Designated Hitter in the AL in 1973. On the average, one out of every 99 plate appearances in the NL is an IBB, while only 1 out of every 140 AL batsmen is purposely passed. Because of the fact that in four seasons (1961, 1977-79) the AL has operated with two more teams than the NL, the AL has had 50.7%, and the NL 49.3%, of all major league plate appearances over the last 25 seasons. In addition, the AL has had 52.1%, and the NL 47.9%, of major league bases on balls during this period. However, the AL has only had 42.0%, and the NL 58.0%, of all intentional walks. One out of every 12.3 AL BB is intentional, but one out of every 8.2 NL BB is, which shows quite a dramatic contrast between the leagues in the incidence of intentional walks.

    Both Frank Robinson, while playing with Cincinnati, and Willie McCovey of San Francisco, have led the major leagues four times in IBB. Robinson's span was consecutive, from 1961 to 1964, although he was tied with Bill Mazeroski, the only NL second baseman to appear among the league leaders, in 1962.

    In the American League, three players, Ted Williams of Boston and Harmon Killebrew and Rod Carew of Minnesota each led the league for three seasons. Williams' seasons were consecutive, 1955-57; it is likely that his string might have been longer if IBB had been recorded before 1955. Killebrew is the only third baseman to lead either league, in 1966, and tied with Reggie Jackson in 1969; he also led while playing first base in 1967. Carew led while playing first in 1977-78, and is the only second baseman to lead the AL, in 1975.

    All of the 16 original franchises have had at least one player lead the league in IBB except Cleveland. The Angels, Pilots-Brewers, Mariners, and Blue Jays, all expansion teams, have never had a league leader. In the NL, the expansion Mets, Houston, and Montreal have never had a league leader. Dave Winfield of San Diego became the first player from a National League expansion team to lead the league, with 24 in 1979.

    The highest season total of intentional walks is 45, by Willie McCovey in 1969. He had quite a margin over runner-up Hank Aaron, who had 19, and AL co-leaders Killebrew and Jackson, who had 20. McCovey also had 40 IBB in 1970. These are the only instances of any player receiving twoscore or more IBB in a season. Ted Williams' 33 in 1957 is the highest AL season total. Williams had his 39th birthday during that season, in which he won his second last batting crown. No other player in either league has achieved a season total of 30 or more IBB.

    McCovey had 5 seasons, including four in a row (1968-71, and 1973), of 20 or more IBB, a major league record. Three American Leaguers have been able to reach the 20 plateau twice: Harmon Killebrew turned the trick in consecutive seasons, 1969-70, as did Frank Howard, 1970-71; Reggie Jackson did it in 1969 and 1974. Jackson's 20 in 1974 marks the highest total of IBB received while the DH was in effect.

    Hank Aaron had 16 seasons during his long career in which he received 10 or more IBB, the best record of any major leaguer. Tony Oliva accomplished this nine times, for the AL record. Willie Stargell had a string of ten seasons with 10 or more IBB from 1965 to 1974, the major league mark, and Boog Powell had seven such seasons from 1968 to 1974, the best such streak in the AL.

    No player has ever received more than one intentional pass in an inning. Aside from Ott's l929game, no player has received more than three IBB in a nine-inning game in either major league. Roger Maris received four IBB in a night game on May 22, 1962, that went 12 innings. Maris only received 42 IBB in his entire career. Interestingly enough, he received none in 1961, although he did walk 94 times. This probably can be explained by the awesome Yankee lineup that season, particularly by the fact that switch hitter Mickey Mantle followed Mans in the batting order. It is also possible that, as Maris's assault on the home run record began to attract publicity, no pitcher wanted to be criticized for deliberately depriving him of a chance to hit a homer.

    McCovey and Williams hold the league records for left-handed batters for IBB received in a season. Frank Howard, with 29 in 1970, and Adolfo Phillips, with the same total in 1967, hold the AL and NL records for most IBB in a season by right-handed batters. Phillips' total is rather remarkable. He was not a good hitter for average or power, and he played on a team with Billy Williams, Ernie Banks, and Ron Santo. He also managed 20 for the Cubs in 1968. Ted Simmons, with 25 in 1977, and Mickey Mantle, with 23 in 1957, have achieved the highest totals in the NL and AL respectively for switch hitters. The best totals achieved by rookies are 14 by Willie Montanez of the 1971 Phillies, and 13 for George Scott of the 1966 Red Sox.

    Cesar Tovar had 726 plate appearances in 1967, including 46 walks, without receiving any IBB. His teammates included Killebrew, Carew, Oliva, and Bob Allison. Larry Bowa had 23 walks among his 720 plate appearances in 1974, but none was intentional. These are the league records for most plate appearances with no IBB in a season for the AL and NL respectively.

    As might be expected from the distribution of IBB between the leagues, most of the leading batters in IBB are primarily identified with the National League. The first seven players on the list are also the first seven Black ball players to hit 400 home runs. Hank Aaron, the all-time home run leader, is also the IBB leader. It is not surprising that so many of the top players in IBB are also power hitters. The top AL players, Carl Yastrzemski, Harmon Killebrew, and Boog Powell, are also known for their power.

    The best lifetime totals for right-handed batters have been achieved by Aaron, whose 293 include the National League record of 289, and Killebrew, who achieved his 160 in the AL. The best left-handed batters are McCovey, who achieved 257 of his 258 in the NL, and Yastrzemski, who holds the AL record of 169. Ted Simmons, who has the most IBB of any player with fewer than 200 homers, has also recorded more IBB than any other switch hitter. Mantle currently holds the AL record for switch hitters with 127. The career totals of Aaron, Banks, Mays, Kaline, Musial, Mantle, Mathews, Snider, Del Crandall, and Ted Williams do not include pre-1955 performances. Leo Cardenas, with 122 IBB and 118 HR, has the most IBB of any player with more IBB than HR. Rod Carew, with 106 IBB and 77 HR through 1979, should eventually exceed this level. Carew, of course, currently has the best lifetime batting percentage since Ted

Williams.

     On the right of the table is the frequency of plate appearances to intentional walks, and the ranks of the players listed. Only four American Leaguers rank in the top 20: Ted Williams, who has the best batting and slugging averages of the last 40 years, and the best on-base average of all-time; and Tony Oliva, Frank Howard, and Boog Powell among the second ten. Stan Musial was the most feared batter in the NL, based on how frequently he was purposely passed. Ted Simmons has the best rate among switch hitters, and Del Crandall, among right-handed batters. None of the top eight was a base stealing threat. Aaron has the highest frequency of any player with 200 or more SB. The top 25 players include eight catchers: Simmons, Crandall, Edwards, Haller, Roseboro, McCarver, Sanguillen, and Bench. Catchers are usually not frequent base stealing threats, and have less time to relax between innings if they should be left on base.

     Since 1955, there have been ten IBB received by players who were primarily pitchers, although some were received when these men pinch hit. Only two of these occurred in the NL; Juan Pizarro (1958), and Don Newcombe (1959). In the AL, Gary Peters received three (1963, 1967, 1968), Mickey McDermott, two, both in 1957, and Tommy Byrne, (1956), Dick Donovan (1956), and Jim Kaat (1970), one each.

     When it comes to not receiving IBB, the record is probably held by pitcher Bob Gibson, who had 1489 plate appearances with no IBB. Gibson was a good all-around athlete, and an aggressive baserunner (13 SB in 23 attempts), not a slow-footed hurler who could be counted on to clutter up the basepaths. Phil Niekro, who has 1391 plate appearances, including 134 in 1979, has never received an IBB, and may pass Gibson.

     Among regulars, Glenn Beckert, who played with Adolfo Phillips, Billy Williams, Banks, and Santo, received only 3 IBB in his entire career, the same total as pitcher Peters. Beckert received an IBB in 1967, 1972, and 1973. He had 5572 plate appearances, a 1/1857 ratio. Johnny Temple, a second baseman, the same as Beckert, had 5 IBB in 5239 plate appearances since 1955 a 1/1048 ratio. Both men had lifetime batting averages over .280. By contrast, Dal Maxvill, a .217 hitter who kept his job with his glove, had 49 IBB. For players with very long careers we might expect American Leaguers with little power and lots of speed to have the fewest IBB. Bert Campaneris has only 15 IBB in 9149 plate appearances, a 1/610 ratio, and Luis Aparicio had 22 in 11229 p.a., a 1/5 10 ratio. Aparicio hit 83 homers; Campaneris has hit 76.

PITCHING LEADERS

    A glance at the pitchers who have been most active since 1955 finds American League pitchers, as would be expected, giving up IBB far less frequently than their National counterparts. The first ten positions on the BFP/IBB table are held by pitchers who worked entirely or primarily in the AL. Jim Palmer, Luis Tiant, and Nolan Ryan have the best ratios among the righthanders, and Al Downing, Whitey Ford, and Vida Blue lead the lefties. Larry Dierker, Phil Niekro, and Bob Buhi have the best records of NL righties, and Sandy Koufax,

Warren Spahn, and Ken Holtzman lead the NL lefties.

    It is difficult to say how significant these figures are. Let us compare Jim Palmer and Tom Seaver, the best pitchers in their leagues during the 197 Os. Seaver has given up 2½ times as many IBB as Palmer, yet he faces only 4.00 batters each inning; Palmer faces 4.05. The extra IBB do not seem to have been very damaging.

    Relievers tend to pile up high totals of IBB yielded, but they often are brought into situations not of their own making, so their totals of IBB allowed are not very meaningful. The table lists pitchers who did most of their work as starters.

CONCLUSIONS

    Since 1955, there have been 29 all-star games, including two each in the years 1959-62. These games range the best talent of each major league against the other. Of those games, the NL has won 23, the AL, 5, and I ended in a tie. The NL has come out on top 82% of the time. Perhaps one reason that the IBB occurs more frequently in the NL is that the NL has had better hitters, players pitchers would be more inclined to avoid in possible intentional-walk situations. The DH, which takes the pitcher, the "automatic out," out of the lineup, has resulted in a further reduction of IBB in the AL, but the junior circuit has never employed the IBB at the level of the National

League.

    RATIOS OF INTENTIONAL BASES ON BALLS

     TO BATSMEN FACING PITCHERS, 1955-79,

(For the 50 Pitchers Recording the Most BFP Since 1955)

Rank & Pitcher

A if active in 1979

 1. Jim Palmer

 2. AlDowning

 3. Luis Tiant

 4. Nolan Ryan

 5. Bert Blyleven

 6. Catfish Hunter

 7. Whitey Ford

 8. Vida Blue

9.  Camilo Pascual

10. Mickey Lolich

11. Larry Dierker

12. Jim Kaat

13. Phil Niekro

14. Dave McNally

15. Sandy Koufax

16. Warren Spahn

17. Bob Buhl

18. Stan Bahnsen

19. Mike Cuellar

20. Don Sutton

21. Rick Wise

22. Mudcat Grant

23.  Juan Marichal

24.  Ken Holtzman

25.  Tommy John

26.  Joe Coleman

27.  Lew Burdette

28.  Mike Torrez

29.  Tom Seaver

30.  Robin Roberts

31.  Ferguson Jenkins

32. Jim Bunning

33.  Wilbur Wood

34.  Claude Osteen

35.  Milt Pappas

36.  Jim Lonborg

37.  Jim Perry

38.  Mel Stottlemyre

39.  Steve Canton

40.  Sam McDowell

41.  Bob Gibson

42.  Chris Short

43.  Pedro Ramos

44.  Ray Sadecki

45.  Larry Jackson

46.  Gaylord Perry

47.  Jerry Koosman

48.  Don Drysdale

 49. Bob Friend

 50. Mike McCormick

BATTERS RECEIVING THE MOST INTENTIONAL

BASES ON BALLS, 1955-1979

Rank, Player, A if active in 1979, Bats, Plate Appearances (*since

1955), Intentional Bases on Balls, PA/IBB  and Rank based on

PA/IBB

 

 

1.   Hank Aaron

 2.   Willie McCovey

 3.   Frank Robinson

 4.   Willie Stargell

 5.   Ernie Banks

 6.   Willie Mays

 7.   Billy Williams

 8.   Rusty Staub

 9.   Carl Yastrzemski

10.   Roberto Clemente

11.   Harmon Killebrew

12.   Orlando Cepeda

13.   Boog Powell

14½   Ted Simmons

14½   Dick Allen

16.   Frank Howard

17.   Pete Rose

18½   Tony Oliva

18½   AlKaline

20.   Tony Perez

21.   Ron Fairly

23.   Stan Musial

23.   Johnny Bench

23.   Joe Torre

25.   Mickey Mantle

26.   Lou Brock

27.   Leo Cardenas

28.   Brooks Robinson

29.   Tim McCarver

30.   Johnny Edwards

31.   NormCash

32½  Johnny Roseboro

32½  BillMazeroski

34.   Eddie Mathews

35.   Rod Carew

36.   Duke Snider

37.   Reggie Smith

38.   Reggie Jackson

39.   Ken Boyer

40.   Tom Haller

41.   Del Crandall

42½   Manny Sanguilen

42½ Ron Santo

44. Willie Horton

45. Bobby Murcer

46. Ed Kranepool

47. Ted Williams

48. George Scott

 49. Jimmy Wynn