MLB Players

Barry Bonds Intentional Walks By Year

By Roshan Khatiwada / 19 July 2023 05:29 AM

Bonds holds the record for the most home runs in a season and career in the major league history
Source : instagram

Barry Bonds intentional walks by year from 1986 to 2007 were 688. The player holds the record for the most intentional walks in Major League history.

An intentional walk, also known as IBB, occurs when the fielding team intentionally walks a batter, advancing the batter from home plate to first base. It counts as a walk for the batter and a walk allowed for the pitcher.

Before the 2017 season, pitchers had to throw four balls outside the strike zone to walk a batter intentionally. However, since the start of the 2017 campaign, teams can walk the batters by signalling the home plate umpire through the manager.

The left fielder played for twenty-two seasons in MLB; seven for the Pirates and the rest for the Giants. The left fielder won numerous accolades during his long career, including seven MVPs, eight Gold Gloves, and twelve Silver Sluggers.

Barry Bonds Walks By Year

Barry Bonds career walks of 2,558 are the most by any player in the history of Major League Baseball. Out of those, 688 were intentional.

On his debut season in the league, the left fielder recorded sixty-five bases on balls, of which two were intentional. In his first seven seasons where he played for the Pirates, Bonds was intentionally walked 113 times by the defending team.

During that time, he walked 611 times in 1,010 games. In 1993, the former player signed a free-agent contract with the Giants worth $43.75 million over six years, a record during that time.

Barry played for fifteen seasons for the Giants, during which he was walked by the pitcher intentionally for a record 575 times. The player leads the category by more than double the player in second place.

Bonds recorded his career best 120 intentional walks during the 2004 MLB campaign
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Albert Pujols, who is in the second position, has 316 IBBs. The active player closest to the record is Joey Votto, who is more than five hundred walks behind at 147 as of 18 July 2023.

Out of his twenty-two seasons in MLB, the player had double-digit IBBs in eighteen, including ten seasons with thirty or thirty-plus bases on balls. During his final campaign in 2007, the left fielder led both the American League and National League in walks and intentional base on balls.

The fourteen-time All-Star set multiple records during his playing time. Some of those records were broken, whereas many are still unbroken in the major league, such as the most career bases on balls, most career home runs, and most homers in a single campaign.

Barry is among the greatest players to ever step inside the diamond. He finished his career with 762 home runs, 514 stolen bases, 1,996 RBIs, and 2,935 hits at an average of .298.

Here is a list of year-by-year intentional bases on balls by Barry from 1986 to 2007:

YearNumber of Intentional Walks
19862
19873
198814
198922
199015
199125
199232
199343
199418
199522
199630
199734
199829
19999
200022
200135
200268
200361
2004120
20053
200638
200743

2001 Barry Bonds Intentional Walks

Barry Bonds intentional walks 2001 were thirty-five. He finished the season in second position, two IBBs behind the season leader Sammy Sosa.

The 2001 MLB campaign was one of the best in the illustrious career of the player. The left fielder was in the form of his life in terms of hitting.

During that year, the left fielder broke the record for the most homers in a season by smashing seventy-three dingers. Because of his sublime form, many opposing pitchers preferred to give him a walk instead of facing him and risking a big hit.

He had a walk rate of 26.7 percent, which means he reached the base on a walk attempt more than a quarter of the time he entered the diamond. The number of intentional bases on balls increased even more in the following years for the batter.

Brian McKnight (Left), London Breed (Middle), and Barry Bonds (Right) during the 2022 opening day of MLB
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From 2001 to 2004, the left-fielder was awarded a base by the opposition 284 times, twenty-four more than Willie McCovey, the player with the fifth-highest career IBBs. The 2001 campaign was filled with accolades and records for Barry.

Some of those records include the most home runs before the All-Star break, the most bases on balls in a campaign, and the highest slugging percentage. He finished the year with 73 dingers, 32 doubles, 2 triples, 129 runs, 137 RBIs, 13 stolen bases, and 177 bases on balls at a batting average of .328.

Barry Bonds intentional walks 2002 were almost double as of the previous year. He finished the year with 198 bases on balls and 68 IBBs, both an MLB record at the time.

The 2002 campaign saw Barry break the previous record for the most IBBs in the major league. The record was held by Willie McCovey, who had 45 in 1969.

How Many Walks Did Barry Bonds Have In 2004?

Barry Bonds intentional walks 2004 are 232, the most by any player in a major league season. He also had 120 intentional bases on balls, another MLB record.

The Giants player had an incredible campaign in 2004, leading the league in batting average, slugging percentage, runs, home runs, and on-base percentage. One more record he achieved that year is the most number of walks and intentional base on balls in a single season.

The opposition teams were so worried about his hitting prowess that they awarded Bonds a free base advancement on purpose almost once per game. He was intentionally walked four times in a single game on May 1, 2004, against the Florida Marlins.

The left fielder played 147 regular-season games in 2004 and recorded at least one IBB sixty-three times. That season he was intentionally walked by the opposition twice in nineteen matches and thrice in six games.

Bonds with his grandson Enzo enjoying at Disneyland
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Barry not only led the category among the players but also recorded more IBBs than all major league teams except for the Giants. The MLB team from California led the league with 124 intentional bases on balls, just four more than the Giants batter.

Further, he scored 129 runs, 27 doubles, and three doubles at 373 at-bats, slashing at .362/.609/.812. The left fielder also broke the career record for most bases on balls previously set by Rickey Henderson during the 2004 campaign when he recorded his 2190th and 2191st career walks on July 4.

Barry Bonds Most Walks In A Season

Barry Bond intentional walk home run derby at the 2004 All-Star break was funny. The same season he smashed the record for most walks in a season with 232.

The player holds the top three spots for the most bases on balls in a season in MLB. He first set the record during the 2001 MLB campaign when he recorded 177 bases on balls, surpassing the 170 mark set by Babe Ruth in 1923.

Bonds broke the 177 mark the next year and set a new record with 198 bases on balls during the 2002 Major League Baseball campaign. The left-fielder again surpassed the mark set by himself during the 2004 season when he recorded 232 walks.

It was the same season he broke the record for the most intentional bases on balls. He also holds the top three spots in most intentional bases on balls in a season.

Barry Bonds supporting San Francisco 49ers at National Football League
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The player first broke the record during the 2002 campaign when he was intentionally walked 68 times, breaking a thirty-three-year record held by Willie McCovey. The player was walked 61 times by the opposing team the following year.

During the 2004 campaign, Barry was walked 120 times, nearly double the number from the previous campaign, setting a new MLB record. The opposition feared him so much that, in some instances, they would award a free advancement with the bases loaded.

Barry Bonds intentional walks bases loaded occurred on May 28, 1998, against the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Dbacks were leading the game 8-6 at the bottom of the ninth inning with two outs when Barry entered the diamond.

Instead of pitching to Bonds, the Dbacks preferred to award him a base, allowing the Giants to score a run with the bases loaded. The strategy worked well for the Dbacks as they were able to strike out the next batter and win the game 8-7.

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