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An Intentional base on balls (denoted by IBB), often called an intentional walk, is a walk that was issued with no intent of ever allowing a hit. Image File history File links Merge-arrows. ... Rashad Eldridge of the Oklahoma Redhawks walks to first base after drawing a base on balls. ... Rashad Eldridge of the Oklahoma Redhawks walks to first base after drawing a base on balls. ...

Since most managers call for the intentional walk by holding up four fingers, representing four intentional balls, some announcers and journalists call the intentional walk the four-finger salute.

When a batter receives an intentional base on balls, he is entitled to walk to first base. Receiving an intentional base on balls does not count as an official at bat for a batter but does count as a plate appearance, and a base on balls. A ball that is thrown intentionally for the purpose of giving up an intentional base on balls is called an intentional ball. A base on balls counts as an intentional base on balls if and only if the final pitch thrown in the at bat is an intentional ball, even if not all the pitches are intentional balls. Barry Bonds batting Photo:Agência Brasil In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for ones team. ... In baseball statistics, an at bat (AB) is used to calculate other data such as batting average. ... In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. ... Rashad Eldridge of the Oklahoma Redhawks walks to first base after drawing a base on balls. ...

When pitching an intentional ball, the pitcher will generally throw to an area several feet outside the plate, where it would be physically impossible for the batter to hit the ball. The batter can choose to swing at an intentional ball, although this rarely occurs since it is rarely to the batter's advantage. A swing at an intentional ball resulting in a hit occurred in baseball during a June 22, 2006 game between the Florida Marlins and the Baltimore Orioles. The Marlins' Miguel Cabrera hit an intentional ball thrown by Todd Williams during the 10th inning resulting in a run scored for the Marlins. This article is about the sport. ... Major league affiliations National League (1993–present) East Division (1993–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers 5, 42 Name Florida Marlins (1993–present) Other nicknames The Fish Ballpark Dolphin Stadium (1993–present) a. ... Major league affiliations American League (1901–present) East Division (1969–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers 4, 5, 8, 20, 22, 33, 42 Name Baltimore Orioles (1954–present) St. ... For the Mexican painter, see Miguel Cabrera (painter). ... Todd Williams is a relief pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles. ...

The purpose of an intentional walk is to bypass a good hitter in order to face a batter that the defensive team feels they have a better chance at getting out, or to set up a double play ball by putting a runner on first base. The danger of issuing an intentional walk is that an extra runner is now on base for the following hitter. In many cases, there is an additional danger that the batter who the opposing team chooses to face will feel slighted and work harder to get a hit. After stepping on second base, the fielder throws to first to complete a double play In baseball, a double play (denoted on statistics sheets by DP) for a team or a fielder is the act of making two outs during the same continuous playing action. ...

In the history of Major League Baseball, five players have been issued intentional walks with the bases loaded (thus giving the batting team an automatic run). This is only done in the rarest of cases, typically when the pitching team is leading by four runs or less late in the game and a particularly feared hitter is at the plate. The five players given such passes are Abner Dalrymple (1881), Nap Lajoie (1901), Mel Ott (1929), Bill Nicholson (1944), and Barry Bonds (1998). Major Leagues redirects here. ... Abner Dalrymple was a baseball player who hit 43 home runs (including 22 in 1884) and batted . ... Napoleon Nap Lajoie [la-ZHOWAY] (September 5, 1874 – February 7, 1959), also known as Larry Lajoie, was an American professional athlete of French Canadian descent. ... Melvin Thomas (Mel) Ott (March 2, 1909 – November 21, 1958), nicknamed Master Melvin, was a right fielder in Major League Baseball who played his entire career in the National League for the New York Giants (1926-1947). ... William Beck Nicholson, nickamed Swish, was a 16-year veteran of Major League Baseball. ... Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964 in Riverside, California) is currently a left fielder for the San Francisco Giants of Major League Baseball. ...

Some fast runners will attempt to steal a base on an intentional ball. This rarely happens because an intentional ball has almost the same effect as a pitchout, as the catcher is already on his feet and has a better opportunity to catch the runner attempting the steal. In addition, a runner on first base would not attempt a steal because an intentional walk will move him to second anyway. In any case, since the battery is not expecting the runners to steal during an intentional walk and thus, the pitcher throws the ball at a slower velocity than a pitchout, the runner can take advantage and successfully steal the base. Roberto Alomar has done this in his younger days with the Toronto Blue Jays, as it was the time when he was his fastest, albeit very infrequently due to the heightened chance of being caught. In baseball, a pitchout is a play that may be used if the defensive team believes that a baserunner is going to attempt a steal, or that a hit and run play is on. ... Roberto Alomar Velázquez (born February 5, 1968 in Ponce, Puerto Rico) is a former Major League Baseball player (1988-2004), considered by many to be one of the best second basemen in history. ...

Bonds holds almost every record in existence for intentional walks with four in a nine-inning game (2004), 120 in a season (2004) and 645 (through the 2006 season) in his career (more than the next two players on the all-time list, Hank Aaron and Willie McCovey, combined). Bonds, a prolific home run hitter, was a common target for the intentional walk. Nevertheless, many times the decision to walk Bonds came back to bite opposing managers, as the San Francisco Giants still had the National League's second-best offense in 2004, scoring 820 runs. 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. Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Henry Louis Hank Aaron (born February 5, 1934 in Mobile, Alabama), nicknamed Hammer, Hammerin Hank”, or Bad Henry”, is a retired American baseball player whose Major League Baseball (MLB) career spanned the 1950s through the 1970s. ... Willie Lee McCovey (born January 10, 1938 in Mobile, Alabama), nicknamed Big Mac and Stretch, is a former slugger and first baseman who played Major League Baseball for the San Francisco Giants, San Diego Padres and Oakland Athletics between 1959 and 1980. ... This article is about the baseball concept. ... Major league affiliations National League (1883–present) West Division (1969–present) Current uniform Retired Numbers NY, NY, 3, 4, 11, 24, 27, 30, 36, 42, 44 Name San Francisco Giants (1958–present) New York Giants (1885–1957) New York Gothams (1883–1885) Other nicknames Jints, Gigantes, G-Men Ballpark AT... For other uses, see National League (disambiguation). ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... is the 191st day of the year (192nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also popularly known as the Midsummer Classic, is an annual baseball game between players from the National League and the American League, currently selected by fan vote for the starting position players and by the respective managers (from the previous years World...