Overview
A walk (base on balls) occurs when four pitches are called balls during a plate appearance, entitling the batter to first base without liability to be put out (Rule 5.05 of the Official Baseball Rules). It does not count as an at-bat, so it doesn't affect batting average, but it is reflected in on-base percentage. NPB's career record is Sadaharu Oh's 2,390 walks (1959-1980, as of September 3, 2026), a record that reflects his batting eye alongside his 868 career home runs. Oh also drew 427 intentional walks (as of September 3, 2026), a measure of the extent to which opponents refused to pitch to him. Sabermetrics highly values the ability to draw walks, with metrics like BB/K (walk-to-strikeout ratio) and BB% (walk rate per plate appearance) serving as key indicators. In OBP-focused hitting philosophy, plate discipline (not swinging at pitches outside the zone) is treated as a fundamental batting skill. A bases-loaded walk forces in a run and can even end a game as a walk-off, making it an outcome pitchers want to avoid.