In 2001, he had 305 plate appearances with men on base (any combination). He was walked 101 times, of which 35 were intentionally (11.5%). He slashed .374/.587/.884 in those appearances.
Teams started avoiding him more and more each year. In 2002, was intentionally walked 60 times (21.3%), in 2003 it was 56 times (21.4%), and in 2004, he was intentionally walked 101 times (32.1% of all plate appearances).
Because of all of those free passes, Bonds’ .362 led the league, but didn’t qualify him for a batting title. Adding on an additional hitless 129 at bats would have dropped his average down to .269 that year (which would have been the 53rd best average in the NL).
Also also, in 2025 we should finally see the Tampa Bay Rays, as a franchise, finally surpass Bonds’ lifetime intentional walk total of 688. They have 685 as a franchise.
Of similar weirdness, some players have remarkably good all around seasons with very few rbi. In 2006, Grady Sizemore had 190 hits (28 HR, 11 3B, 53 2B), slashed .290/.375/.533 and drove in 76 runs. Yes, he was the leadoff hitter, but still, you’d think 92 XBHs would bring a bigger bounty. Either he couldn’t hit with men on base, or the bottom of that order was terrible.
Breaking this record would probably end with similar odd statistics. To get there requires lots of walks and strike outs, and few hits that aren’t homers.
There may be a trend toward smaller ball parks, not clear on that, but if enough parks get smaller, or introduce a short wall on one side or the other, and less foul territory around the field to reduce outs, then maybe some superhuman will break this record some day. Great for attendance but the team still needs RBIs.
I think I’ve read that Fenway Park has the tallest outfield wall (the Greem Monster, obvously), and the shortest, the closest, and the second farthest wall in MLB.
Sorry, can I pop in here to ask a sports trivia question…? I don’t know anything about sports, but went to a trivia game last night and one of the questions really confused me and the host, both. This is my best paraphrase:
Which of the following features is unique to Wrigley Field and affects how baseball is played there?
A) Underground tunnels & luxury suites
B) Retractable enclosed roof
C) Ivy on the outfield walls
D) Multiple jumbotrons
The correct answer was C) Ivy on the outfield walls, but I don’t understand how that affects the game (baseball, right?)
The host had no idea either. Someone in the audience said maybe the balls get stuck in the ivy sometimes, but how does that affect the gameplay? (Sorry, don’t know much about baseball or its rules).
I was only able to find one reference to this: Wrigley Field Physical Features, but I don’t know if that’s real or just an urban legend. Has this actually affected a played game? Did a team try to repeatedly lodge the ball in the ivy?
The Ground Rules for Wrigley say that if a ball lodges in the ivy, it’s a ground-rule double. UNLESS the fielder attempts to retrieve it, in which case it remains a live ball.
I think balls have gotten stuck, and lost in the ivy.
That’s not completely unique to Wrigley Field. Other parks have padding on the walls, or gates that open. I’ve seen cases where a ball gets stuck in the seams between pads or gates. Wrigley is the only one with ivy, though.
Anything we say will be confusing if you don’t know anything about the game.
Live ball = still in play
Fielder = member of the team playing defense in that half-inning
double = a hit that gets the batter to second base
ground rule = all parks are different and have different rules specific to that park
Here are my answers to your questions. No guarantee on 100% accuracy, but should be close.
A fielder is any of the nine players on defense.
The ball becomes ‘alive’ as soon as the umpire calls ‘play’. The ball remains live until it is batted foul, leaves the field of play (such as being hit into the stands, or bouncing into the stands, or being thrown errantly into the stands), or one of the umpires calls ‘time’.
A ground-rule double is a batted ball which has hit the ground and then bounced out of the field of play, or has otherwise become unplayable, such as becoming lodged in, or disappearing behind, the ivy at Wrigley Field.
A ground-rule double results in the batter being awarded second base, and all baserunners being awarded two more bases. If a ground-rule double occurs, a runner on third scores; a runner on second scores; and a runner on first is awarded third base.
Nobody intentionally tries to hit the ball into the ivy, which grows on the outfield walls. Normally, when a batted ball bounces to the wall, or hits the wall on the fly, the batter will at least reach second base, and more often than not, a runner on first will score a run. So a ground-rule double often penalizes the batter and his team.
Thank you for explaining that I haven’t played baseball since elementary school, and never knew what a “normal”, uh, “round”…? looks like. Appreciate the breakdown!
This rule also covers any towering pop-fly that lodges in the structure or machinery of an all-weather park. If it bounces, it’s a live ball (usually.) If it sticks, it’s a double. I believe that Tropicana Field ground-rules state that a ball that hits the roof in foul territory is a dead ball.
A lot of baseball terms have made it into regular lingo. A ground rule is a rule specific to a particular venue. We use it generically like setting the ground rules for a meeting.
Another example. If a baseball game has to be postponed because there’s bad weather, you’d exchange your ticket for a different type of ticket. The new ticket could be used later to be exchanged for a free ticket to a different game. So you planned to do something one day and rather than canceling you did it on a different day. What was that secondary ticket called?
As hajario mentioned, this is not technically a ground-rule double - that term has just become common baseball lingo for a bunch of quirky two-baggers. It is technically an “automatic double”. In fact, a Wrigley ivy double is also an automatic double, because it’s not a rule specific to Wrigley - it’s codified in MLB’s rulebook (so if there were a super-fast growing plant at any park that a ball became entangled with, it too would be ruled an automatic double).
I haven’t played baseball since elementary school, and never knew what a “normal”, uh, “round”…? looks like. Appreciate the breakdown!