[9] A hit by pitch is not counted statistically as a walk, though the effect is mostly the same, with the batter receiving a free pass to first base.
From 1871 through 1886, the batter was entitled to call "high" or "low", i.e. above or below the waist; a pitch which failed to conform was "unfair".
In 1887, the National League and American Association agreed to abide by some uniform rule changes, including, for the first time, a strike zone which defined balls and strikes by rule rather than the umpire's discretion, and decreased the number of balls required for a walk to five.
[14] In 2017, Major League Baseball approved a rule change allowing for a batter to be walked intentionally by having the defending bench signal to the umpire.
In Major League Baseball and many amateur leagues, an intentional base on balls is signaled to the home plate umpire by the defensive team's manager holding up four fingers, at which point the batter is awarded first base without any further pitches being thrown.
Teams also commonly use intentional walks to set up a double play or force out situation for the next batter.
Jimmie Foxx, Andre Thornton, Jeff Bagwell and Bryce Harper have each been walked six times during a major league regular season game.
As of September 2024[update], this is the most walks drawn or allowed by a team in a single game in Major League history according to available data.