Most season BB in AL or NL: BB/SO ratio. And Buck Showalter Walks Barry Bonds With Bases Loaded.

For Single Seasons, In the Regular Season, from 1903 to 2021, Playing in the AL or NL, requiring Bases on Balls >= 133, sorted by greatest Bases on Balls.

https://stathead.com/tiny/BKAfC via https://www.baseball-reference.com/

The spreadsheet below and at this link includes the column BB/SO: greater than 1 means more BB than SO; less than 1 means more SO than BB. Among the seasons for individuals with the most BB, only three had a ratio greater than 5:

Rk	Player	BB	SO	BB/SO	Year	Age
1	Barry Bonds	232	41	5.659	2004	39

17

Ted Williams

147

27

5.444

1941

22

50

Ferris Fain

133

26

5.115

1950

29

Among the 50 seasons in this list, those Bonds and Williams seasons are for the oldest and youngest.

In the early 2000s Bonds was receiving an insane number of BB. This was preceded by an IBB with the bases loaded ordered by Arizona manage Buck Showalter.

Buck Showalter Explains Walking Barry Bonds With Bases Loaded Apr 25, 2018 interview above.

Thursday, May 28, 1998

Start Time: 7:08 p.m. Local

Attendance: 12,066

Venue: 3Com Park

Game Duration: 3:26

Night Game, on grass

		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
	Arizona Diamondbacks	4	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	1	8	12	0
	San Francisco Giants	0	0	0	0	2	0	1	2	2	7	9	0
WP: Brian Anderson (2-6) • LP: Danny Darwin (4-3) • SV: Gregg Olson (6)

Bottom of the 9th, Giants Batting, Behind 5-8, Diamondbacks' Gregg Olson facing 1-2-3.

One run had already scored. With two outs and the bases loaded, Showalter ordered an IBB to Bonds forcing in a run: Arizona 8, San Fransisco 7.

Brent Mayne: Lineout: RF (Deep CF-RF) ending the game.
2 runs, 1 hit, 4 BB, 0 errors, 3 LOB. Diamondbacks 8, Giants 7.

That was Showalter's first of three seasons managing Arizona. But here's the thing: Bonds probably started using performance enhancing drugs (PED) for the 2000 season. It's very doubtful Bonds was using back in 1998 when this happened. Consider that when evaluating the decision by Showalter.

By 2001 managers were afraid to pitch to Bonds. Conventional wisdom had become: I'm more likely to get fired if I let Bonds hit away, so ... walk the guy.

Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	SB	CS	BB	SO	BB/SO	BB/PA	SO/PA
2001	36	SFG	NL	153	664	476	129	156	32	2	73	137	13	3	177	93	1.903	26.66%	14.01%
2002	37	SFG	NL	143	612	403	117	149	31	2	46	110	9	2	198	47	4.213	32.35%	7.68%
2003	38	SFG	NL	130	550	390	111	133	22	1	45	90	7	0	148	58	2.552	26.91%	10.55%
2004	39	SFG	NL	147	617	373	129	135	27	3	45	101	6	1	232	41	5.659	37.60%	6.65%

In 2004 Bonds BB were 37.6% of his plate appearances (PA).

Williams 1941 BA was .406.

Rk	Player	BB	SO	BB/SO	Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	IBB	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos	Player
1	Barry Bonds	232	41	5.659	2004	39	SFG	NL	147	617	373	129	135	27	3	45	101	120	9	0	3	5	6	1	.362	.609	.812	1.422	*7/HD	Barry Bonds
2	Barry Bonds	198	47	4.213	2002	37	SFG	NL	143	612	403	117	149	31	2	46	110	68	9	0	2	4	9	2	.370	.582	.799	1.381	*7/DH	Barry Bonds
3	Barry Bonds	177	93	1.903	2001	36	SFG	NL	153	664	476	129	156	32	2	73	137	35	9	0	2	5	13	3	.328	.515	.863	1.379	*7/DH	Barry Bonds
4	Babe Ruth	170	93	1.828	1923	28	NYY	AL	152	699	522	151	205	45	13	41	130		4	3			17	21	.393	.545	.764	1.309	97/83	Babe Ruth
5	Mark McGwire	162	155	1.045	1998	34	STL	NL	155	681	509	130	152	21	0	70	147	28	6	0	4	8	1	0	.299	.470	.753	1.222	*3/H	Mark McGwire
6	Ted Williams	162	48	3.375	1949	30	BOS	AL	155	730	566	150	194	39	3	43	159	11	2	0		22	1	1	.343	.490	.650	1.141	*7	Ted Williams
7	Ted Williams	162	47	3.447	1947	28	BOS	AL	156	693	528	125	181	40	9	32	114	29	2	1		10	0	1	.343	.499	.635	1.133	*7	Ted Williams
8	Ted Williams	156	44	3.545	1946	27	BOS	AL	150	672	514	142	176	37	8	38	123	29	2	0		12	0	0	.342	.497	.667	1.164	*7	Ted Williams
9	Barry Bonds	151	76	1.987	1996	31	SFG	NL	158	675	517	122	159	27	3	42	129	30	1	0	6	11	40	7	.308	.461	.615	1.076	*7/H8	Barry Bonds
10	Eddie Yost	151	82	1.841	1956	29	WSH	AL	152	684	515	94	119	17	2	11	53	9	8	9	1	8	8	5	.231	.412	.336	.748	*5/H9	Eddie Yost
11	Babe Ruth	150	80	1.875	1920	25	NYY	AL	142	617	458	158	172	36	9	54	135		3	5			14	14	.376	.532	.847	1.379	978/3H1	Babe Ruth
12	Jeff Bagwell	149	127	1.173	1999	31	HOU	NL	162	729	562	143	171	35	0	42	126	16	11	0	7	18	30	11	.304	.454	.591	1.045	*3/HD	Jeff Bagwell
13	Eddie Joost	149	80	1.863	1949	33	PHA	AL	144	682	525	128	138	25	3	23	81	1	4	4		6	2	1	.263	.429	.453	.883	*6	Eddie Joost
14	Barry Bonds	148	58	2.552	2003	38	SFG	NL	130	550	390	111	133	22	1	45	90	61	10	0	2	7	7	0	.341	.529	.749	1.278	*7/DH	Barry Bonds
15	Jim Wynn	148	142	1.042	1969	27	HOU	NL	149	653	495	113	133	17	1	33	87	14	3	2	5	5	23	7	.269	.436	.507	.943	*8	Jim Wynn
16	Eddie Stanky	148	42	3.524	1945	29	BRO	NL	153	726	555	128	143	29	5	1	39	0	4	19		7	6	8	.258	.417	.333	.751	*4/6	Eddie Stanky
17	Ted Williams	147	27	5.444	1941	22	BOS	AL	143	606	456	135	185	33	3	37	120	25	3	0		10	2	4	.406	.553	.735	1.287	*7H/9	Ted Williams
18	Jimmy Sheckard	147	58	2.534	1911	32	CHC	NL	156	708	539	121	149	26	11	4	50		3	15			32		.276	.434	.388	.822	*7	Jimmy Sheckard
19	Mickey Mantle	146	75	1.947	1957	25	NYY	AL	144	623	474	121	173	28	6	34	94	23	0	0	3	5	16	3	.365	.512	.665	1.177	*8/H	Mickey Mantle
20	Barry Bonds	145	87	1.667	1997	32	SFG	NL	159	690	532	123	155	26	5	40	101	34	8	0	5	13	37	8	.291	.446	.585	1.031	*7	Barry Bonds
21	Harmon Killebrew	145	84	1.726	1969	33	MIN	AL	162	709	555	106	153	20	2	49	140	20	5	0	4	16	8	2	.276	.427	.584	1.011	53	Harmon Killebrew
22	Ted Williams	145	51	2.843	1942	23	BOS	AL	150	671	522	141	186	34	5	36	137	20	4	0		12	3	2	.356	.499	.648	1.147	*7/9	Ted Williams
23	Babe Ruth	145	81	1.790	1921	26	NYY	AL	152	693	540	177	204	44	16	59	168		4	4			17	13	.378	.512	.846	1.359	*78/31H	Babe Ruth
24	Ted Williams	144	45	3.200	1951	32	BOS	AL	148	675	531	109	169	28	4	30	126	9	0	0		10	1	1	.318	.464	.556	1.019	*7/H	Ted Williams
25	Eddie Stanky	144	50	2.880	1950	34	NYG	NL	152	692	527	115	158	25	5	8	51	0	12	8		8	9	6	.300	.460	.412	.872	*4/H	Eddie Stanky
26	Babe Ruth	144	76	1.895	1926	31	NYY	AL	152	652	495	139	184	30	5	47	153		3	10			11	9	.372	.516	.737	1.253	79/H3	Babe Ruth
27	Joey Votto	143	135	1.059	2015	31	CIN	NL	158	695	545	95	171	33	2	29	80	15	5	0	2	11	11	3	.314	.459	.541	1.000	*3/H	Joey Votto
28	Gary Sheffield	142	66	2.152	1996	27	FLA	NL	161	677	519	118	163	33	1	42	120	19	10	0	6	16	16	9	.314	.465	.624	1.090	*9/H	Gary Sheffield
29	Babe Ruth	142	81	1.753	1924	29	NYY	AL	153	681	529	143	200	39	7	46	124		4	6			9	13	.378	.513	.739	1.252	97/8H	Babe Ruth
30	Eddie Yost	141	63	2.238	1950	23	WSH	AL	155	731	573	114	169	26	2	11	58	0	8	9		13	6	6	.295	.440	.405	.845	*5	Eddie Yost
31	Frank Thomas	138	112	1.232	1991	23	CHW	AL	158	701	559	104	178	31	2	32	109	13	1	0	2	20	1	2	.318	.453	.553	1.006	D3/H	Frank Thomas
32	Jason Giambi	137	96	1.427	2000	29	OAK	AL	152	664	510	108	170	29	1	43	137	6	9	0	8	9	2	0	.333	.476	.647	1.123	*3D/H	Jason Giambi
33	Willie McCovey	137	75	1.827	1970	32	SFG	NL	152	638	495	98	143	39	2	39	126	40	3	0	3	13	0	0	.289	.444	.612	1.056	*3/H	Willie McCovey
34	Ralph Kiner	137	57	2.404	1951	28	PIT	NL	151	670	531	124	164	31	6	42	109	13	2	0		10	2	1	.309	.452	.627	1.079	73	Ralph Kiner
35	Roy Cullenbine	137	51	2.686	1947	33	DET	AL	142	607	464	82	104	18	1	24	78	4	0	6		10	3	2	.224	.401	.422	.823	*3/H	Roy Cullenbine
36	Eddie Stanky	137	56	2.446	1946	30	BRO	NL	144	642	483	98	132	24	7	0	36	1	2	20		5	8	4	.273	.436	.352	.788	*4/H	Eddie Stanky
37	Babe Ruth	137	87	1.575	1928	33	NYY	AL	154	684	536	163	173	29	8	54	146	8	3	8			4	5	.323	.463	.709	1.172	97	Babe Ruth
38	Babe Ruth	137	89	1.539	1927	32	NYY	AL	151	691	540	158	192	29	8	60	165		0	14			7	6	.356	.486	.772	1.258	97	Babe Ruth
39	Frank Thomas	136	74	1.838	1995	27	CHW	AL	145	647	493	102	152	27	0	40	111	29	6	0	12	14	3	2	.308	.454	.607	1.061	3D/H	Frank Thomas
40	Jack Clark	136	139	.978	1987	31	STL	NL	131	559	419	93	120	23	1	35	106	13	0	0	3	5	1	2	.286	.459	.597	1.056	*3/H9	Jack Clark
41	Ted Williams	136	32	4.250	1954	35	BOS	AL	117	526	386	93	133	23	1	29	89	17	1	0	3	10	0	0	.345	.513	.635	1.148	*7/H	Ted Williams
42	Ferris Fain	136	51	2.667	1949	28	PHA	AL	150	672	525	81	138	21	5	3	78	2	0	11		15	8	1	.263	.415	.339	.754	*3	Ferris Fain
43	Babe Ruth	136	61	2.230	1930	35	NYY	AL	145	676	518	150	186	28	9	49	153	8	1	21			10	10	.359	.493	.732	1.225	97/1	Babe Ruth
44	Joey Votto	135	138	.978	2013	29	CIN	NL	162	726	581	101	177	30	3	24	73	19	4	0	6	15	6	3	.305	.435	.491	.926	*3/H	Joey Votto
45	Brian Giles	135	74	1.824	2002	31	PIT	NL	153	644	497	95	148	37	5	38	103	24	7	0	5	10	15	6	.298	.450	.622	1.072	*7/8H	Brian Giles
46	Jeff Bagwell	135	114	1.184	1996	28	HOU	NL	162	719	568	111	179	48	2	31	120	20	10	0	6	15	21	7	.315	.451	.570	1.021	*3	Jeff Bagwell
47	Eddie Yost	135	77	1.753	1959	32	DET	AL	148	675	521	115	145	19	0	21	60	1	12	4	3	6	9	2	.278	.435	.436	.871	*5/H4	Eddie Yost
48	Joey Votto	134	83	1.614	2017	33	CIN	NL	162	707	559	106	179	34	1	36	100	20	8	0	6	16	5	1	.320	.454	.578	1.032	*3	Joey Votto
49	Mark McGwire	133	141	.943	1999	35	STL	NL	153	661	521	118	145	21	1	65	147	21	2	0	5	12	0	0	.278	.424	.697	1.120	*3/H	Mark McGwire
50	Ferris Fain	133	26	5.115	1950	29	PHA	AL	151	658	522	83	147	25	4	10	83	5	3	0		18	8	5	.282	.430	.402	.832	*3	Ferris Fain
Rk	Player	BB	SO	BB/SO	Year	Age	Tm	Lg	G	PA	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	IBB	HBP	SH	SF	GDP	SB	CS	BA	OBP	SLG	OPS	Pos	Player
	Min		26	.943	1911	22			117	526	373	81	104	17	0	0	36	0	0	0	1	4	0	0	.224	.401	.333	.748
	Max		155	5.659	2017	39			162	731	581	177	205	48	16	73	168	120	12	21	12	22	40	21	.406	.609	.863	1.422
	Average	147	77	2.290		30			151	667	509	120	161	29	4	36	108	20	5	4	4	11	9	4	.317	.472	.605	1.077

Only three seasons less than 1 and the worst is not so bad, especially compared to what's going on today:

49

Mark McGwire

133

141

.943

1999

35

Most BB in a season:

Willie Mays 112 in 1971 (age 40); only season over 100.

Hank Aaron 92 in 1972 (age 38)

Albert Pujols 115 in 2009 (age 29)

Mike Trout 122 in 2018 (age 26); led AL three times

Joe DiMaggio 80 in 1950 (see below) (age 35); 33 SO. 1941: 76 BB, 13 SO: 5.846 ratio; 56 game hitting streak.

BB and SO: 1903-2021 from the AL and NL and ONLY the AL and NL. Sunday, August 22, 2021

1950 is the most recent season when the combined AL and NL BB (Bases on Balls) exceeded their SO (Strike Outs).

__________________________

Most career BB in AL or NL: BB/SO ratio. Monday, August 23, 2021