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Bases on balls per nine innings pitched

baseball statistic

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General referenceInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionMar 26, 2026
Entity authorityQ4866731
Source-derived summary

In baseball statistics, bases on balls per nine innings pitched (BB/9IP or BB/9) or walks per nine innings (denoted by W/9) is the average number of bases on balls, (or walks) given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by multiplying the number of bases on balls allowed by nine, and dividing by the number of innings pitched. It is a measure of the bases on balls ability of a pitcher.

Leaders

All but one of the top 25 single-season leaders in BB/9IP through 2018 pitched in the period of 1876–84. George Zettlein was the all-time single-season leader (0.2308 in 1876), followed by Cherokee Fisher (0.2355 in 1876) and George Bradley (0.2755 in 1880). The highest single-season modern day baseball performance was by Carlos Silva (0.4301 in 2005).

The all-time career leaders in BB/9IP through 2022 were Candy Cummings (0.4731), Tommy Bond (0.4787), and Al Spalding (0.5114), all of whom played in the 1870s and 1880s.

The active career leaders in BB/9IP through 2022 were Corey Kluber (1.9683), Michael Pineda (1.9719), and Hyun Jin Ryu (1.9914).

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Bases on balls per nine innings pitched” is baseball statistic. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Bases, balls and nine, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA concise reference frame for defining the subject, testing terminology and identifying the institution closest to the evidence. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2018, 1876, 1880, 2005—that can be checked directly. The selected authority fields contribute no independent date. For this dossier, Bases, balls and nine is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “baseball statistic” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Named sources, stable identifiers and responsible institutions provide the strongest route from overview to verifiable evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Mar 26, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q4866731. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 2018, 1876, 1880 and 2005.

Critical limits

A concise general-reference account can conceal disagreements about scope, terminology or the weight assigned to individual sources. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Use the entry as an orientation point, then follow its citations and revision history. Names, dates and institutional relationships should be checked against the original record.

Best used for
  • Subject orientation
  • Search vocabulary
  • Locating named sources
Verify next

The closest primary source, responsible institution and strongest cited specialist reference.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Bases on balls per nine innings pitched”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Bases on balls per nine innings pitched primary sources, Bases on balls per nine innings pitched archive and Bases research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Bases on balls per nine innings pitched”?
  2. Which institution is responsible for the underlying evidence?
  3. Which cited source is closest to the event, object or claim?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Bases on balls per nine innings pitched” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.