Editing Intentional base on balls (section)

{{short description|Walk issued by a pitcher to avoid the potential for the batter to get a hit}}
[[File:Catcher signals for intentional walk 2014.jpg|thumb|right|A catcher for the [[Mexican League]]'s [[Rojos del Águila de Veracruz]] uses his glove to signal the pitcher for an intentional walk.]]
In [[baseball]], an '''intentional base on balls''', usually referred to as an '''intentional walk''' and denoted in [[baseball scorekeeping]] by ''IBB'', is a [[Base on balls|walk]] issued to a [[Batting (baseball)|batter]] by a [[pitcher]] with the intent of removing the batter's opportunity to swing at the pitched ball. A pitch that is intentionally thrown far outside the [[strike zone]] for this purpose is referred to as an ''intentional ball''.

Beginning with the [[2017 in baseball|2017 season]], [[Major League Baseball]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=2017 Major League Baseball Team Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/leagues/majors/2017.shtml |access-date=2024-11-22}}</ref> has removed the requirement to throw four intentional balls. In MLB and in amateur baseball, such as high school and college games, and in most levels of [[Little League Baseball#Pitcher|Little League Baseball]], the manager of the team on the field now simply asks the plate umpire to let the batter go to first base.<ref name="Rolling Stone">{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/sports/baseball-makes-intentional-walk-easier-faster-w468401|title=Major League Baseball Eliminates One of Its Most Annoying Rules|last=Rafferty|first=Scott|date=February 22, 2017|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=2017-04-11}}</ref>  However, beginning in 2023, Little League restricted the procedure to once per game to a single batter.  If a batter is to be intentionally walked a second time, four intentional balls must be thrown.