Editing Intentional base on balls (section)

==Strategy==
{{Unreferenced section|date=August 2021}}
The purpose of an intentional walk is to bypass the current batter in order to face the following batter, whom the defensive team expects to be easier to put out. The risk to the fielding team issuing an intentional walk is that they turn the batter into a baserunner, which runs counter to the fielding team's objective of making outs.

Situations that may call for an intentional walk include the following:
*With one out and a runner on second or third base, converting a powerful batter to a runner on first base means that a subsequent ground ball may become a [[double play]] that ends the scoring threat. With a runner on second, this move lets fielders put the lead runner out using a [[force play]] rather than the more difficult tag play.
*In the bottom of the ninth or an extra inning, having a runner on first base might not affect the outcome of the game at all. For example, if the game is tied and there is a runner on third base, the game is over if that runner scores. The benefit of an intentional walk is as set out above, and in this case, the risk is minimal.
*Prior to the adoption of the [[designated hitter]] rule, if the designated hitter has been discontinued because of substitution rules, or if a defensive replacement has been inserted into the game late, if there were a runner on base, the defense might walk a hitter to instead pitch to the next player if he is an opposing pitcher or a defensive replacement late in a game. This would give the offensive manager a dilemma: the manager could [[Pinch hitter|pinch-hit]] for the pitcher to capitalize on the offensive threat, but at the cost of removing the pitcher or defensive replacement from the game.

The intentional walk disfavors a team that has one batter who is much better than the others, as it often lets opponents "[[Glossary of baseball (T)#take the bat out of his hands|take the bat out of his hands]]" and opt to pitch to the next batter.