List of Philadelphia Phillies team records
Individual single-season records -- Single-season batting
Table:
Statistic
Player
Record
Season
Ref

Batting average
Ed Delahanty
.410
1899
[13]

Home runs
Ryan Howard
58
2006
[20]

RBI
Chuck Klein
170†
1930
[9][21]

Runs
Billy Hamilton
192§
1894
[8][22]

Hits
Lefty O'Doul
254
1929
[23]

Singles
Richie Ashburn
181*
1951
[11]

Singles
Lefty O'Doul
181*
1929
[23]

Doubles
Chuck Klein
59
1930
[9]

Triples
Sam Thompson
28
1894
[24]

Stolen bases
Billy Hamilton
111
1891
[8]

At bats
Jimmy Rollins
716§
2007
[25]

Hitting streak
Jimmy Rollins
36 games[b]
2005
[26]

Slugging percentage
Chuck Klein
.687
1930
[9]

Extra-base hits
Chuck Klein
107†
1930
[9][27]

Total bases
Chuck Klein
445
1930
[9]

On-base percentage
Billy Hamilton
.523
1894
[8]

OPS
Chuck Klein
1.123
1930
[9]

Walks
Lenny Dykstra
129
1993
[28]

Strikeouts
Ryan Howard
199
2007
[20]

With reference to the given table and the supporting text listed.

Answer the following question: For how many teams did the on-base percentage player play for between 1888 and 1901 ? Provide just your answer in a JSON object {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Base your answer solely on the given information.

In baseball , the batting average ( BA ) is the number of hits divided by at bats . It is usually rounded to three decimal places and read without the decimal : A player with a batting average of .300 is batting three-hundred . If necessary to break ties , batting averages could be taken beyond the .001 measurement . In this context , .001 is considered a point , such that a .235 batter is 5 points higher than a .230 batter .
Edward James Delahanty ( October 30 , 1867 - July 2 , 1903 ) , nicknamed Big Ed , was an American professional baseball player , who spent his Major League Baseball ( MLB ) playing career with the Philadelphia Quakers , Cleveland Infants , Philadelphia Phillies , and Washington Senators . He was renowned as one of the game 's early power hitters , and while primarily a left fielder , also spent time as an infielder . Delahanty won a batting title , batted over .400 three times , and has the fifth-highest career batting average in MLB history . He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame , in 1945 . Delahanty died falling into Niagara Falls or the Niagara River , after being removed from a train while intoxicated . Delahanty 's biographer argues that :
The following are the baseball events of the year 1899 throughout the world .
In baseball , a home run ( abbreviated HR ) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process . In modern baseball , the feat is typically achieved by hitting the ball over the outfield fence between the foul poles ( or making contact with either foul pole ) without first touching the ground , resulting in an automatic home run . There is also the inside-the-park home run where the batter reaches home safely while the baseball is in play on the field . A home run with a high exit velocity and good launch angle is sometimes called a no-doubter , because it leaves no doubt that it is going to leave the park when it leaves the bat . When a home run is scored , the batter is also credited with a hit and a run scored , and an RBI for each runner that scores , including himself . Likewise , the pitcher is recorded as having given up a hit and a run , with additional runs charged for each runner that scores other than the batter . Home runs are among the most popular aspects of baseball and , as a result , prolific home run hitters are usually the most popular among fans and consequently the highest paid by teams - hence the old saying , Home run hitters drive Cadillacs , and singles hitters drive Fords ( coined , circa 1948 , by veteran pitcher Fritz Ostermueller , by way of mentoring his young teammate , Ralph Kiner ) .
Ryan James Howard ( born November 19 , 1979 ) , nicknamed The Big Piece , is an American former professional baseball first baseman . Howard spent his entire Major League Baseball ( MLB ) career playing for the Philadelphia Phillies , from 2004 to 2016 . He is known for being the fastest player in baseball history to reach 1,000 RBIs , 100 home runs , and 200 home runs . Howard also holds numerous Phillies franchise records . Howard made his MLB debut in 2004 . He won the National League ( NL ) Rookie of the Year Award in 2005 and the NL Most Valuable Player ( MVP ) Award in 2006 . Howard was a three-time NL All-Star ( 2006 , 2009 , 2010 ) , and won the Silver Slugger Award , Hank Aaron Award , and the NL Championship Series MVP Award in 2009 . Known for his power , Howard is a member of the 50 home run club . He was a two-time NL home run champion ( 2006 , 2008 ) , and became the fastest player to reach both the 100 and 200 home run milestones in MLB history , passing the marks in 2007 and 2009 , respectively . He is also tied with Sammy Sosa for the most National League 140 RBI seasons at 3 and the most National League 130 RBI seasons at 4 . However , Howard is Major League Baseball 's ( ignominious ) all-time record-holder for most lifetime Golden Sombrero awards .
In Major League Baseball ( MLB ) , the 50 home run club is the group of batters who have hit 50 or more home runs in a single season . Babe Ruth was the first to achieve this , doing so in 1920 . By reaching the milestone , he also became the first player to hit 30 and then 40 home runs in a single-season , breaking his own record of 29 from the 1919 season . Ruth subsequently became the first player to reach the 50 home run club on four occasions , repeating the achievement in 1921 , 1927 and 1928 . He remained the only player to accomplish this until Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa matched his feat in 1999 and 2001 , respectively , thus becoming the only players to achieve four consecutive 50 home run seasons . Barry Bonds hit the most home runs to join the club , collecting 73 in 2001 . The most recent player to reach the milestone is Pete Alonso , achieving the feat during the 2019 season . In total , 30 players have reached the 50 home run club in MLB history and nine have done so more than once . Of these , eighteen were right-handed batters , eleven were left-handed , and one was a switch hitter , meaning he could bat from either side of the plate . Five of these players ( including three active members of the 50 home run club ) have played for only one major league team . The New York Yankees are the only franchise to have five players reach the milestone while on their roster : Ruth , Mickey Mantle , Roger Maris , Alex Rodriguez , and Aaron Judge . Ten players are also members of the 500 home run club and two of them ( Willie Mays and Rodriguez ) are also members of the 3,000 hit club .
The 2006 Major League Baseball season ended with the National League 's St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series with the lowest regular season victory total in a non-strike season in history . The American League continued its domination at the All-Star Game by winning its fourth straight game ; the A.L . has won nine of the last ten contests ( the 2002 game was a tie ) . This season , the Atlanta Braves failed to qualify for the postseason for the first time since 1990 . Individual achievements included Barry Bonds who , despite questions surrounding his alleged steroid use and involvement in the BALCO scandal , surpassed Babe Ruth for second place on the career home runs list .
A run batted in ( RBI ) , plural runs batted in ( RBI or RBIs ) , is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored ( except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play ) . For example , if the batter bats a base hit , then another player on a higher base can head home to score a run , and the batter gets credited with batting in that run . Before the 1920 Major League Baseball season , runs batted in were not an official baseball statistic . Nevertheless , the RBI statistic was tabulated - unofficially - from 1907 through 1919 by baseball writer Ernie Lanigan , according to the Society for American Baseball Research . Common nicknames for an RBI include ribby ( or ribbie ) , rib , and ribeye . The plural of RBI is generally RBIs , although some commentators use RBI as both singular and plural , as it can also stand for runs batted in .
Charles Herbert Klein ( October 7 , 1904 - March 28 , 1958 ) , nicknamed the Hoosier Hammer , was an American professional baseball outfielder . Klein played in Major League Baseball ( MLB ) for the Philadelphia Phillies ( 1928-1933 , 1936-1939 , 1940-1944 ) , Chicago Cubs ( 1934-1936 ) , and Pittsburgh Pirates ( 1939 ) . Klein led the National League ( NL ) in home runs four times , and won the NL Most Valuable Player Award in 1932 . In 1933 he became one of six ( at the time ) NL players to win a batting Triple Crown . In 1930 he set the NL record for extra-base hits with 107 . On July 10 , 1936 , he hit four home runs in a game , becoming the fourth player to do so . He was the first player to be selected to the All-Star Game as a member of two different teams ( Phillies and Cubs ) . Klein was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980 .
The 1930 Major League Baseball season .
In baseball , a run is scored when a player advances around first , second and third base and returns safely to home plate , touching the bases in that order , before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured . A player may score by hitting a home run or by any combination of plays that puts him safely on base ( that is , on first , second , or third ) as a runner and subsequently brings him home . The object of the game is for a team to score more runs than its opponent . The Official Baseball Rules hold that if the third out of an inning is a force out of a runner advancing to any base then , even if another baserunner crosses home plate before that force out is made , his run does not count . However , if the third out is not a force out , but a tag out , then if that other baserunner crosses home plate before that tag out is made , his run will count . In baseball statistics , a player who advances around all the bases to score is credited with a run ( R ) , sometimes referred to as a run scored . While runs scored is considered an important individual batting statistic , it is regarded as less significant than runs batted in ( RBIs ) . Both individual runs scored and runs batted in are heavily context-dependent ; however , the sabermetric statistic runs created provides a more sophisticated assessment of a player 's contribution toward producing runs for his team . A pitcher is likewise assessed runs surrendered in his statistics , which differentiate between standard earned runs ( for which the pitcher is statistically assigned full responsibility ) and unearned runs scored due to fielding errors , which do not count in his personal statistics . Specifically , if a fielding error occurs which affects the number of runs scored in an inning , the Official Scorer - the official in-game statistician - in order to determine how many of the runs should be classified as earned , will reconstruct the inning as if the error had not occurred . For example , with two outs , suppose a runner reaches base because of a fielding error , and then the next batter hits a two-run home run , and then the following batter then makes the third out , ending the inning . If the inning is reconstructed without the error , and if that third batter , instead of reaching on an error , registered an out , the inning would have ended there without any runs scoring .
William Robert Hamilton ( February 16 , 1866 - December 15 , 1940 ) , nicknamed Sliding Billy , was an American professional baseball player in Major League Baseball ( MLB ) during the 19th-century . He played for the Kansas City Cowboys , Philadelphia Phillies and Boston Beaneaters between 1888 and 1901 . Hamilton won the National League ( NL ) batting title twice and led the NL in stolen bases five times , eclipsing 100 on four separate occasions . He hit over .400 in 1894 and set the major league record for runs scored in a season with 198 . His 914 [ a ] stolen bases ranks third all time , a career .344 hitter he was nominated to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1961 via the Veteran 's Committee .
The following are the baseball events of the year 1894 throughout the world .
In baseball statistics , a hit ( denoted by H ) , also called a base hit , is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory , without the benefit of an error or a fielder 's choice .
Francis Joseph Lefty O'Doul ( March 4 , 1897 - December 7 , 1969 ) was an American Major League Baseball player who went on to become an extraordinarily successful manager in the minor leagues . He was also a vital figure in the establishment of professional baseball in Japan .
The 1929 Major League Baseball season .
In baseball , a single is the most common type of base hit , accomplished through the act of a batter safely reaching first base by hitting a fair ball ( thus becoming a runner ) and getting to first base before a fielder puts him out . As an exception , a batter-runner reaching first base safely is not credited with a single when an infielder attempts to put out another runner on the first play ; this is one type of a fielder 's choice . Also , a batter-runner reaching first base on a play due to a fielder 's error trying to put him out at first base or another runner out ( as a fielder 's choice ) is not credited with a single . On a single hit to the outfield , any runners on second base or third base normally score , and sometimes the runner from first base is able to advance to third base . Depending on the location of the hit , a quick recovery by the outfielder can prevent such an advance or create a play on the advancing runner . Hitters who focus on hitting singles rather than doubles or home runs are often called contact hitters . Contact hitters who rely on positioning their hits well and having fast running speed to achieve singles are often called slap hitters . Ty Cobb , Pete Rose , Tony Gwynn , and Ichiro Suzuki are examples of contact hitters ; of these , Rose and Suzuki might be called slap hitters .
Donald Richard Ashburn ( March 19 , 1927 - September 9 , 1997 ) , also known by the nicknames , Putt-Putt , The Tilden Flash , and Whitey ( due to his light-blond hair ) , was an American center fielder in Major League Baseball . ( Some sources give his full middle name as Richie . ) He was born in Tilden , Nebraska . From his youth on a farm , he grew up to become a professional outfielder and veteran broadcaster for the Philadelphia Phillies and one of the most beloved sports figures in Philadelphia history . He was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1995 .
The 1951 Major League Baseball season opened on April 16 and finished on October 12 , 1951 . Teams from both leagues played a 154-game regular season schedule . At the end of the regular season , the National League pennant was still undecided resulting in a three game playoff between the New York Giants and the Brooklyn Dodgers . After splitting the first two games , the stage was set for a decisive third game , won in dramatic fashion on a walk-off homerun from the bat of Giant Bobby Thomson , one of the most famous moments in the history of baseball , commemorated as the Shot Heard 'Round the World and The Miracle at Coogan 's Bluff . The Giants lost the World Series to defending champion New York Yankees , who were in the midst of a 5-year World Series winning streak .
In baseball , a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire , without the benefit of a fielder 's misplay ( see error ) or another runner being put out on a fielder 's choice . A double is a type of hit ( the others being the single , triple and home run ) and is sometimes called a two-bagger or two-base hit . For statistical and scorekeeping purposes it is denoted by 2B .
In baseball , a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball , with neither the benefit of a fielder 's misplay ( see error ) nor another runner being put out on a fielder 's choice . A triple is sometimes called a three-bagger or three-base hit . For statistical and scorekeeping purposes it is denoted by 3B . Triples have become somewhat rare in Major League Baseball . It often requires a ball hit to a distant part of the field , or the ball taking an unusual bounce in the outfield . It also usually requires that the batter hit the ball solidly , and be a speedy runner . It also often requires that the batter 's team have a good strategic reason for wanting the batter on third base , as a double will already put the batter in scoring position and there will often be little strategic advantage to taking the risk of trying to stretch a double into a triple . ( The inside-the-park home run is much rarer than a triple ) . The trend for modern ballparks is to have smaller outfields ( often increasing the number of home runs ) ; it has ensured that the career and season triples leaders mostly consist of those who played early in Major League Baseball history , generally in the dead-ball era . A walk-off triple ( one that ends a game ) occurs very infrequently . For example , the 2016 MLB season saw only three walk-off triples , excluding one play that was actually a triple plus an error .
Samuel Luther Big Sam Thompson ( March 5 , 1860 - November 7 , 1922 ) was an American professional baseball player from 1884 to 1898 and with a brief comeback in 1906 . At 6 feet , 2 inches , the Indiana native was one of the larger players of his day and was known for his prominent handlebar mustache . He played as a right fielder in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Wolverines ( 1885-1888 ) , Philadelphia Phillies ( 1889-1898 ) and Detroit Tigers ( 1906 ) . He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974 . Thompson had a .331 career batting average and was one of the most prolific run producers in baseball history . His career run batted in ( RBI ) to games played ratio of .923 ( 1,305 RBIs in 1,410 games ) remains the highest in major league history . In 1895 , Thompson averaged 1.44 RBIs per game , and his 166 RBIs in 1887 ( in only 127 games ) remained the major league record until 1921 when Babe Ruth collected 168 ( albeit in 152 games ) . Thompson still holds the major league record for most RBIs in a single month with 61 in August 1894 while playing for the Phillies . Manager Bill Watkins in 1922 called Thompson the greatest natural hitter of all time . Defensively , Thompson was known to have one of the strongest arms of any outfielder in the early decades of the game . He still ranks among the all-time major league leaders with 61 double plays from the outfield ( 16th all time ) and 283 outfield assists ( 12th all time ) . Thompson also had good speed on the base paths and , in 1889 , he became the first major league player to reach 20 home runs and 20 stolen bases in the same season .
In baseball , a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which he is not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner . The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or out at the next base , but the official scorer rules on the question of credit or blame for the advance under Rule 10 . A stolen base most often occurs when a base runner advances to the next base while the pitcher is pitching the ball to home plate . Successful base stealers are not only fast but have good baserunning instincts and timing .
The following are the baseball events of the year 1891 throughout the world .
In baseball , an at bat ( AB ) or time at bat is a batter 's turn batting against a pitcher . An at bat is different from a plate appearance . A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat , but a batter is credited with an at bat only if that plate appearance does not have one of the results enumerated below . While at bats are used to calculate certain statistics , including batting average and slugging percentage , a player can qualify for the season-ending rankings in these categories only if they accumulate 502 plate appearances during the season . A batter will not receive credit for an at bat if their plate appearance ends under the following circumstances :
James Calvin Rollins ( born November 27 , 1978 ) , nicknamed J-Roll , is an American former professional baseball shortstop , who played in Major League Baseball ( MLB ) for the Philadelphia Phillies ( 2000-2014 ) , Los Angeles Dodgers ( 2015 ) , and Chicago White Sox ( 2016 ) . After growing up in Alameda , California , and attending Encinal High School , Rollins was drafted by the Phillies in the second round of the 1996 MLB draft . After spending most of five seasons with Phillies minor league teams , he made his big league debut on September 17 , 2000 . At the MLB level , it wasnt long before Rollins earned recognition as an excellent defensive shortstop . In 2001 , he became the Phillies ' leadoff hitter , a role he retained for almost ten years . Rollins made three All-Star Game appearances in his career . While with the Phillies , he compiled a 38-game hitting streak , which spanned the end of the 2005 season and the start of the 2006 season , the longest in team history . Rollins was named the National League ( NL ) Most Valuable Player ( MVP ) in 2007 , as the Phillies won their division in the first of five consecutive seasons . He was also a key component of the 2008 World Series champion team that defeated the Tampa Bay Rays . In his career , Rollins led the NL four times in triples , and once each in runs , stolen bases , and stolen base percentage . As of 2018 , he was the Phillies career leader in at bats ( 8,628 ) , hits ( 2,306 ) , doubles ( 479 ) , and power-speed number ( 292.5 ) , second in games played ( 2,090 ) and stolen bases ( 453 ) , and third in runs scored ( 1,325 ) , triples ( 111 ) , and stolen base percentage ( 82.66 ) . Rollins won the Gold Glove Award four times , as well as the Silver Slugger Award , and the Roberto Clemente Award ( once each ) .
The 2007 Major League Baseball season began on April 1 with a rematch of the 2006 National League Championship Series ; the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets played the first game of the season at Busch Stadium in St. Louis , Missouri , which was won by the Mets , 6-1 . The regular season concluded with seven teams entering the postseason who had failed to reach the 2006 playoffs including all National League teams , with only the New York Yankees returning ; a dramatic one-game playoff between the Colorado Rockies and San Diego Padres ; and the largest September collapse for a leading team in baseball history , with the Mets squandering a 7-game lead with 17 to play , losing on the final day of the regular season , and the Philadelphia Phillies capturing the National League East for the first time since 1993 . The season ended on October 28 , with the Boston Red Sox sweeping the World Series over the Rockies , four games to none . A special exhibition game known as the Civil Rights Game was played on March 31 in AutoZone Park in Memphis , Tennessee , between the Cardinals and the Cleveland Indians to celebrate the history of civil rights in the United States . The 2007 season commemorates the 60th anniversary of Jackie Robinson 's entry into the game , breaking the color barrier . For the fourth consecutive season , MLB regular season attendance increased by comparison with the previous year . In 2007 , an all-time attendance record of 79,502,524 ( 32,785 per game ) was set .
In baseball , a hitting streak is the number of consecutive official games in which a player appears and gets at least one base hit . According to the Official Baseball Rules , such a streak is not necessarily ended when a player has at least 1 plate appearance and no hits . A streak shall not be terminated if all official plate appearances result in a base on balls , hit by pitch , defensive interference or a sacrifice bunt . The streak shall terminate if the player has a sacrifice fly and no hit . Joe DiMaggio holds the Major League Baseball record with a streak of 56 consecutive games in 1941 which began on May 15 and ended July 17 . DiMaggio hit .408 during his streak ( 91-for-223 ) , with 15 home runs and 55 runs batted in .
The 2005 Major League Baseball season was notable for the league 's new steroid policy in the wake of the BALCO scandal , which enforced harsher penalties than ever before for steroid use in Major League Baseball . Several players , including veteran Rafael Palmeiro , were suspended under the new policy . Besides steroids it was also notable that every team in the NL East division finished the season with at least 81 wins ( at least half of the 162 games played ) . Additionally it was the first season featuring a baseball team in Washington , D.C. after more than 4 decades , with the Washington Nationals having moved from Montreal . The Anaheim Angels changed their name to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim . The season ended when the Chicago White Sox defeated the Houston Astros in a four-game sweep in the World Series , winning their first championship since 1917 . As of the 2019 season , this is the last season in which no no-hit games were pitched ; 2005 was also only the 6th year since 1949 in which no such games were thrown . [ a ]
In baseball statistics , slugging percentage ( SLG ) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter . It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats , through the following formula , where AB is the number of at bats for a given player , and 1B , 2B , 3B , and HR are the number of singles , doubles , triples , and home runs , respectively :
In baseball , an extra-base hit ( EB , EBH or XBH ) , also known as a long hit , is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an error or opting to make a throw to retire another base runner ( see fielder 's choice ) . Extra-base hits are often not listed separately in tables of baseball statistics , but are easily determined by calculating the sum total of a batter 's doubles , triples , and home runs . Another related statistic of interest that can be calculated is extra bases on long hits . A batter gets three of these for each home run , two for each triple , and one for each double . Thus , leading the league in Most extra bases in long hits is a significant accomplishment in power hitting . The statistic Extra-Base Hits Allowed ( for example by a pitcher or by the fielding team in general ) is denoted by the abbreviation XBA .
In baseball statistics , total bases is the number of bases a player has gained with hits . It is a weighted sum for which the weight value is 1 for a single , 2 for a double , 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run . Only bases attained from hits count toward this total . Reaching base by other means ( such as a base on balls ) or advancing further after the hit ( such as when a subsequent batter gets a hit ) does not increase the player 's total bases . In box scores and other statistical summaries , total bases is often denoted by the abbreviation TB . The total bases divided by the number of at bats is the player 's slugging average .
In baseball statistics , on-base percentage ( OBP ) , also known as on-base average/OBA , measures how frequently a batter reaches base . It is the ratio of the batter 's times-on-base ( TOB ) ( the sum of hits , walks , and times hit by pitch ) to their number of plate appearances . OBP does not credit the batter for reaching base due to fielding error , fielder 's choice , dropped/uncaught third strike , fielder 's obstruction , or catcher 's interference . An official MLB statistic since 1984 , it is sometimes referred to as on-base average/OBA , as it is rarely presented as a true percentage . On-base percentage is added to slugging average to determine on-base plus slugging ( OPS ) . The on-base percentage of all batters faced by one pitcher or team is referred to as on-base against .
On-base plus slugging ( OPS ) is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player 's on-base percentage and slugging percentage . The ability of a player both to get on base and to hit for power , two important offensive skills , are represented . An OPS of .900 or higher in Major League Baseball puts the player in the upper echelon of hitters . Typically , the league leader in OPS will score near , and sometimes above , the 1.000 mark .
A base on balls ( BB ) , also known as a walk , occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls , and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out . The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball 's Official Rules , and further detail is given in 6.08 ( a ) . It is , however , considered a faux pas for a professional player to actually walk to first base ; the batter-runner and any advancing runners normally jog on such a play . The term base on balls distinguishes a walk from the other manners in which a batter can be awarded first base without liability to be put out ( e.g. , hit by pitch ( HBP ) , catcher 's interference ) . Though a base on balls , catcher 's interference , or a batter hit by a pitched ball all result in the batter ( and possibly runners on base ) being awarded a base , the term walk usually refers only to a base on balls , and not the other methods of reaching base without the bat touching the ball . An important difference is that for a hit batter or catcher 's interference , the ball is dead and no one may advance unless forced ; the ball is live after a walk ( see below for details ) . A batter who draws a base on balls is commonly said to have been walked by the pitcher . When the batter is walked , runners advance one base without liability to be put out only if forced to vacate their base to allow the batter to take first base . If a batter draws a walk with the bases loaded , all preceding runners are forced to advance , including the runner on third base who is forced to home plate to score a run ; when a run is forced on a walk , the batter is credited with an RBI per rule 10.04 . Receiving a base on balls does not count as a hit or an at bat for a batter but does count as a time on base and a plate appearance . Therefore , a base on balls does not affect a player 's batting average , but it can increase his on-base percentage . 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 .
Leonard Kyle Dykstra ( /ˈdaɪkstrə/ ; born February 10 , 1963 ) , is an American former professional baseball center fielder , who played in Major League Baseball ( MLB ) for the New York Mets ( 1985 to 1989 ) and Philadelphia Phillies ( 1989 to 1996 ) . Dysktra was a three-time All-Star and won a World Series championship as a member of the 1986 Mets . Since retirement , Dykstra has been mired in financial and legal troubles . In 2009 , he filed for bankruptcy . In 2011 , he was arrested and charged with bankruptcy fraud , followed by grand theft auto and drug possession charges on an unrelated case , as well as indecent exposure . He served six-and-a-half-months in federal prison .
The 1993 Major League Baseball season was the final season of two-division play in each league , before the Central Division was added the following season , giving both the NL and AL three divisions each . Sixteen years after the American League expanded from 12 to 14 teams , the National League finally followed suit , with the Colorado Rockies and the Florida Marlins ( now the Miami Marlins ) joining the NL . It was also the first season since 1976 that both leagues had the same number of teams . The Toronto Blue Jays capped off the season by winning their second consecutive World Series title , beating the Philadelphia Phillies in six games . The World Series was clinched when , in one of the most famous moments in baseball , Joe Carter hit a three-run walk off home run in the 9th to seal the victory at home .
In baseball or softball , a strikeout ( or strike-out ) occurs when a batter racks up three strikes during a time at bat . It usually means the batter is out . A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters , and is denoted by K. A strikeout looking - in which the batter does not swing and the third strike is called by the umpire - is usually denoted by a ꓘ . Although a strikeout suggests that the pitcher dominated the batter , the free-swinging style that generates home runs also leaves batters susceptible to striking out . Some of the greatest home run hitters of all time - such as Alex Rodriguez , Reggie Jackson , and Jim Thome - were notorious for striking out .