Passed ball

A passed ball is a defensive miscue by the catcher on a pitch that allows a runner to advance at least one base. A passed ball should not be confused with a wild pitch, where the fault lies with the pitcher. A pitch is normally called a passed ball when the catcher is able to get his glove on the ball but fails to catch it cleanly.

The instances of passed balls have decreased with advances in the design of catcher's mitts. It must be noted that many of Geno Petralli's 35 passed balls in 1987 were as a result of catching knuckleballer Charlie Hough.

All Time Leaders
Span	Player	Total	Notes
Career (pre-1900)	Pop Snyder	647
Career (modern)	Lance Parrish	192
Season (pre-1900)	Ed Whiting	105	1882
Season (modern)	Geno Petralli	35	1987
Game (pre-1900)	Alex Gardner	12	05-10-1884
Game (modern)	Rube Vickers	6	10-04-1902
Game (modern)	Geno Petralli	6	08-30-1987
Game (modern)	Jerry Goff	6	05-12-1996

See Also: battery error