What Is a Walk-Off in Baseball?
Quick answer
A hit, walk or other play that ends the game with the home team winning in its final at-bat, so the players walk off the field.
In this article
A walk-off is a play that ends the game with the home team winning in its final at-bat. The winning run scores, the game is over instantly, and the losing team walks off the field. A walk-off home run is the most famous kind, but walk-off singles, walks, sacrifice flies and even balks all count.
How a walk-off works
- It can only happen in the bottom of the ninth inning or extra innings (or the final inning in shorter games).
- Only the home team can walk it off, because it bats last.
- The game ends the moment the winning run touches home plate.
Kinds of walk-offs
- Walk-off home run: the classic. All runners and the batter score.
- Walk-off hit: a single or double that scores the winning run.
- Walk-off walk or hit by pitch: with the bases loaded, a base on balls or hit by pitch forces in the winning run.
- Walk-off sacrifice fly, error, wild pitch or balk: anything that brings the winning run home.
How a walk-off hit is scored
Except for a home run hit out of the park, the batter only gets credit for as many bases as the winning runner needed. If the winning run scores from second on a ball off the wall, it's usually scored a single, even if the batter could have reached second.
Where the term came from
Hall of Fame closer Dennis Eckersley is usually credited with coining "walk-off" in the late 1980s, describing the home runs pitchers give up before walking off the field with their heads down.
Famous walk-offs
- Bill Mazeroski, 1960 World Series Game 7: still the only walk-off homer to end a World Series Game 7.
- Joe Carter, 1993 World Series Game 6: a walk-off homer to win the title for Toronto.
- Freddie Freeman, 2024 World Series Game 1: the first walk-off grand slam in World Series history.
Related terms
- Fifth infielder: the defense's last-ditch move against a walk-off
- Dinger
- Extra innings
More definitions: baseball terms explained.
Frequently asked questions
What is a walk-off in baseball?
A walk-off is any play that ends the game with the home team scoring the winning run in the bottom of the final inning, after which the players walk off the field.
Can only the home team get a walk-off?
Yes. Only the home team bats last, so only the home team can win the game in its final at-bat.
Who came up with the term walk-off?
Hall of Fame pitcher Dennis Eckersley is usually credited with coining it in the late 1980s.
Does a walk-off hit always count as the full hit?
Not always. Except for a home run, the batter is credited only with as many bases as the winning runner needed. A ball off the wall that scores the winning run from second is usually scored a single.
