Intentional walk, that is, when the pitcher intentionally throws four balls to walk the batter to the base, is a relatively common strategy in baseball, especially in professional baseball games.
Particularly when the team is leading by a large margin or not trailing by much, and the batting order happens to rotate to the opponent's strongest hitter, or the batter who is in good form for the game, the team's coach often signals the pitcher to intentionally walk the opponent, avoiding a hit or even a home run, which could potentially result in a loss.
However, in Japanese high school baseball games, the meaning of the intentional walk strategy is entirely different:
To the Japanese, high school baseball is more about shaping the spirit and quality of young people rather than the game itself—players' sportsmanship and character on the field are closely linked to their personal qualities.
