'walk the guy' meaning

[ccarmo]

Hello, could you be so kind to explain me, in a sport context, what's the meaning of "walk the guy" (the corkball team best hitter was on deck ,and another one took over. So, the coach order this new fellow:Walk the guy.

 

[Ouisch]

In baseball, a poor pitch is deemed by the umpire to be a "ball." (As opposed to a good pitch that the batter misses, which would be called a "strike.") If the pitcher throws four "balls," the batter is then "walked," which means he automatically goes to first base. The strategy is that the team's best hitter could easily hit a home run, and if there are men on base, this could increase the score by several points. Therefore, it is better to throw "bad" pitches and simply walk the good batter to first base.