How many ways can a batter reach first base without hitting the ball?

There are six ways a batter can reach first base without hitting the ball.

A walk;

being hit by a pitch;

a dropped third strike;

catcher’s interference;

a pitched or thrown ball intended to catch a runner that “goes into a stand or a bench, or over or through a field fence or backstop” (rule 705[h]);

and when, on a ball four or strike three, a pitch “passes the catcher and lodges in the umpire’s mask or paraphernalia” (rule 705[i]).