If you’re unfamiliar with baseball statistics, it can seem like there’s a never ending stream of acronyms and abbreviations in every game. Baseball uses many statistics to determine a player’s value, and most of those statistics are expressed as abbreviations. Here we will discuss a few of the most common statistics and what exactly they mean. This is not a complete list of baseball statistics.
Batting Average (AVG)
A hitter’s batting average is the number of hits they get divided by the number of officials at-bats. At-bats are different from the number of times they come to the plate, which we will discuss shortly. For example, if a batter has four at-bats in a game and gets one hit, he gets a hit .25 or 25% of the time. Baseball shows batting averages as three digits past the decimal, or in this case, .250.
There is a small difference between ABs and PAs. Plate appearances are the total number of times a player comes to bat, regardless of the outcome. At-bats are whenever a batter goes to the plate and records either a hit or an out (other than a sacrifice out). Outcomes that do not count as at-bats include walks, hit-by-pitch, and sacrifice outs.
Earned Run Average (ERA)
The number of earned runs a pitcher gives up over nine innings is called his Earned Run Average. It’s averaged over nine innings because that’s how many innings a full game is. If a pitcher pitches all nine innings and gives up one earned run, his ERA is 1.00. However, if he gives up one run but only pitches six innings, his ERA is 1.50. Earned runs are any runs that the pitcher gives up that are charged to him. If a run scores because of an error, that run is considered unearned and does not affect a pitcher’s ERA.
Walks and Hits Per Innings Pitched (WHIP)
Pretty straightforward. Add the number of hits with the number of walks a pitcher gives up, and divide by the number of innings he pitched. If he gives up six hits and one walk over six innings, his WHIP is 1.1667 rounded to 1.17. A WHIP under 1.30 is considered very good.
Bases on Balls and Hit by Pitch (BB and HBP)
Bases on balls is also called walks. During each at-bat, if a batter takes four pitches outside of the strike zone before they make an out, they are awarded first base. Similarly, if any part of a batter’s body is hit by a pitched ball, they are awarded first base. Both BB and HBP do not count as ABs and do not increase AVG, but they both increase a batter’s OBP and OPS.
Slugging Percentage (SLG)
Slugging is a measurement of how hard a batter hits the ball. The calculation is total bases divided by official at-bats. The math equation looks like this: 1B + 2B(2) + 3B(3) + HR(4)AB. The purpose behind the statistic is to gauge how many bases a player will average each at bat. 4.000 SLG is a homerun each at bat. .500 SLG means the batter averages one base every two at bats.
On-Base Percentage (OBP)
On base percentage refers to how many times a batter safely reaches base base. It can either be from a hit (any hit), walk, or hit by pitch. Reaching base by an error does not count toward your OBP.
On-Base Plus Slugging (OPS)
OPS is a relatively new statistic. Actually, it’s always been around, but people just recently started paying more attention to it. OPS is considered by some to be a better way to judge a batter’s value to their team, as opposed to just using AVG. OPS combines the on-base and slugging percentages. MLB average for OPS is around .750. A great player will have an OPS around 1.000.
Baseball Statistics explained with ALL FIELDS HITTING BASEBALL ACADEMY
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Point out that baseball has its own language. There are special codes for the different statistics listed on the back of the card. For example, BA = batting average, G = games played, AB = at bats, R = runs, H = hits, 2B = doubles, 3B = triples, HR = home runs, RBI = runs batted in, SB = stolen bases.
Use. Throughout modern baseball, a few core statistics have been traditionally referenced – batting average, RBI, and home runs. To this day, a player who leads the league in all of these three statistics earns the "Triple Crown".
Each position conventionally has an associated number, for use in scorekeeping by the official scorer: 1 (pitcher), 2 (catcher), 3 (first baseman), 4 (second baseman), 5 (third baseman), 6 (shortstop), 7 (left fielder), 8 (center fielder), and 9 (right fielder).
The calculation is total bases divided by official at-bats. The math equation looks like this: 1B + 2B(2) + 3B(3) + HR(4)AB. The purpose behind the statistic is to gauge how many bases a player will average each at bat. 4.000 SLG is a homerun each at bat. .500 SLG means the batter averages one base every two at bats.
BA (Batting Average) – statistic defined by the number of hits divided by at bats. A hit is awarded when a player who is at bat hits the ball into fair territory and safely reaches at least the first base without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice.
Definition. H/9 represents the average number of hits a pitcher allows per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing a pitcher's hits allowed by his innings pitched and multiplying that by nine. It's a very useful tool for evaluating pitchers, whose goal is to prevent runs, which are usually scored by hits.
Earned run average is one of those stats where the lower it is, the better the pitcher. A pitcher's ERA is calculated by the number of earned runs they've allowed (ER), divided by the number of innings pitched (IP) multiplied by 9 (the traditional inning length of a game).
Definition. Batters faced is simply a count of the number of total plate appearances against a certain pitcher or team. In a perfect game -- with 27 outs -- a pitcher will record 27 batters faced. Batters faced can often be used as a reference for in-game strategy.
In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, divided by the number of total chances (putouts + assists + errors).
The 3-6-3 double play (in which the first baseman fields the initial groundball, throws to the shortstop, and then retreats to the first base bag to receive the shortstop's return throw) is another example where one fielder receives credit for both a putout and assist on the same play.
In sports analytics, sabermetrics (originally SABRmetrics and sometimes known colloquially as moneyball) is the empirical analysis of baseball, especially baseball statistics that measure in-game activity.
A slash line is presented with a player's batting average first, on-base percentage second and slugging percentage third (AVG/OBP/SLG). The latter two stats are added together to generate a player's OPS (on-base plus slugging).
A box score captures a lot of information about the game. For each batter, it captures the number of at bats (AB), hits (H), runs (R), runs batted in (RBI), doubles (2B), home runs (HR), stolen bases (SB), and sacrifice hits (SH).
R stands for the number of Runs the team has scored.H stands for the number of Hits the team has.E stands for the number of Errors the team has made during the game.
K/BB ratio tells us how many strikeouts a pitcher records for each walk he allows. The number is found simply by dividing a pitcher's total number of strikeouts by his total number of walks. It's an essential tool for evaluating pitchers.
G – Games played: The number of games the player has appeared in during the current MLB season. AB – At bats: The number of times the player has been at bat, defined as plate appearances minus sacrifices, walks, and Hit by Pitches.
Introduction: My name is Pres. Carey Rath, I am a faithful, funny, vast, joyous, lively, brave, glamorous person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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