If you’re fond of playing baseball, you might have heard about the term “batting average.” What is a good batting average, and how can you calculate it? This blog post contains the answers to all your questions along with the necessary details. Read on to learn more about this vital baseball metric.
Baseball Batting Average
The baseball batting average is a measure of a baseball batter’s success with the bat. A batting average is calculated by dividing a batter’s total hits by their total at-bats, i.e., a player’s turn at batting. This metric allows you to measure a batsman’s skill with the bat.
The batting average was first used in cricket in the early 19th century and was later adopted by other sports like softball and baseball. In the past, the batting average was calculated by dividing the number of times a batter hit the ball by the number of times they got out. Later on, this method was changed by dividing the number of hits by the count of at-bats.
In simple words, a batting average shows how frequently a player strikes the ball. However, it does not show the quality of hits.
What Is A Good Baseball Batting Average?
0.275 or higher is considered a good batting average in Major League Baseball (MLB). Players with a batting average of .300 or higher are considered excellent batters. A batting average of .400 is nearly impossible, and only a few players achieve this excellence. Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, Ed Delahanty, Ty Cobb, and Rogers Hornsby are the only players to record a .400 batting average in three different seasons.
Batting Average Formula
To calculate the batting average, divide the number of times a baseball hitter’s bat struck the ball by the number of at-bats. The answer would be a number between 0 and 1.00.
Batting average = H (hits) /AB (at-bats)
Factors required to calculate a baseball player’s batting average:
- Select a baseball in the batting average calculator.
- Count the total number of hits the player made.
- Count the number of times the sportsman was at bat.
- Now, divide the total number of hits by the total number of times at bats.
While the formula does give you an insight into the player’s capabilities, it does not paint the whole picture. It fails to consider factors like total bases, extra-base hits, and game-walks. Therefore, coaches and players do not solely rely on the batting average to measure a player’s skill.
Understanding the Batting Average
All baseball enthusiasts know what a batting average is, but not everyone understands how it is used in the game. Let’s understand it by an example:
If a player hits .345 (which is considered an above-average batting average), it means they get a base hit 34.5% of the time. Similarly, if a batter hits .250, it means they get a base hit 25% of the time.
The batting average values are characterized differently in baseball than in cricket. It is written as three decimal places but read without the decimal. For instance, if a player’s batting average is 0.400, it would be written as .400.
Let us now see how Major League Baseball takes batting average values:
- Under .250 – poor to average
- .250 – .275 – good to very good
- .275 – .300 – very good
- More than .300 – exceptional
- More than .400 – the ultimate achievement, nearly hard to achieve, especially in modern baseball.
Highest Batting Average in Baseball
Ted Williams was the last player to score .400. he hit a .406 batting average in 1941. Ted was most commonly known by his nicknames, “The Splendid Splinter,” “The Kid,” and “Teddy Ballgame.” He was an energetic player for almost 20 years; he took a break from his career during the Korean War and WWII for military service. He ended his baseball career with a striking batting average of .344. Moreover, he made the highest OBP of all time with an on-base percentage of .482.
Highest Batting Averages of All-Times
The first on the list of highest batting average players is Ty Cobb. He is renowned for his .366 average and 4,189 hits in a 24-year career. Next up is Rogers Hornsby; his career spanned 23 years, during which he achieved a batting average of .358 with 2,930 hits.
Joe Jackson is another remarkable batter in baseball sport, famous for his good batting average. He played 13 seasons and batted .356. These three players are the top 3 players with the highest batting averages. A few other well-known names are:
- Ty Cobb .367
- Rogers Hornsby .358
- Joe Jackson .356
- Ed Delahanty .346
- Tris Speaker .345
- Ted Williams .344
- Billy Hamilton .344
- Harry Heilmann .342
- Dan Brouthers .342
- Babe Ruth .342
- Bill Terry .341
- Pete Browning .341
- Willie Keeler .341
- George Sisler .340
- Lou Gehrig .340
- Tony Gwynn .348
Conclusion for What Is A Good Baseball Batting Average?
A batting average of more than 0.275 is considered a good batting average in MLB. Batting average, i.e., the number of times a hitter was able to strike the ball with their bat divided by the times they were at-bat, is a measure of a baseball player’s skill. While it is a useful measure, you cannot rely on it completely, as it does not consider all game factors. It should be used along with other metrics to judge a player’s skill.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. This is because of the reason that a batting average does not justify a player’s speed, power, or ability.
Yes, certain positions are considered to have a higher batting average as compared to others. Think of a shortstop and a first baseman; a shortstop will probably have a higher batting average than that of a first baseman.
Yes, seasons and weather play a significant role in batting average. Moreover, other factors like injury, luck, and fluctuations in the player’s tactic at the plate also account for a lot in a player’s batting average.
Yes, because batting average is not the sole factor responsible for the success of a team; rather, other attributes like base running, fielding, and plate discipline play a major role.