By SSTN Admin
March 5, 20220
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The other day, Nic from Baseball Scouter reached out to us to share a great tool on his web site – a batting average calculator.
Here is some of the information to this on-line tool.
Fans new to baseball sometimes struggle with calculating batting averages, so BaseballScouter.com created a quick and easy-to-use online tool to simply plug in at bats and hits to get instant results.
The site also gives a nice overview of what a batting average is for the common fan or those new to the game:
What is Batting Average in Baseball?
A baseball batting average is a percentage ranging from 0.000 to 1.000 that indicates a batter’s success in terms of number of base hits compared with how many at bats the player had over a certain period.
The batting average can be computed by starting with the number of base hits, and then dividing it by the number of at bats. Because the number of at bats always is higher, the result is a percentage.
Batting averages are displayed with a decimal point followed by three digits, such as .300, which is the generally accepted dividing point between hitting excellence and very good. A perfect 1.000 batting average never occurs after more than a game
Reading Batting Average Data – What is Good, Bad, or Ugly
Baseball players typically aspire to “hit .300” – at least. So getting at least 3 hits (or more) every 10 at bats helps make a baseball hitter successful. Here are general rules when looking at what statistical charts might call BAs:
.000 – Total failure, no hits at all. In Major League Baseball this only occurs when a player gets a very limited number of at bats in a season, such as a minor leaguer getting called up to play on the big league team for only a game or two.
.115 – Average BA of pitchers mid-season 2018. Only the National League forces pitchers to hit (whereas in the American League, all the minor leagues, college play and most youth leagues utilize a designated hitter instead). Because pitchers do not get much batting practice time nor consistent game at bats to become comfortable or better at batting, almost all of them are poor hitters. (Side note: For the shortened 2020 season the NL allowed a designated hitter to bat for pitchers, and there is momentum to make the change permanent going forward).
.200 – The Mendoza Line. Named for the light-hitting shortstop Mario Mendoza, who played from 1975 to 1979. Some refer to .215 as the Mendoza Line, because that was his true lifetime batting average.
.245 – The average BA in the major leagues in 2020.
.254 – The average BA in the major leagues in 2015. The .250 mark is generally the demarcation between above- and below-average hitters. League-wide average batting averages have been declining in recent years, mainly due to many more hitters swinging for the fences and striking out, and increased use of specialty relief pitchers often inserted into games just to face certain hitters they have had success with.
.270 – The average BA in the major leagues in 2000.
.300 – The cutoff for very good hitting.
.335 – The general range of top-10 batters in the MLB over the years.
.350 – Extremely good hitting.
.400 – Out-of-this-world hitting excellence. This figure has not been surpassed in the major leagues since 1941 when Ted Williams hit .406. Most baseball experts do not believe the major leagues will see another .400 hitter, due to the above-mentioned use of specialty relief pitchers.
.500 – Not something a batter records over a season. It’s a term denoting success half the time, as in a player getting 2 hits in 4 at bats. The term “batting five hundred” is applied to other elements of American life, like when someone succeeds half the time or every other time.
1.000 – Perfect batting average, as in 200 hits in 200 at bats. or two, because no one gets a base hit every single at bat over many games or a season.
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There is lots more to see on their site.
Take a look!
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