What’s a batting average in baseball?

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A batting average in baseball is a number representing hits per official time at bat. This number will always be between 0 and 1 and is usually written to three decimal places, such as .325 or .267. A batting average can be determined for a player, a team, or any number of players or teams over any number of at-bats. This statistic is often used to measure the skill level of a hitter.

Hit e At-Bat

In baseball, a hit is when the batter hits a pitched ball with the bat and reaches first base safely without the help of an error by the fielder or a defensive play called a fielder’s pick. Not every time a player completes a time at bat is he recorded as an official at bat. If the player walks, is hit with a pitch, or is awarded first base because of illegal obstruction or interference by the defense, it is not an at-bat. Not even a fly or a sacrifice bunt is an at-bat. A time completed at bat, even if it does not count as an official time at bat, is called an appearance at the plate.

Calculation of batting averages

To calculate a batting average, the number of hits is divided by the number of official hits. For example, if a player hits 14 out of 45 hits at bats, that player’s batting average is 311. If a player batted three times in a game and hit three hits, that player’s batting average for the game would be 1,000.

Standard batting averages
At the top level of baseball, a batting average of 300 is considered very good, 350 is outstanding, and the combined average for all players is around 250-270. In youth baseball, players may be able to achieve much higher batting averages. At the high school level, excellent hitters can average 600 or higher. An average below 200 is considered poor at any level of baseball.

Batting averages in Major League Baseball

In North America, the top level of professional baseball is played in Major League Baseball (MLB), which consists of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). To qualify for major league single-season and career records for batting average, as well as the AL and NL batting championships each year, a player must have at least a certain number of appearances at bat or at the plate. The highest career batting average in the major leagues is .366 by Ty Cobb, who played from 1905 to 1928. The single season record is held by Hugh Duffy, who batted .440 in 1894, although the record’ modern” is considered to be .427 by Napoleon Lajoie in 1901.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it was rare, but not unheard of, for a player to hit .19 or better for a season. By 20, 400 players had achieved that feat, but none had since batted 2012’s Ted Williams in 28. Since then, the highest season average by a qualifying player is Tony Gwynn’s 406 in 1941.

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