The game of baseball is driven by stats maybe more than any other sport. There are some key analytics that drive decision making in the game at the major league level and even a little league coaches use stats to make decisions.
Different people trust certain stats more than others and one of the most common stats in the entire game and most understood stat is batting average.
What is batting average in baseball?
Batting average is a percentage of the time a player gets a base hit in baseball. It is displayed as a three decimal place number, for example .300. To calculate batting average, you take the total number of hits divided by the total number of at bats. .300 is considered a quality batting average at the major-league baseball level and .400 has only been accomplished one time for an entire season since 1941. Anything below .250 is considered weak.
Below we take you through a lot of the questions connected to batting average and end by providing three tips to raise your batting average this season.
The complete overview includes:
- In depth on how to calculate batting average with samples (chart included)
- What is a good batting average (chart included)
- Best batting average of all time for a season since 1941 (chart included)
- Why batting average is important
- Related questions to batting average
- 3 tips to increase your batting average
- Take action today
How to calculate batting average (Chart Below)
Batting average is calculated by using some simple math. You can take the total number of hits and divide that by the total number of at bats. You will be left with a number that is then displayed for example as .336 or .459 or .218 – This simple calculation is easy to calculate and figure out.
For example if a hitter goes 2 for 4 in a game that means they had 2 hits in 4 at bats. Their batting average for that game would be .500. If the player had 4 total plate appearances, but one was a walk, the at bats would only be 3.
For example, if a player went to the plate 4 times and one those four trips had 2 hits, 2 fly outs and a walk – they would be considered 2 for 4. Then batting average if you take 2 and divide it by 4 you would hav a .500 batting average.
Some key plate appearances that do not count as at bats include walks, sacrifice fly or sacrifice bunt, or a hit by pitch. Here are some examples of different scenarios
Sample Batting Average Calculation Chart
| Plate Appearances | Walks | Sacrifices | Hits | At Bats | Batting Average |
| 40 | 5 | 5 | 15 | 30 | .500 |
| 120 | 18 | 12 | 30 | 90 | .333 |
| 300 | 40 | 5 | 60 | 255 | .235 |
| 500 | 100 | 10 | 220 | 390 | .564 |
What is a good batting average (Chart Below)
Anything above a .300 batting average is considered really good at the Major League Level. If a hitter starts approaching .320 or .330 that is a phenomenal batting average over the course of a season and they are having a fantastic year.
The true mark of the almost impossible target is a .400 batting average at the MLB level. The last player to reach this level was Ted Williams in 1941 when he hit .406 for the season. Once a player falls below a .250 batting average they are struggling and probably play a more defensive positions such as catcher, shortstop or centerfield.
| .200 Batting Average | Very Poor |
| .250 Batting Average | Poor to Below Average |
| .300 Batting Average | Good |
| .350 Batting Average | Excellent |
| .400 Batting Average | Amazing – Only once since 1941 |
For little league and high school baseball, you can add about 100 points to each of these levels above. The game at both of these levels is easier to have an higher average. There are high school players that will hit .500 for the season because of their superb talent compared to the pitchers they are facing.
Best batting average of all time for a season since 1941 (Chart Below)
Since 1941 no player has hit for .400 or higher for a season. Several players have challenged this milestone, but all have come up short. Below is a chart on those that have come the closest.
It speaks to the amazing season that Ted Williams had in 1941 and the advancement of pitching in the last 80 year. The analytics today might be making hitting for a high average today as teams shift and take away players most frequently hit areas.
| Player | Year | Batting Average |
| Tony Gwynn | Padres | .394 |
| George Brett | Royals | .390 |
| Rod Carew | Twins | .388 |
| Ted Williams | Red Sox | .388 |
| Larry Walker | Rockies | .379 |
| Stan Musial | Cardinals | .376 |
| Ichiro Suzuki | Mariners | .372 |
Why batting average is important
Batting average is important because it is a sign that one is getting on base and putting the ball in play to create runs not only as potential baserunners, but also the ability to drive runs in.
A key stat related to batting average is batting average with runners in scoring position. The ability to drive runs is key especially for hitters in the middle of the lineup. At the end of the season, if you have multiple players hitting over .300 and some putting the .333 level, you can have an elite team, especially if some of the hitters are power hitters.
Where the game has evolved is that some of the best power hitters can also hit for a high average in today’s day. There were always several benchmarks that signify a hall of fame caliber player at the plate: the ability to hit .300, hitting 3,000 career base hits or 500 career home runs.
Related Questions
Other important stats in baseball?
There are other traditional stats that are important in baseball. They include Runs Batted In (RBIs), on base percentage, home runs, stolen bases, sacrifice, slugging percentage. Recently stats such as WHIP, OPS and WAR have become more important to the true analytics people in the game.
Who is the all time hit leader in baseball?
The all time hit leader in baseball is Pete Rose. He collected 4,256 total hits in his career. Only Pete Rose and Ty Cobb broke the 4,000 hit barrier. Overall, there are a total of 32 players that have over 3,000 career hits and only 288 players with 2,000 plus hits.
How many hits in a season is impressive?
The best hitters in the game will collect around 200 hits per season. This means in order to get to 3,000 total career hits, a player would need to have 200 hits per season for over 15 seasons to reach that milestone.
In order to get to 4,000, the player would need to average 200 hits per season for 20 seasons. The longevity that it takes to hit one of these marks is what makes it so rare and amazing that players are able to accomplish these feats.
3 Tips to Increase Your Batting Average
#1 – Hit the Ball Solid in the Majority of your At Bats
The key to any good hitter or someone that has a high average is that they are able to make solid contact in a high percentage of the at bats. If you are routinely hitting weak ground balls or lazy pop flies it is difficult to college a ton of hits.
The exit speed from making solid contact is important as the ball moving faster as it leaves the bat has a better chance of finding a hole in the infield or a gap in the outfield. The hitter should work on making solid contact on all types of pitches and being able to go with the pitch.
The player who gets caught up in hitting home runs might struggle overall with the batting average stat.
#2 – Increase your Running Speed
Unless you are just a pure hitter, having some additional speed will not only help your team win more games, but your batting average will increase. If you can’t run at certain levels, you better be a hitting machine like Edgar Martinez or have the ability to drive the ball into the outfield gaps or for home runs.
There are players that have accumulated 3,000 hits and didn’t have superb speed, but for the most part they were big powerful hitters that also hit for contact.
#3 – Swing at Good Pitches
The majority of the games best hitters know the strike zone very well. They are able to read the pitches and ensure they aren’t chasing balls out of the zone. Too frequently, the poorest hitters swing at bad pitches which either leads to strikeouts of poorly hit balls. Work on being a selective hitter, but not a hesitant hitter. When you see your pitch, you must be able to make a good swing and be aggressive.
Take Action…
There are opportunities to get better in baseball. There are many ways to improve, but it all starts with hard work and dedication. The three tips above are great places to start. Educate yourself, find some drills and then get to work. Ichiro Suzuki, maybe one of the top 5 purest hitters of all time, had a daily routine that was incredible. The time and dedication he put towards getting his game to the next level and it keeping it there as long as possible is simply amazing.
One last piece of advice, hustle in everything that you do. Say what you want about Pete Rose, but “Charlie Hustle” always put it all out there for his team. He was willing to try to take the extra base and go all out to help his team win.
One impressive system that we have come across that is worth checking out is the SuperSpeedSuggler, they have a system for youth, adults and softball. This system has protocols and equipment to help you increase your swing speed, which would help you not only hit more homeruns, but also hit for a higher average. The exit speed of the baseball off of your bat will play a major role in the the ball getting through the infield or finding the gaps in the outfield.