The Complete Guide to Baseball Batting Stats
By Arshi Khan, Founder of Just4Marketing · Last reviewed October 2026
Batting average has been baseball's headline hitting stat for over a century, but on its own it misses walks and treats a single the same as a home run. On-base percentage and slugging fill those gaps, and adding them together gives OPS, one of the most widely used quick measures of a hitter. This guide explains each stat and what counts toward it.
Why one number isn't enough
Two hitters can both bat .280 and be very different players: one might walk often and hit for power, the other might rarely walk and hit mostly singles. On-base percentage captures the walks, and slugging captures the extra-base hits. OPS — simply OBP plus SLG — combines both into a single figure that tracks closely with how many runs a hitter helps create.
What counts toward each stat
| Event | At-bat? | AVG | OBP | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single, double, triple, home run | Yes | Counts as a hit | On base | 1–4 bases |
| Out | Yes | Lowers it | Lowers it | Lowers it |
| Walk or hit by pitch | No | No effect | On base | No effect |
| Sacrifice fly | No | No effect | Lowers it | No effect |
| Sacrifice bunt | No | No effect | No effect | No effect |
Reading the numbers
Mind the sample size
Over a few dozen at-bats, a few lucky hits swing the average wildly. Judge on a full season where possible.
Compare like with like
Youth, amateur, and professional leagues have very different typical averages.
Use OPS for a quick ranking
When comparing hitters, OPS usually tells you more than batting average alone.
Frequently asked questions
How is batting average calculated?
Batting average = hits ÷ at-bats. Walks, hit-by-pitches, and sacrifice flies are not at-bats, so they don't affect it. 150 hits in 500 at-bats is a .300 average.
What is on-base percentage (OBP)?
OBP = (hits + walks + hit by pitch) ÷ (at-bats + walks + hit by pitch + sacrifice flies). It measures how often a batter reaches base, which is why it includes walks.
What is slugging percentage?
Slugging = total bases ÷ at-bats, where a single counts 1, a double 2, a triple 3, and a home run 4. Despite the name it isn't a percentage — it can be above 1.000.
What is a good OPS?
As a rough guide for professional hitters, around .700 is average, .800 is good, and .900 or higher is excellent. League-wide levels change from season to season.