Definition

Noun: - A statistical measure in baseball: A number that represents a batter's success rate at getting hits, calculated by dividing the total number of base hits by the total number of official at-bats. It is expressed as a decimal to three places.

Usage and Examples

• As a key performance statistic:
  • A high hitting average is often an indicator of a consistent and skilled batter.
  • The rookie's hitting average improved dramatically over the course of the season.
• In historical or comparative contexts:
  • Achieving a hitting average over .300 for a career is considered excellent.
  • The coach reviewed the team's hitting averages to decide the batting order.

Advanced Usage

• "to lead the league in hitting average": To have the highest calculated success rate among all qualifying batters in the league for a given period.
  • He led the American League in hitting average last year.
• "to see one's hitting average drop": To experience a decline in this performance metric.
  • After his injury, he saw his hitting average drop significantly.

Variants and Related Words

• Batting average: This is the more common and standard term for "hitting average." They are synonyms.
  • Batting average is one of the oldest and most cited statistics in baseball.
• On-base percentage (OBP): A related but distinct statistic that measures how frequently a batter reaches base.
• Slugging percentage (SLG): A statistic that measures the power of a batter by accounting for the type of hits.

Synonyms

• Batting average: The direct and most frequently used synonym.

Notes on Meaning

• The term is specific to the sport of baseball (and its derivative sports like softball). It is not used in a general context outside of sports statistics.
• The calculation only counts "official at-bats," which excludes walks, sacrifices, hit-by-pitches, and times reached base due to interference or obstruction.

Noun

1. (baseball) a measure of a batter's performance; the number of base hits divided by the number of official times at bat
   • Ted Williams once had a batting average above .400