hitting average
Học thuậtThân thiện
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
- (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