1. What is Batting Average?

Batting average (BA) is a statistic in baseball that measures a batter's success rate at achieving a hit during an at bat. It is calculated by dividing the number of hits by the number of at bats.

2. How Does the Calculator Work?

The calculator uses the simple batting average formula:

Where:

• \( BA \) — Batting average (dimensionless)
• \( H \) — Number of hits
• \( AB \) — Number of at bats

Explanation: The formula gives the ratio of hits to at bats, representing the probability that a batter will get a hit in any given at bat.

3. Importance of Batting Average

Details: Batting average is one of the oldest and most traditional statistics in baseball. While modern analytics have introduced more comprehensive metrics, BA remains a fundamental measure of batting performance.

4. Using the Calculator

Tips: Enter the number of hits and at bats (both must be non-negative integers). At bats must be greater than zero to calculate a valid batting average.

5. Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q1: What is considered a good batting average?
A: In Major League Baseball, .300 is considered excellent, .250-.299 is average, and below .250 is below average.

Q2: What's the highest possible batting average?
A: The theoretical maximum is 1.000 (a hit every at bat), though in practice the highest single-season average is .440 by Hugh Duffy in 1894.

Q3: What doesn't count as an at bat?
A: Walks, hit-by-pitches, sacrifices, and catcher's interference don't count as at bats.

Q4: What are limitations of batting average?
A: BA doesn't account for walks, power (extra base hits), or situational hitting. Modern metrics like OPS (on-base plus slugging) provide more complete evaluations.

Q5: How is batting average displayed?
A: Typically shown as a 3-digit decimal without the leading zero (e.g., .300 instead of 0.300).