A baseball player's batting average is simply a ratio of hits made versus at bats. Think of it as a success rate. The more hits a player gets in a given number of at bats, the higher his batting average. Batting averages are rounded to three figures and in baseball parlance are spoken as if the decimal point is not there ("300"). At the major league level any batting average over .300 is considered very good.
Step 1
Add up a batter's total number of hits in any given time period. This may mean sorting through old game records, either digitally or the old-fashioned paper kind. Note that walks, being hit by a pitch, catcher's interference, sacrifice flies and sacrifice bunts, fielder's choices and defensive errors do not count as hits.
Step 2
Add up the number of at bats by the same batter over the given time period. Note that even though fielder's choices and defensive errors do not count as hits, they do count as at bats. Walks, being hit by a pitch and catcher's interference do not count as at bats, even though the batter is awarded first base. In all other instances, including sacrifice flies and bunts, if a batter comes to the plate it is scored as an at bat.
Step 3
Divide the number of hits made by the number of at bats and round to three figures. For example, in 1959, Hall of Famer Hank Aaron had 223 hits in 629 at bats. That gave him a career-high batting average of .355.
Things You'll Need
- Game records
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