Batting Average Calculator

About the Batting Average Calculator

Batting average is the most famous statistic in baseball and softball. It is printed on every scoreboard, quoted in every broadcast, and has been used to compare hitters for well over a century. A .300 hitter is a star; a .200 hitter is fighting for a place in the line-up. Behind it is one simple division: how often a batter gets a hit when they have an official at-bat.

This batting average calculator works out a batting average from hits and at-bats, shows how it rates and what share of at-bats end in a hit, and — if you enter a target average and the at-bats still to come — works out how many hits you need to reach it.

How to Use the Batting Average Calculator

Enter the number of hits.

Enter the number of at-bats. Do not count walks, hit-by-pitches, sacrifice bunts, sacrifice flies or catcher's interference.

Optionally, enter a target average, such as 0.300, and the number of remaining at-bats in the season.

How Batting Average Is Worked Out

  batting average  =  hits ÷ at-bats                (three decimal places)
  hits needed      =  target × (at-bats + remaining) − hits

Step-by-Step Example

45 hits in 160 at-bats, aiming for .300 with 40 at-bats left.

  Average:      45 ÷ 160                  =  0.28125  →  .281
  Hits needed:  .300 × (160 + 40) − 45     =  60 − 45  =  15
  Over 40:      15 ÷ 40                    =  .375

150 hits in 500 at-bats.

  Average:      150 ÷ 500                 =  .300

What Counts as an At-Bat?

An at-bat is a plate appearance that ends in a hit, an out (other than a sacrifice) or reaching base on an error or fielder's choice. Walks and hit-by-pitches are left out because the batter did not have a fair chance to hit; sacrifices are left out because the batter gave themselves up deliberately to advance a runner. This means a batter's plate appearances are always more than their at-bats — often by 10 to 15 percent.

What Is a Good Batting Average?

The Mendoza line takes its name from Mario Mendoza, a fine fielding shortstop of the 1970s whose batting average hovered around .200. League averages have changed over time: they were much higher in the 1920s and 1930s, and have drifted down in recent seasons as strikeouts have risen. No major-league hitter has finished a full season above .400 since Ted Williams hit .406 in 1941.

Reading and Writing Averages

Batting averages are written to three decimal places, normally without the leading zero, and read as if they were whole numbers: .281 is "two-eighty-one". Ties are sometimes broken with a fourth decimal place. A perfect average of 1.000, possible over a small number of at-bats, is read as "a thousand".

Beyond Batting Average

Batting average treats every hit the same and ignores walks, so it does not tell the whole story of a hitter's value. On-base percentage counts how often a batter reaches base, including walks and hit-by-pitches. Slugging percentage gives extra weight to doubles, triples and home runs. Their sum, OPS, is widely used as a better single measure of hitting. Still, batting average remains the quickest way to see how often a hitter puts the ball in play safely.

Softball, Cricket and Youth Leagues

The same calculation applies in fast-pitch and slow-pitch softball and in youth baseball, although averages are often higher in lower levels of play. Cricket also uses a "batting average", but it is calculated differently: runs scored divided by the number of times out.

Tracking Averages Through a Season

Early in a season, a batting average swings sharply: two hits in the first five at-bats is .400, and a hitless game can drop it by a hundred points. By a few hundred at-bats, each new at-bat moves the average only slightly, which is why hitters talk about how hard it is to raise an average late in the year. The hits-needed calculation shows this clearly: the more at-bats already taken, the more hits it takes to move the number. Rolling averages over the last 15 or 30 games are often used to show a hitter's current form.

Team Batting Average

A team's batting average is its total hits divided by its total at-bats, not the average of the players' averages. Players with more at-bats count for more, so adding up individual averages and dividing by the number of players gives the wrong figure.

Understanding Your Result

Batting average is the average to three decimal places.

Rating describes how the average compares in professional baseball.

As a percentage shows the share of at-bats that end in a hit.

Hitless at-bats shows the at-bats without a hit.

To reach your target gives the hits needed in the remaining at-bats.

Worth knowing lists what does not count as an at-bat.

When Should You Use This Calculator?

Tracking a player's season in baseball or softball.

Keeping team statistics for a youth or amateur league.

Setting a goal for the rest of the season.

Checking a scorebook or stats app.

Comparing hitters on the same team.

Common Mistakes

Counting walks as at-bats.

Counting sacrifices as at-bats.

Dividing by plate appearances instead of at-bats.

Rounding too early before comparing close averages.

Treating reaching on an error as a hit.