Baseball Statistics

There are many stats in the game of baseball. There are stats for fielders, pitchers, and hitters. Most of these are calculated by simply counting the number of times they happen. Examples of these stats are homeruns, stikeouts, RBIs, walks, hits, ect. There are some stats that require calculations. These are the stats I would like to discuss.

Hitters

Batting Average

Any baseball fan knows what a batting average is. It is the single most important stat for a hitter. A hitter with a low batting average is not a valuable asset to any team, regardless of his other stats. A players batting average is calculated by taking the number of times the player gets a hit and dividing by the total number of at bats for that player. Walks do not count as at bats in baseball. Lets say a player gets 4 at bats for in a game. In the game he gets 2 hits. So his batting average for that game is 2/4 or 0.500.

 
Above is Hall of Famer Ty Cobb. He is the all time leader in batting average for a career. He played for 24 years with the Tigers and the Athletics and had an impressive 0.366 batting average for his career.

On Base Percentage

On base percentage is similar to batting average. The only difference is that on base percentage takes into account errors and walks. If a player reaches base safely due to a walk, his on base percentage will go up but his batting average will remain the same. For example, lets say a player gets 10 at bats. He gets 6 hits, 2 walks, and 1 base by error. His batting average would be 6/8 or 0.750 while his on base percentage would be 9/10 or 0.900.

Slugging Percentage

Slugging percentage in a little more confusing than the previous 2 stats. Slugging percentage measures the power of a hitter. It takes into account whether the hitter gets singles, or something more than a single. Each hit does not count equally like it does in batting average. Slugging percentage is calculated:

1B, 2B, 3B, and HR stand for single, double, triple, and home run. Notice that the farther you get around the bases, higher your slugging percentage will be. Players who hit a lot of home runs often have high slugging percentages.

The guy to the left is Babe Ruth. One of the most iconic players in the history of baseball. n 1920, Babe Ruth played his first season for the New York Yankees. In 458 at bats, Ruth had 172 hits, comprising 73 singles, 36 doubles, 9 triples, and 54 home runs, which brings the total base count to (73 × 1) + (36 × 2) + (9 × 3) + (54 × 4) = 388. Divide that by 458 at bats and you get a 0.847 slugging percentage.  That was quite impressive.

Then this guy to the right showed up and beat that record in 2001. Barry Bonds is also an iconic player, but for bad reasons. HE IS A CHEATER! HE TOOK STEROIDS AND WE ALL KNOW IT!! In 2001, Bonds racked 411 bases in 476 at bats which came to a 0.863 slugging percentage. That record still stands today





Pitching

Earned Run Average (ERA)

A pitcher's ERA is his most important stat. It is the average number of runs given up per nine innings by a pitcher. Starting pitchers who have the lowest ERAs are often up for the Cy Young Award which is given to the best pitcher in each league. ERA is calculated by taking the amount of earned runs, dividing it by the total number of innings pitched, and multiplying by 9. An earned run is only scored if there are no defensive errors. Let's say a batter hits the ball and it goes through a fielders hand. That is an error. If another player scores off of that error, a pitcher's ERA is not effected. If a pitcher pitches 30 innings and gives up 4 runs his ERA would be (4/30) * 9 = 1.19 which is pretty good.

Justin Verlander won the 2011 American League CY Young. He led the league with a 2.40 ERA. This stat, along with others, allowed him to be the first pitcher since 1986 to win the MVP award.

Walks plus Hits per Inning (WHIP)

A pitchers WHIP shows how efficient he is pitching. It shows how many base runners per inning a pitcher allows. Pitchers with lower WHIPs often pitch more innings since they do not give up as many base runners. WHIP is calculated by adding the amount of hits and walks a pitcher gives up and diving that by the number of innings pitched. If a pitcher pitches 50 innings and gives up 12 hits and 4 walks then his WHIP is (12+4)/50 = 0.320 which is not very good. Justin Verlander also had an impressive WHIP in 2011 which allowed him to win the Cy Young and MVP.


Many stats in sports are simply figured out by counting how many times they happen. In football there are many counting stats like touchdowns, yards, tackles, and interceptions. Hockey there are goals, assists and points. Those are major stats in their respective sports but they don't require any math, any calculation. Some of the most important stats in baseball require mathematical calculation.