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Definition – What is Batting Average on Balls in Play?
Batting Average on Balls in Play (BABIP) is used to evaluate a batter (or pitcher’s) average on balls that go into play.
A batter with a higher BABIP is seen as a better batter.
Formula – How to Calculate BABIP
BABIP = (Hits – Home Runs) ÷ (At Bats – Strikeouts – Home Runs + Sacrifice Flies)
Example
If a batter has: 193 hits, 44 home runs, 555 at-bats, 90 strikeouts, and 12 sacrifice flies
then:
BABIP = (193 – 44) ÷ (555 – 44 – 90 + 12)
BABIP = 149 ÷ 433
BABIP = 0.344
Therefore, this batter’s Batting Average on Balls in Play is 0.344.
Sources and more resources
- Wikipedia – BABIP, Hit (Baseball), Strikeout, Sacrifice Fly – Wikipedia entries on the statistics involved with BABIP.
- Rules on baseball and baseball statistics from Major League Baseball, NCAA (Baseball), NCAA (Softball), NCAA (Baseball and Softball), NFHS, and the International Baseball Federation.
- BABIP statistics from ESPN.
- More on BABIP with Jonah Keri – “Batting Average on Balls in Play Explanation”, StackExchange Sports – “What is BABIP and what does it tell us?”, and Viva el Birdos – “Batting Average on Balls in Play and How to Use it”.