on-base percentage

noun

on-base per·​cent·​age ˈȯn-ˈbās-pər-ˈsen-tij 

baseball

: a statistic that is expressed as a 3-digit decimal and that indicates the frequency with which a batter reaches base by a hit, a walk, or being hit by a pitch

Note: A batter with an on-base percentage of .350 has reached base 3.5 times for every 10 at bats.

Through Sunday he led the league in on-base percentage (.479) and hits (40) and was second in runs scored (21) and ninth in slugging percentage (.515).

—Ivan Maisel

… he understood that on-base percentage was a far better tool to evaluate a hitter than batting average …

—Tom Verducci

Examples of on-base percentage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Robert posted career-lows in batting average (.224), on-base percentage (.278) and slugging (.379) in 2024. —Lamond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 10 Dec. 2024

Kansas City, as a team, got a .228 batting average (27th of 30 teams) and a .270 on-base percentage (30th) from their leadoff hitters last year. —Ken Rosenthal, The Athletic, 25 Nov. 2024

In his 11th season and on a one-year, $1 million contract, Profar figured it out in San Diego, setting personal bests of a .380 on-base percentage, 24 home runs, 94 runs, 85 RBI and a .280 batting average. —Steve Henson, Orlando Sentinel, 3 Nov. 2024

His on-base percentage in 3-2 counts has jumped from .231 last season to .536 so far in 2024. —Matt Weyrich, Baltimore Sun, 7 Aug. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1949, in the meaning defined above