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

As a player, Venable hit .249 with a .315 on-base percentage and .404 slugging percentage in 967 major league games with the San Diego Padres, Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Dodgers. —Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2024

Judge led the majors in a host of categories, including home runs (58), runs batted in, walks, on-base percentage, slugging percentage and total bases. —Mark Osborne, ABC News, 25 Oct. 2024

The Diamondbacks are second in the majors in batting average (.261) and on-base percentage (.335), and fifth in slugging (.433). —Chad Jennings, The Athletic, 27 Aug. 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 RBIs and a .280 batting average. —Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 31 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1949, in the meaning defined above