On-base percentage

In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP), also known as on-base average/OBA, measures how frequently a batter reaches base.[1] It is the ratio of the batter's times-on-base (TOB) (the sum of hits, walks, and times hit by pitch) to their number of plate appearances.[1] OBP does not credit the batter for reaching base due to fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped/uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference.

Ted Williams is the all-time Major League Baseball leader in on-base percentage.

An official MLB statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average/OBA, as it is rarely presented as a true percentage.

On-base percentage is added to slugging average to determine on-base plus slugging (OPS). The on-base percentage of all batters faced by one pitcher or team is referred to as on-base against.

History

On-base percentage is calculable for professional teams dating back to the first year of National Association of Professional Base Ball Players competition in 1871,[2] due to the component values of its formula being recorded in box scores of the time. However, the statistic was not conceptualized until sometime in the late 1940s by Brooklyn Dodgers team statistician Allan Roth, in consultation with then-Dodgers general manager Branch Rickey.[3][4] In 1954, Rickey, who was then the general manager of the Pittsburgh Pirates, was featured in a Life Magazine graphic in which the formula for on-base percentage was shown as the first component of an all-encompassing "offense" equation.[5] However, it was not named as on-base percentage, and there is little evidence that Roth's statistic was taken seriously at the time by the baseball community at large.[6]

On-base percentage became an official MLB statistic in 1984. Since then, especially since the publication of the influential 2003 book Moneyball which prominently highlighted Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane's focus on the statistic, on-base percentage has seen its perceived importance as a measure of offensive success increase dramatically.[7] Many baseball observers, particularly those influenced by the field of sabermetrics, now consider on-base percentage to be superior to the traditional statistic meant to measure offensive skill, batting average.[8][9] This is most notably because while both statistics incorporate a batter's success in recording hits, batting average ignores, while on-base percentage incorporates, the rate at which a batter is also able to avoid making an out and reach base via bases on balls or "walks."[10]

Overview

Traditionally, players with the best on-base percentages bat as leadoff hitter, unless they are power hitters, who traditionally bat slightly lower in the batting order. The league average for on-base percentage in Major League Baseball has varied considerably over time; at its peak in the late 1990s, it was around .340, whereas it was typically .300 during the dead-ball era. On-base percentage can also vary quite considerably from player to player. The highest career OBP of a batter with more than 3,000 plate appearances is .482 by Ted Williams. The lowest is by Bill Bergen, who had an OBP of .194.

On-base percentage is calculated using this formula:[11][12][13]

where

In certain unofficial calculations, the denominator is simplified and replaced by Plate Appearance (PA); however, the calculation PAs includes certain infrequent events that will slightly lower the calculated OBP (i.e. catcher's interference, and sacrifice bunts).[13] Sacrifice bunts are excluded from consideration on the basis that they are usually imposed by the manager with the expectation that the batter will not reach base, and thus do not accurately reflect the batter's ability to reach base when attempting to do so.[1]

All-time leaders

# Player OBP[14] Team(s) Year(s)
1 Ted Williams .4817 Boston Red Sox 19391942, 19461960
2 Babe Ruth .4740 Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Boston Braves 19141935
3 John McGraw .4657 Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants 18911906
4 Billy Hamilton .4552 Kansas City Cowboys, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Beaneaters 18881901
5 Lou Gehrig .4474 New York Yankees 19231939
6 Barry Bonds .4443 Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants 19862007
7 Bill Joyce .4349 Brooklyn Ward's Wonders, Boston Reds, Brooklyn Grooms, Washington Senators, New York Giants 18901898
8 Rogers Hornsby .4337 St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, Boston Braves, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Browns 19151937
9 Ty Cobb .4330 Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Athletics 19051928
10 Jimmie Foxx .4283 Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies 19251942, 19441945
11 Tris Speaker .4279 Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, Philadelphia Athletics 19071928
12 Joey Votto .4277 Cincinnati Reds 2007–present

bold is active player

Single-season leaders

# Player OBP[15] Team Year
1 Barry Bonds .6094 San Francisco Giants 2004
2 Barry Bonds .5817 San Francisco Giants 2002
3 Ted Williams .5528 Boston Red Sox 1941
4 John McGraw .5475 Baltimore Orioles 1899
5 Babe Ruth .5445 New York Yankees 1923
6 Babe Ruth .5319 New York Yankees 1920
7 Barry Bonds .5291 San Francisco Giants 2003
8 Ted Williams .5256 Boston Red Sox 1957
9 Billy Hamilton .5209 Philadelphia Phillies 1894
10 Babe Ruth .5156 New York Yankees 1926

See also

Notes

  1. "Glossary / Standard Stats / On-base Percentage (OBP)". MLB.com. Retrieved 13 June 2018.
  2. "Yearly League Leaders & Records for On-Base%". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
  3. "What is a On-base Percentage (OBP)? | Glossary". Major League Baseball. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
  4. admin. "Allan Roth – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved 2020-07-01.
  5. Rickey, Branch (August 2, 1954). "Goodby to Some Old Baseball Ideas". Life. Retrieved July 1, 2020.
  6. Schwarz, Alan (2004). The Numbers Game: Baseball's Lifelong Fascination with Statistics. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 55. ISBN 9780312322229.
  7. "Prospectus Idol Entry: Why is On Base Percentage King?". Baseball Prospectus. 2009-05-23. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
  8. "My plea to mainstream on-base percentage instead of batting average". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
  9. "Stat to the Future: Why it's time to stop relying on batting average". www.sportingnews.com. Retrieved 2020-07-01.
  10. "OBP | Sabermetrics Library". Retrieved 2020-07-01.
  11. [https://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/onbase_perc_career.shtml Baseball reference: OBP
  12. Beyond the Box Score
  13. Fangraphs
  14. "Career Leaders for On Base Percentage". Sports Reference, Inc. Retrieved 2011-06-25.
  15. "Single Season League Leaders for On-Base Percentage". Sports Reference, Inc. Retrieved 2011-06-25.
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