On-base Percentage

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In [[baseball statistics]], '''on-base percentage (OBP)''' (sometimes referred to as '''on-base average [OBA]''', as the statistic is rarely presented as a true [[percentage]]) is a measure of how often a [[batting (baseball)|batter]] reaches base for any reason other than a [[error (baseball)|fielding error]], [[fielder's choice]], [[dropped third strike|dropped third strike]], [[fielder's obstruction]], or [[catcher's interference]] (the latter two are ignored as either [[Times on base|times-on-base (TOB)]] or [[plate appearance]]s in calculating OBP). OBP is added to [[slugging average]] to determine [[on-base plus slugging]] (OPS). It first became an official [[MLB]] statistic in 1984.
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 +
==Overview==
 +
Traditionally, the best leadoff hitters in the game have high on-base percentages. The league average for on-base percentage has varied considerably over time; in the modern era it is around .340, whereas it was typically only .300 in the [[dead-ball era]]. On-base percentage can also vary quite considerably from player to player. The record for the highest career OBP by a hitter, based on over 3000 [[plate appearance]]s, is .482 by [[Ted Williams]]. The lowest is by [[Bill Bergen]], who had an OBP of .194.
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 +
Though extremely unlikely, it is possible for a player's on-base percentage to be lower than his [[batting average]] (H/AB). However very few players in major league history fall into this category, with the majority of them having under 100 ABs, as it requires having almost no [[base on balls|walks]] or times [[hit by pitch]], with a relatively higher number of [[sacrifice fly|sacrifice flies]] (e.g. if a player has 2 hits in 6 at bats with a sacrifice fly, his batting average would be .333, but his on-base percentage would be .286).  An example of this phenomenon would be the Hall-of-Fame pitcher Phil Niekro's hitting statistics from 1982.  In 87 AB he never walked, but had four sacrifice hits, leading to a Batting Average of .195 and an OBP of .193.
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On-base percentage is calculated using this formula:
On-base percentage is calculated using this formula:
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:<math>OBP = \frac{H+BB+ HBP}{AB+BB+HBP+SF}</math>
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:<math>OBP = \frac{H+BB+HBP}{AB+BB+HBP+SF}</math>
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 +
where
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*''H'' = [[Hit (baseball)|Hits]]
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*''BB'' = [[Base on balls|Bases on Balls (Walks)]]
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*''HBP'' = times [[Hit by pitch|Hit By a Pitch]]
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*''AB'' = [[At bat]]s
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*''SF'' = [[Sacrifice fly|Sacrifice Flies]]
 +
 
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'''NOTE:''' Sacrifice flies were not counted as an official statistic until [[1954 in baseball|1954]]. Before that time, all sacrifices were counted as [[sacrifice hit]]s (SH), which included both sacrifice flies and [[Bunt (baseball)|bunts]]. Bunts (sacrifice hits since 1954), which would lower a batter's on-base percentage, are not included in the calculation for on-base percentage, as bunting is an offensive strategy &ndash; often dictated by the manager &ndash; the use of which does not necessarily reflect on the batter's ability and should not be used to penalize him. For calculations of OBP before 1954, or where sacrifice flies are not explicitly listed, the number of sacrifice flies should be assumed to be zero.
 +
 
 +
===All-time leaders===
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{| class="wikitable" border="1" cellpadding="1" style="border-collapse: collapse;"
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|- bgcolor="#E3E3E3" align="center"
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| width="12px" | '''#'''
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| width="135px" | '''Player'''
 +
| width="50px" | '''OBP'''<ref name=BaseballRefBatAvg>{{cite web |url=http://www.baseball-reference.com/leaders/OBP_career.shtml |title=Career Leaders for On Base Percentage|accessdate=2008-06-29 |publisher=Sports Reference, Inc }}</ref>
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| width="450px" | '''Team(s)'''
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| width="140px" | '''Year(s)'''
 +
|-
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|1
 +
|[[Ted Williams]]
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|.4817
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|[[Boston Red Sox]]
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|[[1939 in baseball|1939]]–[[1960 in baseball|1960]]
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|-
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|2
 +
|[[Babe Ruth]]
 +
|.4740
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|[[Boston Red Sox]], [[New York Yankees]], [[Atlanta Braves|Boston Braves]]
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|[[1914 in baseball|1914]]–[[1935 in baseball|1935]]
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|-
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|3
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|[[John McGraw]]
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|.4657
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|[[Baltimore Orioles]], [[St. Louis Cardinals]], [[New York Giants]]
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|[[1891 in baseball|1891]]–[[1906 in baseball|1906]]
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|-
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|4
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|[[Billy Hamilton (baseball)|Billy Hamilton]]
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|.4552
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|[[Kansas City Cowboys (American Association)|Kansas City Cowboys]], [[Philadelphia Phillies]], [[Atlanta Braves|Boston Beaneaters]]
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|[[1888 in baseball|1888]]–[[1901 in baseball|1901]]
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|-
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|5
 +
|[[Lou Gehrig]]
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|.4474
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|[[New York Yankees]]
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|[[1923 in baseball|1923]]–[[1939 in baseball|1939]]
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|-
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|6
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|[[Barry Bonds]]
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|.4443
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|[[Pittsburgh Pirates]], [[San Francisco Giants]]
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|[[1986 in baseball|1986]]–[[2007 in baseball|2007]]
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|-
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|7
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|[[Bill Joyce (baseball)|Bill Joyce]]
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|.4349
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|[[Brooklyn Ward's Wonders]], [[Boston Reds (1890–1891)|Boston Reds]], [[Los Angeles Dodgers|Brooklyn Grooms]], [[Washington Senators (1891-1899)|Washington Senators]], [[New York Giants]]
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|[[1890 in baseball|1890]]–[[1898 in baseball|1898]]
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|-
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|8
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|[[Rogers Hornsby]]
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|.4337
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|[[St. Louis Cardinals]], [[New York Giants]], [[Atlanta Braves|Boston Braves]], [[Chicago Cubs]], [[Baltimore Orioles#St._Louis_Browns|St. Louis Browns]]
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|[[1915 in baseball|1915]]–[[1937 in baseball|1937]]
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|-
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|9
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|[[Ty Cobb]]
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|.4330
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|[[Detroit Tigers]], [[Philadelphia Athletics]]
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|[[1905 in baseball|1905]]–[[1928 in baseball|1928]]
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|-
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|10
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|'''[[Todd Helton]]'''
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|.4284
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|[[Colorado Rockies]]
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|[[1997 in baseball|1997]]–[[September 28]], [[2008]]
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|-
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|11
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|[[Jimmie Foxx]]
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|.4283
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|[[Philadelphia Athletics]], [[Boston Red Sox]], [[Chicago Cubs]], [[Philadelphia Phillies]]
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|[[1925 in baseball|1925]]–[[1942 in baseball|1942]], [[1944 in baseball|1944]]–[[1945 in baseball|1945]]
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|-
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|12
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|[[Tris Speaker]]
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|.4280
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|[[Boston Red Sox]], [[Cleveland Indians]], [[Washington Senators (1901-1960)|Washington Senators]], [[Philadelphia Athletics]]
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|[[1907 in baseball|1907]]–[[1928 in baseball|1928]]
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|-
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|13
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|'''[[Albert Pujols]]'''
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|.4250
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|[[St. Louis Cardinals]]
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|[[2001 in baseball|2001]]-[[September 28]], [[2008]]
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|-
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|14
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||[[Eddie Collins]]
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|.4244
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|[[Philadelphia Athletics]], [[Chicago White Sox]], [[Philadelphia Athletics]]
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|[[1906 in baseball|1906]]–[[1930 in baseball|1930]]
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|-
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|15
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|[[Ferris Fain]]
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|.4241
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|[[Philadelphia Athletics]], [[Chicago White Sox]], [[Detroit Tigers]], [[Cleveland Indians]]
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|[[1947 in baseball|1947]]–[[1955 in baseball|1955]]
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|}
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'''bold''' is active player
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[[Category:Statistics]]
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===Single-season leaders===
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{| class="wikitable" border="1" cellpadding="1" style="border-collapse: collapse;"
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|- bgcolor="#E3E3E3" align="center"
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| width="12px" | '''#'''
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| width="135px" | '''Player'''
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| width="50px" | '''OBP'''<ref name=SingleSeasonOBP>{{cite web |url=http://mlb.mlb.com/stats/historical/leaders.jsp?c_id=mlb&baseballScope=mlb&statType=1&sortByStat=OBP&timeFrame=3&timeSubFrame=4 |title=Single Season League Leaders for On-Base Percentage|accessdate=2008-01-08 |publisher=Major League Baseball}}</ref>
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| width="175px" | '''Team'''
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| width="140px" | '''Year(s)'''
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|-
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|1
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|[[Barry Bonds]]
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|.609
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|[[San Francisco Giants]]
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|[[2004 in baseball|2004]]
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|-
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|2
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|[[Barry Bonds]]
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|.582
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|[[San Francisco Giants]]
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|[[2002 in baseball|2002]]
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|-
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|3
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|[[Ted Williams]]
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|.551
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|[[Boston Red Sox]]
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|[[1941 in baseball|1941]]
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|-
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|4
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|[[Babe Ruth]]
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|.542
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|[[New York Yankees]]
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|[[1923 in baseball|1923]]
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|-
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|5
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|[[Barry Bonds]]
 +
|.529
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|[[San Francisco Giants]]
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|[[2003 in baseball|2003]]
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|-
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|6
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|[[Babe Ruth]]
 +
|.528
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|[[New York Yankees]]
 +
|[[1920 in baseball|1920]]
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|-
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|7
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|[[Ted Williams]]
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|.526
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|[[Boston Red Sox]]
 +
|[[1957 in baseball|1957]]
 +
|-
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|8
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|[[Billy Hamilton (baseball)|Billy Hamilton]]
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|.517
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|[[Philadelphia Phillies]]
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|[[1894 in baseball|1894]]
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|-
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|9
 +
|[[Barry Bonds]]
 +
|.515
 +
|[[San Francisco Giants]]
 +
|[[2001 in baseball|2001]]
 +
|-
 +
|10
 +
|[[Ted Williams]]
 +
|.512
 +
|[[Boston Red Sox]]
 +
|[[1954 in baseball|1954]]
 +
|}

Revision as of 18:47, 5 August 2009

In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) (sometimes referred to as on-base average [OBA], as the statistic is rarely presented as a true percentage) is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference (the latter two are ignored as either times-on-base (TOB) or plate appearances in calculating OBP). OBP is added to slugging average to determine on-base plus slugging (OPS). It first became an official MLB statistic in 1984.

Overview

Traditionally, the best leadoff hitters in the game have high on-base percentages. The league average for on-base percentage has varied considerably over time; in the modern era it is around .340, whereas it was typically only .300 in the dead-ball era. On-base percentage can also vary quite considerably from player to player. The record for the highest career OBP by a hitter, based on over 3000 plate appearances, is .482 by Ted Williams. The lowest is by Bill Bergen, who had an OBP of .194.

Though extremely unlikely, it is possible for a player's on-base percentage to be lower than his batting average (H/AB). However very few players in major league history fall into this category, with the majority of them having under 100 ABs, as it requires having almost no walks or times hit by pitch, with a relatively higher number of sacrifice flies (e.g. if a player has 2 hits in 6 at bats with a sacrifice fly, his batting average would be .333, but his on-base percentage would be .286). An example of this phenomenon would be the Hall-of-Fame pitcher Phil Niekro's hitting statistics from 1982. In 87 AB he never walked, but had four sacrifice hits, leading to a Batting Average of .195 and an OBP of .193.

On-base percentage is calculated using this formula:

OBP = \frac{H+BB+HBP}{AB+BB+HBP+SF}

where

NOTE: Sacrifice flies were not counted as an official statistic until 1954. Before that time, all sacrifices were counted as sacrifice hits (SH), which included both sacrifice flies and bunts. Bunts (sacrifice hits since 1954), which would lower a batter's on-base percentage, are not included in the calculation for on-base percentage, as bunting is an offensive strategy – often dictated by the manager – the use of which does not necessarily reflect on the batter's ability and should not be used to penalize him. For calculations of OBP before 1954, or where sacrifice flies are not explicitly listed, the number of sacrifice flies should be assumed to be zero.

All-time leaders

# Player OBP[1] Team(s) Year(s)
1 Ted Williams .4817 Boston Red Sox 1939–1960
2 Babe Ruth .4740 Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, Boston Braves 1914–1935
3 John McGraw .4657 Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants 1891–1906
4 Billy Hamilton .4552 Kansas City Cowboys, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Beaneaters 1888–1901
5 Lou Gehrig .4474 New York Yankees 1923–1939
6 Barry Bonds .4443 Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants 1986–2007
7 Bill Joyce .4349 Brooklyn Ward's Wonders, Boston Reds, Brooklyn Grooms, Washington Senators, New York Giants 1890–1898
8 Rogers Hornsby .4337 St. Louis Cardinals, New York Giants, Boston Braves, Chicago Cubs, St. Louis Browns 1915–1937
9 Ty Cobb .4330 Detroit Tigers, Philadelphia Athletics 1905–1928
10 Todd Helton .4284 Colorado Rockies 1997–September 28, 2008
11 Jimmie Foxx .4283 Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies 1925–1942, 1944–1945
12 Tris Speaker .4280 Boston Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, Washington Senators, Philadelphia Athletics 1907–1928
13 Albert Pujols .4250 St. Louis Cardinals 2001-September 28, 2008
14 Eddie Collins .4244 Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Athletics 1906–1930
15 Ferris Fain .4241 Philadelphia Athletics, Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers, Cleveland Indians 1947–1955

bold is active player

Single-season leaders

# Player OBP[2] Team Year(s)
1 Barry Bonds .609 San Francisco Giants 2004
2 Barry Bonds .582 San Francisco Giants 2002
3 Ted Williams .551 Boston Red Sox 1941
4 Babe Ruth .542 New York Yankees 1923
5 Barry Bonds .529 San Francisco Giants 2003
6 Babe Ruth .528 New York Yankees 1920
7 Ted Williams .526 Boston Red Sox 1957
8 Billy Hamilton .517 Philadelphia Phillies 1894
9 Barry Bonds .515 San Francisco Giants 2001
10 Ted Williams .512 Boston Red Sox 1954
Retrieved from "http://encyclopedia.sabr.org/wiki/On-base_Percentage"
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