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

Ozuna has homered in consecutive games and leads the majors in walks (16) and on-base percentage (.509). —David O'Brien, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2025

But the 32-year-old slugger posted yet another historic regular-season campaign in 2024, leading the league in home runs (58), runs batted in (144) and on-base percentage (.458) and winning his second MVP Award. —Justin Birnbaum, Forbes, 25 Mar. 2025

Arizona Diamondbacks The Diamondbacks led the majors in runs scored and on-base percentage last season and have brought back most of the lineup outside of first baseman Christian Walker, who signed with the Astros in free agency. —Jim Bowden, The Athletic, 24 Mar. 2025

Reports In 12 spring training games, Smith has a .294 batting average, .286 on-base percentage, and .588 slugging percentage, with three home runs and 12 RBIs. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 21 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1949, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for on-base percentage

• centage