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

Profar, who hit a career-high 24 home runs for the Padres, also reached a career peak with a .280 batting average, .380 on-base percentage, and .459 slugging mark. —Dan Schlossberg, Forbes, 23 Jan. 2025

Another internal option could be the switch-hitting Domínguez, who boasts a .373 on-base percentage in 353 minor-league games. —Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 14 Jan. 2025

Stengel was a good player, hitting .316 and leading the NL with a .404 on-base percentage in 1914. —Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2025

Ohtani had a career year as a hitter in 2024, leading the National League in home runs (54), RBIs (130), on-base percentage (.390) and slugging percentage (.646) while stealing 59 bases — the first 50-50 season in baseball history. —Newsweek, 5 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1949, in the meaning defined above