Baseball Batting Averages

A part to whole of hits versus at bats

Quotes From Yogi Berra• A Nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore• Little league Baseball is a very good thing

because it keeps the parents off the streets.• Baseball is 90% mental and the other half is

physical• In theory there is no difference between

theory and practice but in practice there is.• You better cut that Pizza in four pieces

because I am not hungry enough to eat six.

Definition• Not all plate appearances count as official

at bats:

Definition• Not all plate appearances count as official

at bats (Some Exceptions)

Hit By pitch

Walks

Reaching on an Error

Sacrifice bunts or fly balls

Fielder’s choice

Batting Average

• This is the number of hits divided by the number of official at bats.

• It’s a Percentage reported as an integer between 0 and 1000. In other words it is accurate to 3 decimal places.

Small #s of at Bats Can be non-representative

• Ted Williams once commented about those that fail 'only' seven times out of ten attempts will be the greatest in the game. He was right, and the list below reflects those great career hitters.

• Important notes: 1,000 career games played & at-bats are needed to make this list of the best lifetime averages.

• "I don't like to sound egotistical, but every time I stepped up to the plate with a bat in my hands, I couldn't help but feel sorry for the

pitcher." - Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby

YEAR JETER JUSTICE

1995 12 of 48 104 of 411

1996 183 of 582 45 of 140

1995-1996

YEAR JETER JUSTICE

1995 250 253

1996 314 321

1995-1996

YEAR JETER JUSTICE

1995 12 of 48 104 of 411

1996 183 of 582 45 of 140

1995-1996 195 of 630 149 of 551

YEAR JETER JUSTICE

1995 250 253

1996 314 321

1995-1996

YEAR JETER JUSTICE

1995 12 of 48 104 of 411

1996 183 of 582 45 of 140

1995-1996 195 of 630 149 of 551

YEAR JETER JUSTICE

1995 250 253

1996 314 321

1995-1996 310 270

WHAT SEEMS WEIRD?

JETER LOOSES IN EACH YEAR BUT WINS OVERALL!

1996

1995

overall

JETERAT BATS

HITS

1996

1995

overall

JUSTICE

AT BATS

HITS

1996

1995

overall

TOGETHER

JUSTICE

JEETER

WHAT IS THE BIG IDEA?

• wWhen working with ratios and percentages the relative sizes of the collections are critical!