Last updated: 3 October 2026
Reviewed by Jordan Morley, FA Level 2 Football Coach
Batting average = hits ÷ at-bats. The oldest and most widely known batting stat, it measures how often a batter gets a hit. A .300 average is excellent; .270 is above average; league average in MLB is now around .245--.252. Batting average excludes walks, hit-by-pitches and sacrifice flies — for those, see OBP. Critics argue BA treats all hits equally and ignores plate discipline, but it remains the most recognisable offensive number in the sport.
- .300+ = excellent, .270 = above average
- MLB league average ~.245--.252
- Excludes walks (see OBP for full picture)
- Treats all hits equally regardless of bases
In practice
A .300 batting average has long been the benchmark of a genuinely good hitter in baseball, though modern analytics increasingly treat it as an incomplete measure since it ignores walks and extra-base-hit power — on-base percentage and slugging percentage are now usually considered alongside batting average for a fuller picture of offensive value.
FAQ
What's considered a good batting average in baseball?
.300 or higher is traditionally viewed as excellent; league average typically sits around .240-.260 depending on the era and level of play.
Why do some analysts say batting average is overrated?
It treats a walk as equivalent to an out and doesn't distinguish a single from a home run, so two players with identical batting averages can have very different actual offensive value.