FYI: The Three Slash (OBP)

Continuing the explanation of the three slash takes us to the middle value, On-Base Percentage (OBP). On-Base Percentage really became popular during the Moneyball era (if you haven't seen the movie, I urge you to do-so! It is a great movie, and it stars Brad Pitt as Billy Beane, so there's that. Other choices: Reading the book). The theory was that players were more valuable in their ability to get on base any way possible rather than just hitting their way onto base. So, unlike Batting Average, On-Base Percentage includes things like walks, and hit-by-pitches along with pure hits. So, let's get to it: 

On-Base Percentage

On-Base Percentage is a little more involved than Batting Average, but it's totally manageable. Many times (most time, basically 100% of the time) you'll find that the OBP is higher than the batting average. Basically the reason for OBP is to see how often the player avoids making an out. Having a plate appearance without costing the team an out, as you can imagine, would be pretty valuable considering you only get 3 outs per inning to do what you gotta do. 

So, back to the numbers. How is On-Base Percentage calculated? Here you go: 

Now, you're probably thinking, what in the hell do all of those letters even mean. Well, I'll tell you! Let's look at the numerator first.

H = Hits. Pure hits. Got on base, no funny business.
BB = Walks. Had a good enough eye to let 4 bad pitches fly by and give you a free base.
HBP = Hit By Pitch. Either the pitcher did something wrong, or someone was being a jerk.

These are the only ways that you could possibly get on base without drawing an out.

Now the denominator (you like those technical terms, don't you?).

AB = At-Bats. We talked about this last post.
BB = Walks
HBP = Hit By Pitch

SF = Sacrifice Fly. This is when there is someone already on base and the hitter sacrifices an out on himself to further the runner who is already on base into a better position to score, or to score. Yes, it doesn't help your numbers very much, but it does help the team, so it ain't all bad.

Here's an example of a sacrifice fly brought to you by B.J. Upton in the 2013 season.

Again, OBP is a percentage, so when you see an OBP of .400 that means that whoever that player is, he's averaging a 40% rate of getting on base without making an out.

Now, what's a good OBP, and what's a bad OBP? According to Fangraphs (which, by the way, is a really good place to go if you have questions about statistics) here's how OBP is interpreted:

For a little comparison, I've marked where 3 teams finished in their team OBP for 2013. The Braves finished out the season with an average team OBP of .321. Guess who won the World Series. The Red Sox (team OBP of .349 - highest in baseball). Guess who finished dead last in the standings. The Marlins (team OBP of .291 - lowest in baseball). Getting on base is CRUCIAL.

FYI: The Three Slash (AVG)

When you're looking at baseball statistics, sometimes the numbers can be a little overwhelming. And quite frankly, with the incorporation of sabermetrics more and more, things are getting a little overwhelming. But, 3 things that you're almost always going to see are Batting Average (AVG), On-Base Percentage (OBP), and Slugging Percentage (SLG). Nowadays these are more used in a descriptive nature, rather than an absolute measure of a player, but either way is still helpful when you want to get the 'feel' for a player. Most of the time you'll see these values represented as follows: AVG/OBP/SLG (i.e. .318/.345/.403). So, let's take a look at what exactly each of these things are exactly, one at a time. 

Batting Average

Batting average is pretty simple. It's basically the percentage of how much you get on base by hitting the ball. Key words: getting on base by HITTING (walks don't count). The number is displayed as follows: 

The way that you would say a batting average would be "he's batting three-hundred!" How is this number calculated? Glad you asked! 

So, a .284 batting average, for example, would mean that this guy is batting 284 and he's getting on base 28.4% of his plate appearances (PAs - times he comes to the plate for at-bats). What does this all mean? Well, I will give you a brief run-down, but everyone can see batting averages a little differently (thus these being more descriptive terms). Anything around .250 and higher, you're doing alright for yourself. When you start sinking to .230-.200, you aren't doing so hot and when you get down below .200, expect calls for your head, death treats and just plain HATE from the fans (see: 2013 B.J. Upton [.184] and Dan Uggla [.179]). On the other end of the spectrum, batting .400 is almost a near-impossibility it seems. The last person to do that was Ted Williams in 1941. Nineteen Forty-One!! 

To give you a little context, the National League Batting Title (the player in the National League with the highest batting average at the end of the regular season with at least 502 PAs) in 2013 was Michael Cuddyer with a batting average of .331, who was followed closely by our very own Brave - Chris Johnson (.321). 

Also pictured, my very own Braves crush, Brandon Beachy. <3

(July 28, 2013 - Scott Cunningham, Getty Images North America)

So there you have it, Batting Average. Next blog: On-Base Percentage (OBP)

PS - Here's a few things that have been happening around Braves Country!

First, the Braves Caravan dates have been announced! Go HERE to see if they are coming to a city near you! Sadly, they aren't coming back to South Georgia. I'm so upset. I don't want to talk about it. I wish you better luck than I had.

Second, there are only 39 DAYS UNTIL PITCHERS AND CATCHERS REPORT to Spring Training and 85 DAYS UNTIL OPENING DAY!