Batting average is the oldest and most familiar hitting statistic: the share of official at-bats that end in a hit. It is quick to compute and easy to misread, because walks and sacrifices are left out and the third decimal place does a lot of work. This calculator gives the average, shows how each next at-bat would move it, and works out how many hits it takes to reach a target. A cricket mode handles the runs-per-dismissal average used in that sport.
How to use the batting average calculator
- Choose Baseball / softball or Cricket.
- For baseball, enter hits and at-bats. Optionally enter a target average and the number of upcoming at-bats to see how many hits you need.
- For cricket, enter runs, innings batted and not outs, and optionally balls faced for the strike rate.
- Read the average on the tape and the step-by-step working below.
Batting average formula
Averages are shown to three decimal places without a leading zero (.292). A perfect 1.000 is possible only with every at-bat a hit.
For cricket:
Worked example
152 hits in 520 at-bats.
152 ÷ 520 = 0.29231, so the average is .292. One more hit would make it 153 ÷ 521 = .294; one more out, 152 ÷ 521 = .292.
To reach .300 within the next 100 at-bats: .300 × 620 = 186 hits in total, so the hitter needs 186 − 152 = 34 hits — a .340 pace over that stretch.
Cricket: 1,450 runs in 40 innings, 6 not outs, 1,800 balls faced.
Dismissals = 40 − 6 = 34. Average = 1,450 ÷ 34 = 42.65. Strike rate = 1,450 ÷ 1,800 × 100 = 80.56 runs per 100 balls.
How much one hit moves the average
Early in a season every at-bat swings the number; by September it barely moves:
| At-bats | Average with 30% hits | Change from one extra hit |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | .300 (6 for 20) | +.033 |
| 100 | .300 (30 for 100) | +.007 |
| 300 | .300 (90 for 300) | +.002 |
| 600 | .300 (180 for 600) | +.001 |
That is why a hot first week means little, and why batting titles are often decided by a handful of hits.
Limits of batting average
Batting average treats a single and a home run the same and ignores walks entirely. Two players hitting .270 can be very different: one might walk 90 times and hit 30 home runs, the other almost never walk and rarely hit for extra bases. For a fuller picture, add on-base percentage and slugging percentage — the slugging percentage and OPS calculator computes both.
Plate appearances vs. at-bats
| Outcome | Plate appearance | At-bat | Counts as a hit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Single, double, triple, home run | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Strikeout, groundout, flyout | Yes | Yes | No |
| Reached on error | Yes | Yes | No |
| Walk or hit-by-pitch | Yes | No | No |
| Sacrifice bunt or sacrifice fly | Yes | No | No |
Pitchers have their own rate stats: see the ERA calculator and the WHIP calculator. Football fans can rate quarterbacks with the passer rating calculator.
Frequently asked questions
How do you calculate a batting average?
Divide hits by at-bats and round to three decimal places. 152 hits in 520 at-bats is 152 ÷ 520 = 0.2923, written .292 and read "two-ninety-two."
What counts as an at-bat?
An at-bat is a plate appearance that is not a walk, hit-by-pitch, sacrifice bunt, sacrifice fly or catcher's interference. Those outcomes neither help nor hurt the average, which is why at-bats are lower than plate appearances.
How many hits do I need to hit .300?
Multiply .300 by your total at-bats after the stretch, round up, and subtract the hits you already have. A hitter at 152 for 520 needs 34 hits in the next 100 at-bats (.340) to finish at 186 for 620, which is exactly .300.
What is a good batting average?
In recent major-league seasons the league-wide average has been roughly .240 to .250. Around .270 is solid, .300 is excellent, and anything near .350 usually contends for a batting title. Youth and amateur averages run higher.
How is a cricket batting average different?
Cricket divides runs by the number of times the batter was dismissed, so not-out innings add runs without adding to the divisor. A batter with 1,450 runs in 40 innings with 6 not outs averages 1,450 ÷ 34 = 42.65.