Baseball Glossary at Baseball Tips.com

Here's the official glossary of baseball terms as compiled by STATS, Inc. - Coach JP

Baseball Glossary

Part I: Definitions of Abbreviations

You probably know what most of the abbreviations stand for, but just in case:

For Batters:

G = Games
AB = At-Bats
H = Hits
2B = Doubles
3B = Triples
HR = Home Runs
Hm = Home Runs at Home
Rd = Home Runs on the Road
TB = Total Bases
R = Runs
RBI = Runs Batted In
BI = Runs Batted In
TBB = Total Bases on Balls
IBB = Intention Bases on Ball
SO = Strikeouts
HBP = Times Hit by Pitches
SH = Sacrifice Hits
SF = Sacrifice Flies
SB = Stolen Bases
CS = Times Caught Stealing
SB% = Stolen Base Percentage
GDP = Times Grounded into Double Plays
Avg = Batting Average
OBP = On-Base Percentage
SLG = Slugging Percentage
OPS = OBP + SLG
SEC = Secondary Average
BB = Walks
PA = Plate Appearances
RAT = Ratio on AB/HR
RC = Runs Created
RC/27 = Runs Created per 27 outs
Ht = Height
Wt = Weight
Yr = Year
Lg = Minor League Level
POS = Position
GB = Number of Fair Ground Balls Hit (hits, outs and errors)
FB = Number of Fly Balls Hit (excludes line drives)
G/F = Ratio of Grounders to Fly Balls
BFP = Batters Facing Pitchers
#Pit = Number of Pitches Offered to the Hitter
#P/PA = Average Number of Pitches per Plate Appearance
* = Bats Left-Handed
# = Switch Hitter

For Pitchers:

G = Games Pitched
GS = Games Started
CG = Complete Games
GF - Games Finished
IP = Innings Pitched
BFP = Batters Facing Pitcher
H = Hits Allowed
R = Runs Allowed
ER = Earned Runs Allowed
HR = Home Runs Allowed
SH = Sacrifice Hits Allowed
SF = Sacrifice Flies Allowed
HB = Hit Batsmen
TBB = Total Bases on Balls
IBB = Intentional Bases on Ball
SO = Strikeouts
WP = Wild Pitches
Sup = Run Support per Nine Innings
RS = Run Support per Nine Innings
IR = Inherited Runners
IRS = Inherited Runners who Scored
QS = Quality Starts
SvOp = Save Opportunities
GB = Groundballs Hit Against the Pitcher (hits, outs and errors)
FB = Fly Balls Hit Against the Pitcher (excludes line drives)
GF(G/F) = Ratio of Grounders to Flies
Bk = Balks
W = Wins
L = Losses Pct. = Winning Percentage
ShO = Shutouts
Sv = Saves
ERA = Earned Run Average
Sv = Saves
BB = Walks Issued
Avg = Batting Average Allowed by Pitcher
RAT = Ratio of SO/AB
Ht = Height
Wt = Weight
POS = Position
Yr = Year
Lg = Minor League Level
* = Throws Left-handed
G = Number of Games at Positions
GS = Number of Starts
Innings = Number of Innings at Position
PO = Putouts
A = Assists
E = Errors
DP = Double Plays Turned
Fld. Pct = Fielding Percentage
Rng. Fctr = Range Factor
In Zone = Balls Hit in the Player's Area
Outs = Number of Outs Resulting from a Ball Hit to a Player
Zone Rtg = Zone Rate (see Definitions)
MLB Zone = Major League Average Zone Rating for that Position

Part II: Definitions of Terms

% Inherited Scored

A Relief Pitching statistic inidicating the percentage of runners on base at the time a relief pitcher enters a game that he allows to score.

1st Batter OBP

The On-Base Percentage allowed by a relief pitcher to the first batter he faces in a game.

Active Career Batting Leaders

Minimum of 1,000 At Bats required for Batting Average, On-Base Percentage, Slugging Percentage, At Bats Per HR, At Bats Per GDP, At Bats Per RBI, and K/BB Ratio. One hundred (100) Stolen Base Attempts required for Stolen Base Success %. Any player who appeared in 1995 is eligible for inclusion provided he meets the category's minimum requirements.

Active Career Pitching Leaders

Minimum of 750 Innings Pitched required for Earned Run Average, Opponent Batting Average, all of the Per 9 Innings categories, and Strikeout to Walk Ratio. Two hundred fifty (250) Games Started required for Complete Game Frequency. One hundred (100) decisions required for Win-Loss Percentage. Any player who appeared in 1995 is eligible for inclusion provided he meets the category's minimum requirements.

BA ScPoS Allowed

Batting Average Allowed with Runners in Scoring Position.

Baserunners per Nine Innings

These are the hits, walks and hit batsmen allowed per nin innings.

Bases Loaded

This category shows a player's batting average in bases loaded situation.

Batting Average

Hits divided by At Bats

Bequeathed Runners

Any runner(s) on base when a pitcher leaves a game are considered bequeathed to the departing hurler; the opposite of inherited runners (see below).

Blown Saves

This is charged any time a pitcher comes into a game where a save situation is in place and he loses the lead.

Catcher's ERA

The Earned Run Average of a club's pitchers with a particular catcher behind the plate. To figure this for a catcher, multiply the Earned Runs Allowed by the pitchers while he was catching times nine and divide that by his number of Innings Caught.

Cheap Wins/Tough Losses/Top Game Scores

First determine the starting pitcher's Game Score as follows:

Start with 50
Add 1 point for each out recorded by the starting pitcher.
Add 2 point for each inning the pitcher completes after the fourth inning.
Add 1 point for each strikeout
Subtract 2 points for each hit allowed
Subtract 4 points for each earned run allowed
Subtract 2 points for an unearned run.
Subtract 1 point for each walk.

If the starting pitcher scores over 50 and loses, it's a Tough Loss. If he wins with a game score under 50, it's a Cheap Win.

Cleanup Slugging%

The Slugging Percentage of a player when batting fourth in the batting order.

Clutch

This category shows a player's batting average in the late innings of close games: the seventh inning or later with the batting team ahead by one, tied, or has the tying run on base, at bat or on deck.

Complete Game Frequency

Complete Games divided by Games Started

Defensive Batting Average

A composite statistic incorporating various defensive statistics to arrive at a number akin to batting average. The formula uses standard deviations to establish a spread from best to worst.

Earned Run Average

(Earned Runs times 9) divided by Innings Pitched.

Fast-A

Otherwise known as "Advanced A," these A-level minor leagues are the California League, Carolina League and Florida Stat League.

Favorite Toy

The Favorite Toy is a method that is used to estimate a player's chance of getting to a specific goal in the following example, we'll say 3,000 hits.

Four things are considered:

Need Hits - the number of hits needed to reach the goal. (This, of course, could also be "Need Home Runs" or "Need Doubles" - Whatever.)
Years Remaining. The number of years remaining to meet the goal is estimated by the formula 24- .6(age). This formula assigns a 20-year-old player 12.0 remaining seasons, a 25-year-old player 9.0
remaining seasons, a 30-year-old player 6.0 remaining seasons, a 35-year-old player 3.0 remaining seasons. Any player who is still playing regularly is assumed to have at least 1.5 seasons remaining, regardless of his age.
Established Hit Level. For 1996, the established hit level would be found by adding 1993 hits, two times 1994 hits, and three times 1995 hits, and dividing by six. However, a player cannot have an established performance level that is less than three-fourths of his most recent performance; that is, a player who had 200 hits in 1995 cannot have an established hit level below 150.
Projected Remaining Hits. This is found by multiplying the second number (ears remaining) by the third (established hit level). Once you get the projected remaining hits, the chance of getting to the goal is figured by (projected remaining hits) divided by (need hits), minus .5. By this method, if your "need hits" and your "projected remaining hits" are the same, your chance of reaching the goal is 50 percent. If your projected remaining hits are 20 percent more than your need hits, the chance of reaching the goal is 70 percent.

Two special rules, and a note:

A player's chance of continuing to progress toward a goal cannot exceed .97 per year. (This rule prevents a player from figuring to have a 148 percent chance of reaching a goal.)
If a player's offensive winning percentage is below .500, his chance of continuing to progress toward the goal cannot exceed .75 per season. (That is, if a below-average hitter is two years away from reaching a goal, his chance of reaching that goal cannot be shown as better than nine-sixteenths, or three-fourths times three-fourths, regardless of his age.)
For 1994 and 1995, we used projected stats based on a full season of play..

Fielding Percentage

(Putouts plus Assists) divided by (Putouts plus Assists plus Errors).

First Batter Efficiency

This statistic tells you the batting average allowed by a relief pitcher to the first batter he faces.

GDP per GDP Situation

A GDP situation exists any time there is a man on first with less than two outs. This statistic measures how often a player grounds into a double play in that situation.

Go-Ahead RBI

Any time a player drives in a run which gives his team the lead, he is credited with a go-ahead RBI.

Ground/Fly Ratio (Grd/Fly)

Simply a hitter's ground balls divided by his fly balls. All batted balls except line drives and bunts are included.

Hold

A Hold is credited any time a relief pitcher enters a game in a Save Situation (see definition below), records at least one out, and leaves the game never having relinquished the lead. Note: a pitcher cannot finish the game and receive credit for a Hold, nor can he earn a hold and a save.

Inherited Runner

Any runner(s) on base when a relief pitcher enters a game are considered "inherited" by that pitcher.

Isolated Power

Slugging Percentage minus Batting Average.

K/BB Ratio

Strikeouts divided by Walks.

Late & Close

A Late & Close situation meets the following requirements:

The game is in the seventh inning or later, and
the batting team is either leading by one run, tied, or has the potential tying run on base, at bat, or on deck

Note: This situation is very similar to the characteristics of a Save Situation

Leadoff On Base%

The On-Base Percentage of a player when batting first in the batting order

No Decision (ND)

The result when a starter is credited with neither a win nor a loss.

OBP+SLUG

On-base percentage plus slugging percentage.

Offensive Winning Percentage (OWP)

The Winning Percentage a team of nine Fred McGriffs (or anybody) would compile against average pitching and defense. The formula:

(Runs Created per 27 outs) divided by the League average of runs scored per game. Square the result and divide it by (1+itself).

On Base Percentage

(Hits plus Walks plus Hit by Pitcher) divided by (At Bats plus Walks plus Hit by Pitcher plus Sacrifice Flies).

Opponent Batting Average

Hits Allowed divided by (Batters Faced minus Walks minus Hit Batsmen minus Sacrifice Hits minus Sacrifice Flies minus Catcher's Interference).

Outfielder Hold Percentage

A statistic used to evaluate outfielders' throwing arms. "Hold Percentage" is computed by dividing extra bases taken (by baserunners) by the number of opportunities. For example, if a single is lined to center field with men on first and second, and one man scores while the other stops at second, that is one extra base taken on two opportunities, a 50.0 hold percentage.

PA*

The divisor for On Base Percentage: At Bats plus Walks plus Hit By Pitcher plus Sacrifice Flies; or Plate Appearances minus Sacrifice Hits and Times Reached Base on Defensive Interference.

PCS (Pitchers' Caught Stealing)

The number of runners officially counted as Caught Stealing where the initiator of the fielding play was the pitcher, not the catcher. Note: such plays are often referred to as pickoffs, but appear in official records as Caught Stealing. The most common pitcher caught stealing scenario is a 1-3-6 fielding play, where the runner is officially charged a Caught Stealing because he broke for second base. Pickoff (fielding play 1-3 being the most common) is not an official statistic.

Percentage of Pitches Taken

This tells you how often a player lets a pitch go by without swinging.

Percentage of Swings Put In Play

This tells you how often a player hits the ball into fair territory, or is retired on a foul-ball out, when he swings.

Pickoffs (Pk)

The number of times a runner was picked off base by a pitcher.

Pivot Percentage

The number of double plays turned by a second baseman as the pivot man, divided by the number of opportunities.

PkOf Throw/Runner

The number of pickoff throws made by a pitcher divided by the number of runners on first base.

Plate Appearances

At Bats plus Total Walks plus Hit By Pitcher plus Sacrifice Hits plus Sacrifice Flies plus Times Reached on Defensive Interference.

Power/Speed Number

A way to look at power and speed in one number. A player must score high in both areas to earn a high Power/Speed Number. The formula: (HR x SB x 2) divided by (HR + SB).

Quality Start

Any start in which a pitcher works six or more innings while allowing three or fewer earned runs.

Quick Hooks and Slow Hooks

A Quick Hook is the removal of a pitcher who has pitched less than 6 innings and given up 3 runs or less. A Slow Hook occurs when a pitcher pitches more than 9 innings, or allows 7 or more runs, or

whose combined innings pitched and runs allowed totals 13 or more.

Range Factor

The number of Chances (Putouts plus Assists) times nine divided by the number of Defensive Innings Played. The average for a Regular Player at each position in 1998:

Second Base: 4.99 Left Field: 2.00
Third Base: 2.65 Center Field: 2.59
Shortstop: 4.60 Right Field: 2.10

Relief Points (Pts)

Wins plus saves minus losses

Run Support Per 9 IP

The number of runs scored by a pitcher's team while he was still in the game times nine divided by his Innings Pitched.

Runs Created

A way to combine a batter's total offensive contributions into one number. The formula: (H + BB + HBP - CS - GIDP) times (Total Bases + .26(TBB - IBB + HBP) + .52(SH + SF + SB)) divided by (AB + TBB + HBP + SH + SF).

Runs/Times on Base

This is calculated by dividing Runs Scored by Times on Base

Save Percentage

Saves (SV) divided by Save Opportunities (OP).

Save Situation

A Relief Pitcher is in a Save Situation when upon entering the game with his club leading, he has the opportunity to be the finishing pitcher (and is not the winning pitcher of record at the time), and meets any one of the three following conditions:

he has a lead of no more than three runs and has the opportunity to pitch for at least one inning, or
he enters the game, regardless of the count, with the potential tying run either on base, at bat, or on deck; or
he pitches three or more innings regardless of the lead and the official scorer credits him with a save.

SBA

Stolen-base attempts against a catcher

SB Success%

Stolen Bases divided by (Stolen Bases plus Caught Stealing).

Secondary Average

A way to look at a player's extra bases gained, independent of Batting Average. The formula: (Total Bases - Hits + TBB + SB) divided by At Bats.

Slow-A

Otherwise known as "Regular A," these full-season minor leagues contain less-experienced professional players. The Slow-A leagues are the Midwest League and South Atlantic League (Sally).

Slugging Percentage

Total Bases divided by At Bats.

Stolen Base Percentage Allowed

This figure indicates how successful opposing baserunners are when attempting a stolen base. It's stolen bases divided by stolen-base attempts.

Times on Base

Hits plus walks plus hit by pitch

Total Bases

A single counts as one base, doubles are two bases, triples three bases, and home runs are four bases. Add all hits together using this math to calculate total bases.

Win-Loss Percentage or Winning Percentage

Wins divided by (Wins plus Losses).

Zone Rating

Simply the percentage of balls fielded by a player in his typical defensive "zone," as measured by STATS reporters. To understand zone ratings, you need to understand how the STATS scoring system divides up the field of play. Picture the playing field as a piece of pie where the fair territory is sliced up into 22 equal (and rather narrow) parts. Starting at home plate, "cuts" are made, running to the outfield fence. The first "slice," running along the left field line, is called Zone C. Like any properly formed piece of pie, it grows wider as you approach the "crust" (i.e., the outfield fence). Zone C is about six or seven feet wide at the third base bag, and about 20 feet wide at a distance of 300 feet from the plate. (Zones A, B, Y and Z are in foul territory.) The next 21 Zones extend from Zone C to the edge of the right field line. The dividing line between Zones M and N runs over second base, splitting the field in half. Once you're able to picture the Zones, it's easy to understand the area assigned to each fielder. For infielders, only ground balls are considered when zone rating is calculated. Line drives, popups and fly balls are ignored. (One additional wrinkle is that the first baseman is responsible for all bunts that travel more than 40 feet and land in his area of responsibility.) The first baseman is responsible for covering Zones V through X, the three most rightward zones on the field. This includes all grounders hit within approximately 20 feet of the right field line, up to the line itself. The second baseman is responsible for Zones O through T. Remember, the left boundary of Zone N is midfield; the right boundary of Zone N, where it meets Zone O, is the leftward edge of the second baseman's territory. It lies about eight feet to the right of second base. The second baseman's area runs through Zone T, and the first baseman's area begins at Zone V. The is one "slice" in between, Zone U, which belongs to neither fielder. The respective areas of responsibility for the third baseman and shortstop are mirror images of the first and second baseman's zones. The third baseman is responsible for Zones C through F, and the shortstop is responsible for Zones H through L. Zone G lies in between. There is an unassigned area between the shortstop and second baseman's zone, but it is twice as large as the gap between 3B/SS or 1B/2B. The two middle zones, M and N, belong to neither middle infielder. Unlike the infielders, the outfielders are each given two separate zones, one for fly balls and one for line drives. Since line drives remain in the air for a shorter amount of time, outfielders are assigned a smaller zone on those types of balls. For a batted ball to be assigned to an outfielder, it must travel a certain distance. Corner outfielders are responsible for all line drives in their area that travel between 250 and 350 feet. They also are responsible for all fly balls that travel over 200 feet. The center fielder is responsible for all line drives between 270 and 370 feet, and all fly balls over 220 feet. The left fielder's area covers Zones E through I on line drives and D through I on fly balls. Zone C along the left field line is unassigned. The center fielder is responsible for Zones K through P on lines drives and Zones J through Q on fly balls. His fly-ball area borders on that of the left fielder. On line drives, Zone J is the unassigned area between the two fielders. The right fielder is responsible for zones R through V on line drives and R through W on fly balls. Zone Q is unassigned on line drives, and Zone X along the right field line is unassigned. Using these zones, we determine how many balls are hit into each fielder's area of responsibility. An infielder's zone rating is equal to the number of outs made divided by the number of balls hit into the player's zone. "Outs made" equals every ball fielded within the zone that is turned into an out, plus all balls fielded outside the zone turned into outs, plus double plays started. When a player fields a ball outside his zone and turns it into an out, it is counted as both an "out" and a "ball in zone" for the purposes of calculating his zone rating. This means that a double play is counted as two outs. It also means that a player's zone rating can approach or even exceed 1.000, since a player can make up for unfielded chances by turning double plays. Also, a player's ability to get to balls outside his zone can boost his zone rating. Therefore, zone rating should not be interpreted simply as the percentage of balls hit into a player's zone that the fielder was able to turn into outs (if that were the proper definition, it obviously would be impossible for a player to post a zone rating anywhere close to 1.000). An outfielder's zone rating equals the balls hit into his zone which do not result in hits, divided by the number of balls hit into his zone. The player is credit with both an "out" and a "ball in zone" in balls caught outside his zone. Again, this measure is not equal to the percentage of balls in his zone that an outfielder is able to turn into an out, since he can make up for unfielded chances by recording outs outside his zone.

Part III: Formulas and Definitions

PA = (AB + BB + HBP + SF + SH + defensive interference)
Total Bases = [H + 2B + (2 X 3B) + (3 X HR)]
AVG = H/AB
OBP = (H + BB + HBP)/(AB + BB + HBP + SF)
SLG = TB/AB

Part IV: Breakdown Categories

Ahead/Behind in Count

For hitters, ahead in count includes 1-0, 2-0, 3-0, 2-1 and 3-1.
Behind in count for hitters includes 0-1, 0-2, 1-2 and 2-2.
The opposite is true for pitchers.

Day/Night

Officially, night games in the National League are those that start after 5:00 pm, while night games in the AL begin after 6:00 pm. Therefore, a game at 5:30 in Yankee Stadium is a day game while one in Shea Stadium at the same time is a night game. We avoid this silliness by calling all games starting after 5:00pm night games.

First Pitch

Refers to the first pitch of a given at bat, and any walks listed here are intentional walks.

Grass/Turf

Grass is grass. Turf is artificial turf.

Groundball/Flyball Ratio

A hitter's stats against pitchers that induce mostly grounders or flies, respectively. If the ratio is less than 1.00, then he is a Flyball hitter. If it is greater than 1.50, he is a Groundball hitter. Anything else is classified as neutral. Same cutoffs apply for classifying pitchers. Anyone with less than 50 plate appearances is automatically neutral.

First Inning Pitched

Describes the result of the pitcher's work until he recorded three outs.

Inning 1-6 and Inning 7+

None On/Out

Refers to situation when there are no outs and the bases are empty (generally leadoff situations).

None On/Runners On

Describes the status of the baserunners

Number of Pitches

This section shows the results of balls put into play while his pitch count was in that range.

Pitcher/Batter Match-Ups

The following conditions must be met before a player is added to the list:

There must be greater than 10 plate appearances between the batter and the pitcher; and
Batters must have a .300 average against a pitcher to be considered a "Hits Best Against" candidate, and pitchers must limit hitters to under .250 to be listed under "Pitches Best Vs." Thus, not all hitters will have five pitchers that qualify and not all pitchers will have five batters who qualify

Scoring Position

At least one runner must be at either second or third base.

Vs. 1st Batter (Relief)

Describes what happened to the first batter a reliever faces.

Coach John Peter's Baseball Tips.com