Baseball Q; Please 'splain me 'slugging %' | FerrariChat
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Baseball Q; Please 'splain me 'slugging %'

Discussion in 'Sports' started by Fast_ian, Apr 20, 2016.

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  1. Fast_ian

    Fast_ian Two Time F1 World Champ

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    Ian Anderson
    #1 Fast_ian, Apr 20, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 20, 2016
    Hey,

    I thought I had it down;

    Batting average; hits / at bats
    OBP; add walks to hits (I guess plus any HBP's)
    Slugging; I *thought* was a measure of how many bases per hit; 250 slugging was an average of a single per hit, 500 would be a double, 750 a triple & 1000 a homer every time.

    But, I just noticed someone tonight showed a '1,163' slugging percentage. How is that possible? I'm obviously missing something here....

    TIA,
    Cheers,
    Ian
     
  2. tomc

    tomc Two Time F1 World Champ

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    #2 tomc, Apr 21, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2016
    It's total bases per at bat. Can be as high as 4.0, i.e., if you hit a home run every at bat.

    Ruth is all time leader at ~ 0.69, so it never gets very high.

    BTW, they may have been talking OPS, which is slugging percentage + on base percentage. Ruth is again the all time leader at 1.1636, which sounds close to the number you quoted IIRC.

    T
     
  3. Fast_ian

    Fast_ian Two Time F1 World Champ

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    #3 Fast_ian, Apr 21, 2016
    Hmmm.... I (think I) understand "total bases" etc - A little surprised The Babe is so "low" reaching base; He made it to first 0.69 times per at bat. OK, fair enough.

    Don't think they're talking OPS.

    Whenever a hitter comes up, they (the TV) show his BA, OBP (both of which I think I get). Then his "slugging %"...... Normally somewhere in the "300" (just more than a single) to "500" (a double every time.) range. There's the occasional outlier, generally someone without many AB's who "kills" the numbers.

    I'm still not getting how anyone can be slugging over a 1000.

    Cheers,
    Ian
     
  4. tomc

    tomc Two Time F1 World Champ

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    #4 tomc, Apr 21, 2016
    Ian,

    Perhaps the confusion may lie in that slugging percentage is actually not a percentage? Hence, no 0,1 scale, but rather 0,4.

    T
     
  5. tomc

    tomc Two Time F1 World Champ

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    #5 tomc, Apr 21, 2016

    0.5 would be a single every other time at bat. Or, a double once a game, assuming 4 at bats...T
     
  6. Fast_ian

    Fast_ian Two Time F1 World Champ

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    #6 Fast_ian, Apr 21, 2016
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
    OK, here we go; From the current Giants game;

    BA & OBP I get. But this '.889' slugging is still bugging me!

    889 is *very* high - almost a homer per AB, but he hasn't been around long either......

    Cheers,
    Ian
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  7. Hugh Conway

    Hugh Conway Karting

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    #7 Hugh Conway, Apr 21, 2016
    Last edited: Apr 21, 2016
  8. tomc

    tomc Two Time F1 World Champ

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    #8 tomc, Apr 21, 2016


    0.889 is a home run every 4.5 ABs, on average.

    See preceding post.

    The real mystery is, why isn't Posey catching?

    T
     
  9. Fast_ian

    Fast_ian Two Time F1 World Champ

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    #9 Fast_ian, Apr 21, 2016
    OK, think I've got it now.....

    Bochy likes to give him a break every now & again. Either leave him on the bench or put him at first. Makes sense to me - Catchers have a tough time of it after all....

    Cheers,
    Ian
     
  10. tomc

    tomc Two Time F1 World Champ

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    #10 tomc, Apr 22, 2016


    Definitely. It's also a mentally stressful position, being involved in calling pitches, managing a staff, etc. Hence a lot of the greats play other positions, full or part time, as they age. Bochy was a catcher, so he knows better than most the strain of the position...T
     

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