Batting Average on Balls in Play Records and Details
What is Batting Average on Balls in Play ?
Batting average on balls in play (BABIP) is a metric designed to measure the number of balls put in play by a player or team over a defined period resulted in a hit. Generally, for Batting Average on Balls in Play, higher is better. (Source)
What is a good Batting Average on Balls in Play?
What does good Batting Average on Balls in Play mean? "Good" baseball stats can be very subjective and mean different things to different people.
I have attempted to quantify good and bad by taking season and career stats for MLB position players (not pitchers) with a minimum number
of plate appearances. In this case 150 for career and 75 for a season. To find good and bad within this cohort of players I calculated the first and third quartiles,
anything between these quartiles I consider average. This makes up the middle 50% of players. In an example
where higher is better for a stat, below the first quartile (bottom 25% of players) would be bad and above the 3rd
quartile (top 25% of players) would be good. For stats where lower is better, flip around good and bad.
Career, Season, and Season Average Batting Average on Balls in Play Records
For my hot take on Batting Average on Balls in Play records most of the same rules apply from the first section. To be considered for my
prestigious lists the player must meet a certain threshold of plate appearances. Since this is a Hitting stat to be considered
for the career list the player must have over 150 plate appearances, for a season consideration the player must have
had 75 plate appearances. Additionally, the player's final game must have been after 1899.