At-Bat
A batter's turn at the plate that results in a hit, out, or reaching base on an error, excludes walks, hit by pitches, and sacrifice plays from official statistics.
Example Usage
“She had three at-bats and went 2-for-3 with a double and a single.”
At-Bat
An at-bat (AB) is a batter's turn at the plate that ends in a way that gets counted in their batting average. Not every plate appearance is an at-bat, walks, hit by pitches, and sacrifices don't count as official at-bats.
What Counts as an At-Bat
Counts as AB
- Hit (single, double, triple, home run)
- Out (strikeout, fly out, ground out)
- Reaching on an error
Does NOT Count as AB
- Walk (base on balls)
- Hit by pitch
- Sacrifice bunt
- Sacrifice fly
- Catcher's interference
At-Bat vs. Plate Appearance
| At-Bat (AB) | Plate Appearance (PA) |
|---|---|
| Hits and outs | Every time at plate |
| For batting average | For OBP calculation |
| Excludes walks/HBP | Includes everything |
| Narrower count | Total count |
Why the Distinction Matters
The difference affects statistics:
- Batting Average = Hits ÷ At-Bats
- On-Base Percentage = (Hits + Walks + HBP) ÷ Plate Appearances
A player could have 4 plate appearances but only 2 at-bats if they walked twice.
Quality At-Bats
Coaches talk about "quality at-bats" meaning:
- Seeing multiple pitches
- Making the pitcher work
- Hard contact
- Moving runners
- Professional approach
A quality at-bat might still result in an out but contributes to team success.
Related Terms
Plate Appearance
Any time a batter completes their turn at the plate, regardless of outcome, includes at-bats, walks, hit by pitches, and sacrifices.
Batting Average
A statistic measuring how often a batter gets a hit per official at-bat, calculated by dividing hits by at-bats.
RBI
Runs Batted In, credited when a batter's action causes a run to score, excluding runs scored on errors or double plays.
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