batting average

noun

1. Baseball.,  a measure of the batting ability of a player, obtained by dividing the number of base hits by the number of official times at bat and carrying out the result to three decimal places. A player with 100 base hits in 300 times at bat has a batting average of 0.333.

2. Informal.,  a degree of achievement or accomplishment in any activity.

Word History and Origins

Origin of batting average¹

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70

Example Sentences

And a traditional standard of excellence now is an endangered species: the .300 batting average, a popular and easily understood statistic that has been devalued and rendered borderline worthless by baseball’s analytical revolution.

From Los Angeles Times

On Wednesday, he does not, but he still has a better batting average than the guy behind him.

From Los Angeles Times

Yet he has little positive to show for it, with nine of his 11 starts ending with no decision despite a 3.06 ERA and .172 opponents’ batting average.

From Los Angeles Times

They are second in the National League in scoring, and third in team batting average.

From Los Angeles Times

Entering the night, the team had the third-lowest team batting average in the majors this month.

From Los Angeles Times