on-base percentage

noun

on-base per·​cent·​age ˈȯn-ˈbās-pər-ˈsen-tij 

baseball

: a statistic that is expressed as a 3-digit decimal and that indicates the frequency with which a batter reaches base by a hit, a walk, or being hit by a pitch

Note: A batter with an on-base percentage of .350 has reached base 3.5 times for every 10 at bats.

Through Sunday he led the league in on-base percentage (.479) and hits (40) and was second in runs scored (21) and ninth in slugging percentage (.515).

—Ivan Maisel

… he understood that on-base percentage was a far better tool to evaluate a hitter than batting average …

—Tom Verducci

Examples of on-base percentage in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Entering Tuesday night, San Francisco ranked last in the majors in batting average (.209), on-base percentage (.275) and slugging percentage (.340) against lefties. —Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 27 Aug. 2025

Freeman, who put down a perfect bunt down the third baseline for a single in the fifth, is hitting .304 with a .380 on-base percentage. —Patrick Saunders, Denver Post, 15 Aug. 2025

In spite of their pitching problems and low on-base percentage, the Angels have remained in the playoff picture. —Daniel R. Epstein, Forbes.com, 14 Aug. 2025

Since his debut, Karros is hitting .333 with a .417 on-base percentage and 3 RBI. —Kels Dayton, Hartford Courant, 14 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1949, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for on-base percentage

• centage