In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at bats. Unlike batting average, slugging percentage gives more weight to extra-base hits with doubles, triples, and home runs, relative to singles. Plate appearances ending in walks are specifically excluded from this calculation, as an appearance that ends in a walk is not counted as an at-bat.
Babe Ruth is the all-time leader with a career slugging percentage of .6897. Ted Williams (.6338), Lou Gehrig (.6324), Mule Suttles (.6179), Turkey Stearnes (.6165), Oscar Charleston (.6145), Jimmie Foxx (.6093), Barry Bonds (.6069), and Hank Greenberg (.6050) are the only other players with a career slugging percentage over .600.
Rank | Rank amongst leaders in career slugging percentage. A blank field indicates a tie. |
Player | Name of the player. |
SLG | Total career slugging percentage. |
* | Denotes elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame. |
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Bold | Denotes active player. [note 1] |
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) measures how frequently a batter reaches base. An official Major League Baseball (MLB) statistic since 1984, it is sometimes referred to as on-base average (OBA), as it is rarely presented as a true percentage.
In baseball statistics, slugging percentage (SLG) is a measure of the batting productivity of a hitter. It is calculated as total bases divided by at-bats, through the following formula, where AB is the number of at-bats for a given player, and 1B, 2B, 3B, and HR are the number of singles, doubles, triples, and home runs, respectively:
Frank Edward Thomas Jr., nicknamed "the Big Hurt", is an American former professional baseball designated hitter and first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for three American League (AL) teams from 1990 to 2008, all but the last three years with the Chicago White Sox. A five-time All-Star, he is the only player in major league history to have seven consecutive seasons (1991–1997) with at least a .300 batting average, 100 runs batted in (RBI), 100 runs scored, 100 walks, and 20 home runs. Thomas also won the AL batting title in 1997 with a .347 mark. Thomas is a two-time AL MVP and won a World Series in 2005 although he was injured during the regular season and World Series. Thomas is widely considered one of the greatest right handed hitters in MLB history.
Dennis Joseph "Dan" Brouthers was an American first baseman in Major League Baseball whose career spanned the period from 1879 to 1896, with a brief return in 1904. Nicknamed "Big Dan" for his size, he was 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) and weighed 207 pounds (94 kg), which was large by 19th-century standards.
Edgar Martínez, nicknamed "Gar" and "Papi", is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a designated hitter and third baseman for the Seattle Mariners from 1987 through 2004. He served as the Mariners' hitting coach from 2015 to 2018, and has since become a hitting advisor for them.
Charles Roscoe Barnes was one of the stars of baseball's National Association (1871–1875) and the early National League (1876–1881), playing second base and shortstop. He played for the dominant Boston Red Stockings teams of the early 1870s, along with Albert Spalding, Cal McVey, George Wright, Harry Wright, Jim O'Rourke, and Deacon White. Despite playing for these star-studded teams, many claim that Ross was the most valuable to his teams.
Don Edward Baylor, nicknamed "Groove," was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. During his 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), Baylor was a power hitter known for standing very close to home plate and was a first baseman, left fielder, and designated hitter. He played for six different American League (AL) teams, primarily the Baltimore Orioles and California Angels, but he also played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Minnesota Twins, and Boston Red Sox. In 1979, Baylor was an All-Star and won the AL Most Valuable Player Award. He won three Silver Slugger Awards, the Roberto Clemente Award, and was a member of the 1987 World Series champion Minnesota Twins.
Leon Allen "Goose" Goslin was an American professional baseball left fielder. He played in Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators, St. Louis Browns, and Detroit Tigers, from 1921 until 1938.
Jason Gilbert Giambi is an American former professional baseball first baseman and designated hitter. In his Major League Baseball (MLB) career, which began in 1995, Giambi played for the Oakland Athletics, New York Yankees, Colorado Rockies, and Cleveland Indians. He is the older brother of the late MLB player Jeremy Giambi.
Joseph Floyd "Arky" Vaughan was an American professional baseball player. He played 14 seasons in Major League Baseball, between 1932 and 1948, for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Brooklyn Dodgers, primarily as a shortstop. He was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1985.
Zachariah Davis Wheat, nicknamed "Buck", was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a left fielder from 1909 to 1927, most notably as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers who were known as the Robins at that time. After 18 seasons in Brooklyn, he played his final season with the Philadelphia Athletics.
Todd Lynn Helton is an American former professional baseball first baseman who played his entire 17-year career for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). A five-time All-Star, four-time Silver Slugger, and three-time Gold Glove Award winner, Helton holds the Rockies' club records for hits (2,519), home runs (369), doubles (592), walks (1,335), runs scored (1,401), runs batted in, games played (2,247), and total bases (4,292), among others.
Darrell Wayne Evans is an American former baseball player, coach and manager. He played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), beginning his career as a third baseman with the Atlanta Braves, alternating between first and third base with the San Francisco Giants (1976–1983), and playing much of his later career as a first baseman and then a designated hitter for the Detroit Tigers (1984–1988). He won a World Series championship with the Tigers in 1984. Evans had most of his success in the early and late stages of his career. He was a two-time All-Star, first with the Braves in 1973 and then with the Giants in 1983. He led MLB in home runs in 1985 with the Tigers, and walks in 1973 and 1974 with the Braves.
Albert Jojuan Belle, known until 1990 as Joey Belle, is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder who played from 1989 to 2000, most notably for the Cleveland Indians. Known for his taciturn personality and intimidating stature, Belle was one of the leading sluggers of his time, and in 1995 became the only player to ever hit 50 doubles and 50 home runs in a season, despite the season being only 144 games. He was also the first player to break the $10 million per year compensation contract in Major League Baseball.
Brian Stephen Giles is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. During his career he played for the Cleveland Indians, Pittsburgh Pirates and San Diego Padres. The left-handed Giles was a two-time All-Star and had a career line of .291/.400/.502 with 287 home runs, 411 doubles, 1,078 runs batted in (RBI), and 1,183 walks in 1,847 games.
John Frank Fournier was an American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, St. Louis Cardinals, Brooklyn Robins, and Boston Braves from 1912 to 1927. Fournier was known for having outstanding batting abilities but subpar fielding abilities.
Joseph Franklin Vosmik was an outfielder for the Cleveland Indians (1930–1936), St. Louis Browns (1937), Boston Red Sox (1938–1939), Brooklyn Dodgers (1940–1941) and Washington Senators (1944). He helped the Dodgers win the 1941 National League Pennant.
Billy Ray Butler is an American former professional baseball designated hitter and first baseman and current hitting coach for the Idaho Falls Chukars of the Pioneer League. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City Royals from 2007 to 2014, the Oakland Athletics from 2015 to 2016 and the New York Yankees in 2016. Butler was an MLB All-Star in 2012, and won the Silver Slugger Award and Edgar Martínez Award that season.
Joseph Daniel Votto is a Canadian professional baseball first baseman in the Toronto Blue Jays organization. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds, for whom he made his MLB debut in 2007. He was the first Canadian MLB player since Larry Walker to have 2,000 hits, 300 home runs and 1,000 career runs batted in (RBI).
Dae-ho Lee is a South Korean professional baseball player who played as a first baseman. During his career, he played for the Lotte Giants of the KBO League, Orix Buffaloes and Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB).