In baseball statistics, ground ball-fly ball ratio (denoted by G/F or GB/FB) is a measure of:
Frequency of batted ground balls in play versus fly balls in play to denote what kind of contact a batter makes more frequently. Calculated as (total ground balls in play) / (total fly balls in play); and
Frequency of ground balls allowed in play versus fly balls allowed in play to denote what kind of contact a pitcher surrenders more frequently to opposing batters. Calculated as (total ground balls in play surrendered) / (total fly balls in play surrendered).
The related statistic of ground outs-fly outs ratio (denoted by GO/AO), is a measure of:
Frequency of batted ground ball outs versus fly ball outs hit by the batter, calculated as (number of ground ball outs) / (number of fly ball outs).
Frequency of batted ground ball outs versus fly ball outs thrown by the pitcher, calculated as (number of ground ball outs) / (number of fly ball outs).
A statistic in baseball that compares the number of ground outs (ground ball hits that lead to an out for the batter) to air outs (fly balls that lead to an out for the batter), which determines the mix of fielded out types for both batters and pitchers. For each ground out (GO) and air out (AO), both the batter put out and the pitcher on the play receive either a GO or AO on their stat line, which is used in the calculation of the ratio.
The St. Louis Cardinals have led Major League Baseball in team ground ball/fly ball ratio since 2006. Sinker, cutter, and curveball pitchers tend to produce more ground balls, while pitchers who rely on fastballs, sliders, and split-fingered fastballs tend to produce more fly balls. Roughly 10% of fly balls are home runs. Fly ball pitchers in large parks however, tend to allow less than 7%.
Baseball statistics play an important role in evaluating the progress of a player or team.
In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batter is charged with an at bat only if that plate appearance does not have one of the results enumerated below. While at bats are used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average and slugging percentage, a player can qualify for the season-ending rankings in these categories only if they accumulate 502 plate appearances during the season.
Softball is a game similar to baseball, and it is played with a larger ball on a smaller field and with only underhand pitches permitted. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hancock.
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the pitcher is assigned the number 1. The pitcher is often considered the most important player on the defensive side of the game, and as such is situated at the right end of the defensive spectrum. There are many different types of pitchers, such as the starting pitcher, relief pitcher, middle reliever, lefty specialist, setup man, and the closer.
The fastball is the most common type of pitch thrown by pitchers in baseball and softball. "Power pitchers," such as former American major leaguers Nolan Ryan and Roger Clemens, rely on speed to prevent the ball from being hit and throw fastballs at speeds of 95–105 miles per hour (153–169 km/h) (officially) and up to 108.1 miles per hour (174.0 km/h) (unofficially). Pitchers who throw more slowly can put movement on the ball, or throw it on the outside of home plate where batters cannot easily reach it.
In baseball, a foul ball is a batted ball that:
Throughout the history of baseball, the rules have frequently changed as the game continues to evolve. A few common rules most professional leagues have in common is that four balls is a base on balls, three strikes is a strikeout, and three outs end a half-inning.
Baseball and cricket are the best-known members of a family of related bat-and-ball games. Both have fields that are 400 feet (120 m) or more in diameter between their furthest endpoints, offensive players who can hit a thrown/"bowled" ball out of the field and run between safe areas to score runs (points) at the risk of being gotten out, and have a major game format lasting about 3 hours.
In the sports of baseball and softball, a batted ball is a pitch that has been contacted by the batter's bat. Batted balls are either fair or foul, and can be characterized as a fly ball, pop-up, line drive, or ground ball. In baseball, a foul ball counts as a strike against the batter, unless there are already two strikes on the batter, with special rules applying to foul tips and foul bunts. Fly balls are those hit in an arcing manner, with pop-ups being a subset of foul balls that do not travel far. Line drives are batted balls hit on a straight line trajectory, while ground balls are hit at a low trajectory, contact the ground shortly after being hit, and then either roll or bounce. Batted balls, especially line drives, can present a hazard to players, umpires, and spectators, as people have been seriously injured or killed after being struck by batted balls.
Baseball scorekeeping is the practice of recording the details of a baseball game as it unfolds. Professional baseball leagues hire official scorers to keep an official record of each game, but many fans keep score as well for their own enjoyment. Scorekeeping is usually done on a printed scorecard and, while official scorers must adhere precisely to one of the few different scorekeeping notations, most fans exercise some amount of creativity and adopt their own symbols and styles.
This is an alphabetical list of selected unofficial and specialized terms, phrases, and other jargon used in baseball, along with their definitions, including illustrative examples for many entries.
In baseball, a ground ball pitcher is a type of pitcher who has a tendency to induce ground balls from opposing batters. The average ground ball pitcher has a ground ball rate of at least 50%, with extreme ground ball pitchers maintaining a ground ball rate of around 55%. Pitchers with a ground ball rate lower than 50% may be classified as flyball pitchers or as pitchers who exhibit the tendencies of both ground ball and fly ball pitchers. Ground ball pitchers rely on pitches that are low in the strike zone with substantial downward movement, such as splitters and sinker balls.
A fly ball pitcher is a type of baseball pitcher who produces an above-average number of fly balls, typically by keeping his fastball high up in the strike zone and relying on late movement to cause the batter to be unable to make solid contact. This designation is constructed around the ground ball fly ball ratio, which measures how frequently a pitcher gets batters out on fly balls versus ground balls.
In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine. Thus, a lower ERA is better. Runs resulting from passed balls, defensive errors, and runners placed on base at the start of extra innings are recorded as unearned runs and omitted from ERA calculations.
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