Baseball statistics play an important role in evaluating the progress of a player or team.
In baseball, an earned run is any run that was fully enabled by the offensive team's production in the face of competent play from the defensive team. Conversely, an unearned run is a run that would not have been scored without the aid of an error or a passed ball committed by the defense.
A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls, and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08(a). It is, however, considered a faux pas for a professional player to actually walk to first base; the batter-runner and any advancing runners normally jog on such a play.
In baseball statistics, a hit, also called a base hit, is credited to a batter when the batter safely reaches first base after hitting the ball into fair territory, without the benefit of an error or a fielder's choice.
Softball is a variant of baseball played with a larger ball on a field that has base lengths of 60 feet, a pitcher's mound that ranges from 35-43 feet away from home plate, and a homerun fence that is 220 feet away from home plate. It was invented in 1887 in Chicago, Illinois, United States as an indoor game. The game moves at a faster pace than traditional baseball. There is less time for the base runner to get to first while the opponent fields the ball; yet, the fielder has less time to field the ball while the opponent is running down to first base. The name softball was given to the game in 1926, because the ball used to be soft, however in modern day usage, the balls are hard.
A bunt is a batting technique in baseball or fastpitch softball. To bunt, the batter loosely holds the bat in front of the plate and intentionally taps the ball into play.
In baseball or softball, a strikeout occurs when a batter racks up three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is denoted by K. A strikeout looking is denoted by a Ʞ.
In baseball, an intentional base on balls, usually referred to as an intentional walk and denoted in baseball scorekeeping by IBB, is a walk issued to a batter by a pitcher with the intent of removing the batter's opportunity to swing at the pitched ball. A pitch that is intentionally thrown far outside the strike zone for this purpose is referred to as an intentional ball.
In baseball, a foul ball is a batted ball that:
In baseball, an out occurs when the umpire rules a batter or baserunner out for one of the reasons given below. When three outs are recorded in an inning, a team's half of the inning, ends.
Ronald Ames Guidry, nicknamed "Louisiana Lightning" and "Gator", is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) left-handed pitcher who played his entire 14-year career for the New York Yankees of the American League (AL). Guidry was also the pitching coach of the Yankees from 2006 to 2007.
The rules of baseball differ slightly from league to league, but in general share the same basic game play.
In baseball, defense-independent pitching statistics (DIPS) measure a pitcher's effectiveness based only on statistics that do not involve fielders. These include home runs allowed, strikeouts, hit batters, walks, and, more recently, fly ball percentage, ground ball percentage, and line drive percentage. By focusing on these statistics, which the pitcher has almost total control over, and ignoring what happens once a ball is put in play, which the pitcher has little control over, DIPS can offer a clearer picture of the pitcher's true ability.
In baseball statistics, strikeout-to-walk ratio (K/BB) is a measure of a pitcher's ability to control pitches, calculated as strikeouts divided by bases on 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.
In baseball statistics, strikeouts per nine innings pitched is the mean of strikeouts by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by multiplying the number of strikeouts by nine, and dividing by the number of innings pitched. To qualify, a pitcher must have pitched 1,000 innings, which generally limits the list to starters. A separate list is maintained for relievers with 300 innings pitched or 200 appearances.
In baseball, a control pitcher, also known as a finesse pitcher, is a pitcher who succeeds mostly by using accurate pitches, as opposed to a power pitcher who relies on velocity. By issuing a below average number of bases on balls he exhibits good control of his pitches. Pitchers with good control are said to be able to throw all the pitches in their repertoire for strikes in different locations regardless of the batter, count and score. According to Curt Schilling, "Control is the ability to throw strikes, and command is the ability to throw quality strikes." Another definition of control is "The ability to deliver the ball to the plate with accuracy." The best control pitchers will walk as few as one batter per game. Control is also key to getting ahead in the count, and thus gaining the advantage over batters to keep them off base. Statistics used to measure control include:
