By Abearica Online Editors · Published
Start a baseball batting line with AB, H, and BB, then look up unfamiliar labels before drawing conclusions. Use the line to ask better questions about a game rather than treating a single column as a complete assessment of a player. This guide covers batting, not every part of a box score.
Separate trips to the plate from at-bats
MLB's glossary says walks do not count as at-bats.1
When you see a walk alongside an at-bat total, resist the urge to treat the two as competing accounts of the same thing. Read the column labels first. If explaining rules is part of what you enjoy about Games, try explaining this distinction to a fellow viewer before introducing more statistics.
MLB defines a plate appearance as each completed turn batting, regardless of its result.1
Look for PA if your question is how often a player completed a turn at the plate. For a reading exercise, choose one completed game and compare the headings in its batting table with the glossary. Do not assume every abbreviation is self-explanatory.
Read hits and walks as different outcomes
MLB identifies singles, doubles, triples, and home runs as the four types of hits.2
Check the more detailed batting information when you want to know what kind of hit occurred. Avoid replacing a description of the actual play with a broad judgment such as "productive" unless you explain what you mean by that judgment.
MLB uses BB to denote a walk in the scorebook.3
Read that column separately from H. Try narrating a player's line in ordinary words, using the glossary to resolve a label rather than guessing from its position. Keep a question mark beside any label you have not looked up.
Stop before the line becomes a verdict
Use your reading notes to choose a moment to revisit in the game account. Ask what happened on that play and what the batting line does or does not answer. Leave broader judgments open until you have the context you need. Take questions about your own exercise or injuries to Health, not to a professional player's batting record.
Save this glossary exercise for another session through Abearica Today if you would rather watch the game now and study the columns later. Keep the glossary link with your note so you can return to the definition that prompted your question.