Ask AI: What are the major statistics tracked in baseball and how are they calculated?

In baseball, several key statistics are tracked to evaluate player performance. Here are some of the major ones and how they are calculated: **Batting Statistics**: 1. **Batting Average (AVG)**: This is the ratio of a player's hits to their at-bats. It is calculated as: \[ \text{AVG} = \frac{\text{Hits}}{\text{At-Bats}} \] 2. **On-Base Percentage (OBP)**: This measures how often a player gets on base. It is calculated as: \[ \text{OBP} = \frac{\text{Hits} + \text{Walks} + \text{Hit By Pitch}}{\text{At-Bats} + \text{Walks} + \text{Hit By Pitch} + \text{Sacrifice Flies}} \] 3. **Slugging Percentage (SLG)**: This measures the power of a hitter. It's the total bases divided by at-bats. Total bases are calculated as 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple, and 4 for a home run. It is calculated as: \[ \text{SLG} = \frac{\text{Total Bases}}{\text{At-Bats}} \] 4. **On-Base Plus Slugging (OPS)**: This is the sum of OBP and SLG. It measures a player's ability to get on base and hit for power. **Pitching Statistics**: 1. **Earned Run Average (ERA)**: This measures the average number of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is calculated as: \[ \text{ERA} = \left(\frac{\text{Earned Runs}}{\text{Innings Pitched}}\right) \times 9 \] 2. **Walks plus Hits per Innings Pitched (WHIP)**: This indicates the number of baserunners a pitcher allows per inning. It is calculated as: \[ \text{WHIP} = \frac{\text{Walks} + \text{Hits}}{\text{Innings Pitched}} \] 3. **Strikeouts Per Nine Innings (K/9)**: This measures the number of strikeouts a pitcher averages per nine innings. It is calculated as: \[ \text{K/9} = \left(\frac{\text{Strikeouts}}{\text{Innings Pitched}}\right) \times 9 \] **Fielding Statistics**: 1. **Fielding Percentage (FPCT)**: This measures a player's defensive ability by evaluating the frequency of successful plays (putouts and assists) relative to total chances (putouts, assists, and errors). It is calculated as: \[ \text{FPCT} = \frac{\text{Putouts + Assists}}{\text{Putouts + Assists + Errors}} \] 2. **Range Factor (RF)**: This evaluates a fielder's ability to reach batted balls. It is calculated as: \[ \text{RF} = \frac{\text{Putouts + Assists}}{\text{Games Played}} \] These are some of the fundamental statistics used in baseball. There are many other advanced metrics and sabermetric statistics that are also tracked to give a more comprehensive analysis of player performance, such as Wins Above Replacement (WAR), Weighted On-Base Average (wOBA), Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP), and more.