Secondary Average Calculator & Formula


Secondary Average Calculator
At-Bats   AB =
Bases on Ball   BB =
Doubles   2B =
Triples   3B =
Home Runs   HR =
Stolen Bases   SB =
Caught Stealing   CS =

In baseball sabermetrics, a batter's secondary average is the ratio of bases gained through walks, stolen bases, etc. to at-bats. It complements the batting average and slugging percentage because it indicates how often a player reaches base by means other than hitting the ball. The abbreviation for secondary average is SecA.

Formula for SecA

Like other sabermetrics, the secondary average is a decimal that ranges from 0 to 1. Its equation is

SecA =
(TB - H + BB + SB - CS)/AB.

Since TB and H are both linear functions of 1B, 2B, 3B, and HR, you can rewrite the formula in an equivalent form:

SecA =
(2B + 2*3B + 3*HR + BB + SB - CS)/AB.

Example: In 1990, Ken Griffey Jr. had 28 doubles, 7 triples, 22 home runs, 63 walks, 16 stolen bases, 11 caught stealing, and a total of 597 at bats.

2B = 28
3B = 7
HR = 22
BB = 63
SB = 16
CS = 11
AB = 597

His secondary average for the year was then

SecA = (28 + 2*7 + 3*22 + 63 + 16 - 11)/597
= 176/597
= 0.2948

Secondary averages above 0.5 are considered excellent. Usually, a player with a high batting average or high slugging percentage will also have a high secondary average.


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