"Moneyball" popularized advanced statistics in baseball, including one oft-used stat known as OPS. What exactly does OPS measure?
Of all American sports, baseball might have the most complicated terminology. MLB metrics start at a basic ground level — home runs, RBIs, batting average — before rising to nuanced intricacies and acronyms containing every letter in the alphabet — WAR, wOBA, VORP, BABIP, FIP, UZR.
Today, we take a look at a mid-level statistic known as OPS.
OPS has turned into one of the most commonly used baseball statistics in the modern era for how it describes a player's performance at the plate.
Here is the OPS baseball statistic explained.
What is OPS in baseball?
OPS (pronounced opps or oh-pee-ess) stands for on-base plus slugging. It is an offensive metric that looks at how a player contributes in two categories: getting on base, and hitting for power.
Here's the MLB glossary definition:
OPS adds on-base percentage and slugging percentage to get one number that unites the two. It's meant to combine how well a hitter can reach base, with how well he can hit for average and for power.
It can also be used in evaluating pitchers; when used in that context, it is referred to as OPS against.
Basically, OPS is a statistic that combines a player's on-base percentage (OBP) and slugging percentage. On-base percentage measures how often a player reaches base per plate appearance, and slugging percentage measures the total number of bases a player records per at-bat.
OBP includes hits, walks and hit-by-pitches, but slugging percentage only includes hits.
How to calculate OPS
To calculate OPS, you would simply add OBP and slugging percentage.
OBP + slugging percentage = OPS
A good OPS tends to vary by position. In general, an .800 OPS would indicate a player is a solid, above-average hitter.
Top 10 MLB players ranked by OPS in 2023
- Shohei Ohtani, Angels — 1.070
- Mookie Betts, Dodgers — .989
- Ronald Acuña, Braves — .986
- Freddie Freeman, Dodgers — .986
- Matt Olson, Braves — .981
- Cody Bellinger, Cubs — .933
- Yandy Díaz, Rays — .904
- Kyle Tucker, Astros — .901
- Juan Soto, Padres — .895
- Luis Robert, White Sox — .888
