OPS in baseball stands for On-base Plus Slugging. It is a statistic that combines two key offensive metrics:
- On-base percentage (OBP) , which measures how often a player reaches base via hits, walks, or being hit by a pitch.
- Slugging percentage (SLG) , which measures the total bases a player earns per at-bat, giving more weight to extra-base hits like doubles, triples, and home runs.
OPS is calculated simply by adding OBP and SLG together:
OPS=OBP+SLGOPS=OBP+SLGOPS=OBP+SLG
This combined metric reflects both a player's ability to get on base and to hit for power, making it a valuable single number to evaluate overall offensive performance. An OPS of .800 or higher is considered very good, and elite hitters often have OPS values near or above 1.000
. In summary, OPS provides a quick snapshot of a hitter's effectiveness at reaching base and hitting for power.
