ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Baseball statistics

Okay kiddo, when you watch baseball on TV or at a ballpark, you see players trying to hit the ball with a bat and then running around the field. It’s a really fun game to watch, but there’s a lot more to it than just that!

Baseball statistics are numbers that help us understand how good the players are at baseball. So basically, it tells us how good or bad a player is doing in the game of baseball by counting or recording their performance during each game.

One of the most common baseball statistics is batting average. This number tells us how often a player hits the ball, measured as a percentage. For example, if a player hits the ball 3 times in every 10 times he goes up to bat, his batting average would be .300 (because 3 divided by 10 equals .300).

Another important statistic is on-base percentage. This number tells us how often a player gets to first base safely, whether it’s by hitting the ball, getting walked by the pitcher, or getting hit by the ball. A high on-base percentage is a very good thing!

There are also statistics that measure how good a player is at fielding (catching and throwing the ball). One of these is errors, which shows how many times a player made a mistake while fielding that caused the other team to get a base or a run. Obviously, the lower this number, the better!

One advanced statistic that is becoming more popular is called Wins Above Replacement (WAR). This number tries to measure how valuable a player is to his team compared to a “replacement level” player who is not very good. So basically, a player with a high WAR is really important to his team’s success because he’s much better than the alternative players they could use instead.

So there you have it, little one! Baseball statistics are numbers that help us understand how good or bad players are at baseball, and they tell us things like how often they hit the ball or get on base, and how well they play defense. It’s pretty cool stuff if you ask me!