Fielding Percentage
FPCTPutouts plus assists divided by total chances, measuring how often a fielder handles cleanly the balls they reach.
Fielding percentage divides successful plays, meaning putouts plus assists, by total chances, which adds errors to that figure. A fielder with 40 putouts, 10 assists, and 2 errors has handled 50 of 52 chances for a .962 mark.
Its well-known flaw is that it only counts balls the fielder actually reached. A slow shortstop with limited range who never gets to the ball in the hole is never charged with an error on it, and can post a better fielding percentage than a rangier player who reaches more and occasionally misplays one.
It remains useful at youth level precisely because range varies less than reliability does. Knowing which of your infielders converts routine chances is genuinely actionable when setting a defensive alignment.
How do you calculate fielding percentage?
Add putouts and assists, then divide by total chances, where total chances is putouts plus assists plus errors.
Is fielding percentage a good measure of defense?
Only partly. It measures reliability on balls a fielder reached, but says nothing about range, so a fielder who reaches fewer balls can post a higher percentage than a better defender.
Let the scorebook keep itself.
Bleacher Notes scores every play from a single spoken sentence, applying these rules for you. In beta now, free for parents.