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GlossaryStats

Plate Appearance

PA

Every completed turn at bat, including walks, hit-by-pitches, and sacrifices, making it the broadest count of a hitter's opportunities.

A plate appearance is counted every time a batter completes a turn, however it ends. It is the wider of the two counting stats: every at-bat is a plate appearance, but not every plate appearance is an at-bat.

It is the denominator for on-base percentage, and it is the honest measure of playing time. If you want to know whether a coach is distributing opportunities fairly across a roster, plate appearances is the column to read, not at-bats, because at-bats quietly penalize the patient hitters who walk.

One edge case: a turn interrupted by the third out being made on the bases does not complete, so the batter carries their count into the next inning and no plate appearance is recorded.

What is the difference between a plate appearance and an at-bat?

A plate appearance is any completed turn at bat. An at-bat is the narrower subset that excludes walks, hit-by-pitches, and sacrifices. Batting average uses at-bats; on-base percentage uses plate appearances.

Related terms
At-Bat · ABA plate appearance that ends in a hit, an out, an error, or a fielder's choice, excluding walks, hit-by-pitches, and sacrifices.On-Base Percentage · OBPHow often a batter reaches base via hit, walk, or hit-by-pitch; usually more telling than batting average.Base on Balls · BBA batter awarded first base after taking four pitches outside the strike zone, recorded as BB and not charged as an at-bat.
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