Sacrifice Fly
SFA fly ball caught for an out with fewer than two outs that lets a runner tag up and score; the batter is not charged an at-bat.
A sacrifice fly is recorded when, with fewer than two outs, a batter hits a fly ball that is caught for an out and a runner scores after tagging up. The batter is retired, but because the swing produced a run, the at-bat is not charged against the batter's average.
The batter still gets a plate appearance and is credited with an RBI for the run that scored. Removing the at-bat is why a player can drive in runs on sacrifice flies all season without it dragging down their batting average.
Two outs at the start of the play means there is no sacrifice fly: a caught fly ball is simply the third out, and any run would not count anyway.
Bleacher Notes credits the RBI and the run, charges the plate appearance, and skips the at-bat automatically, so the batting average stays correct.
Does a sacrifice fly count as an at-bat?
No. A sacrifice fly is charged as a plate appearance but not an at-bat, so it does not lower the batter's batting average. The batter is still credited with the RBI.
Does a sacrifice fly count for on-base percentage?
Sacrifice flies are included in the OBP denominator, so unlike batting average, a sac fly does slightly lower on-base percentage.
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