In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance no matter what happens during his turn at bat. A batter is not credited with an at bat if he:
At bats are used to calculate certain statistics, including batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging percentage. A player can only qualify for the season-ending rankings in these categories if he accumulates 502 plate appearances during the season.[1]
Pete Rose[2][3] is the all-time leader in at bats with 14,053, and the only player in MLB history with more than 13,000 at bats. Only 30 MLB players have reached 10,000 career at bats. As of October 2023, no active players are in the top 100 of career at-bats. The active leader is Elvis Andrus in 176th with 7,772.
Rank | Rank among leaders in career at-bats. A blank field indicates a tie. |
Player (2024 ABs) | Name (at-bats in 2024) |
AB | Career at-bats |
* | Elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame. |
---|---|
Bold | Active player.[b] |