Beyond Batting Average: Baseball Stats That Actually Show Player Growth

Batting average is often misunderstood in baseball. It’s easy to read and quote, so people pay a lot of attention to it, but it doesn’t show the whole picture of a player’s growth. While it can be useful, using it by itself can hide real progress or make players feel more confident than they should.

I don’t use batting average to track growth. Instead, I focus on stats that show how players make decisions, how consistent they are, and how well they hit the ball.

Why Batting Average Falls Short

Batting average is affected by many things a hitter can’t control, like where the defense stands, the weather, the size of the ballpark, and luck. A player might hit the ball hard many times, but if it goes right to a fielder, their average goes down. Another player might get lucky with weak hits that raise their average.

Batting average doesn’t show the difference between these situations, and that’s the main issue.

What Actually Shows Improvement

When I judge hitters, I look for patterns that repeat over time. These stats help me see if a player is truly getting better:

• Quality of contact over time: Are they hitting the ball solidly more often? Are they making more hard contact, even if it doesn’t lead to hits right away?
• Strike-zone discipline: Are they swinging at fewer bad pitches? Are they choosing better pitches to hit earlier in the count?
• Situational performance: Can they adjust how they hit depending on the game situation, the count, or if there are runners on base?
• Consistency across at-bats: Are they making smart choices every time they come up to bat, not just once in a while?

These stats show if a player knows their role and can do it well. They also show if a hitter is learning how to handle pitchers, instead of just reacting to what happens.

Separating Process From Results

One of the hardest parts of baseball development is helping players see the difference between what they do and what happens as a result. Stats that track decisions and contact quality remind players that doing the right things again and again will lead to good results, even if things don’t go their way right away.

A player who is getting better at their approach shouldn’t feel like they’re failing just because they aren’t getting hits yet. The right stats help keep their confidence up and show how much they’re improving.

Why This Matters for Long-Term Development

Players improve faster when feedback matches what’s actually happening. If I can show a hitter that their contact quality or pitch selection is getting better, they stay confident. This helps avoid frustration and keeps them moving forward.

Baseball rewards patience. Tracking the right stats helps remind players to be patient, instead of making them doubt themselves.

The Bottom Line

Batting average shows what happened. Stats that focus on development explain why it happened and if real progress is being made.

When we measure growth the right way, players stay motivated, coaches work together, and everyone keeps improving.