The Short Answer: A good OPS in baseball is generally anything above .800 over a career, and a mark near or above 1.000 puts a hitter among the game's elite. Because league average sits around .700 to .720 in recent seasons, an .800 OPS already signals an above-average bat.
So why should you, as a baseball player, care about this number, and what separates an average OPS from a great one? We will answer these questions as we break down OPS, how it is calculated, and how the best hitters in Major League Baseball history have used it to define their legacies.
What Is OPS?
OPS is a sabermetric baseball statistic designed to evaluate a player's offensive performance. It combines two variables: how consistently a hitter reaches base (on-base percentage) and how effective they are at hitting for extra base power (slugging). Together, on-base percentage and slugging reward a player's ability to avoid outs, reach base, and deliver high-value hits.
That single number tells you more about a hitter than batting average can. Batting average treats a bloop single and a home run as equals and ignores walks entirely. OPS closes both gaps, which is why analysts, coaches, and fans across Major League Baseball rely on it to compare hitters and measure offensive value.
A Deep Dive into the Components and Calculation of OPS
Calculating On-Base Percentage (OBP)
On-Base Percentage measures how often a player reaches base per plate appearance. It is the sum of hits, walks, and times hit by a pitch, divided by at-bats, walks, hit by pitches, and sacrifice flies. Those outcomes together account for nearly all of a batter's plate appearances, though the denominator does not include sacrifice bunts. A higher OBP means a player makes fewer outs and creates more chances to score.
Formula: OBP = (Hits + Walks + Hit By Pitch) / (At-Bats + Walks + Hit By Pitch + Sacrifice Flies)
Calculating Slugging (SLG)
Slugging Percentage, sometimes called slugging average, measures power. It shows how many bases a player earns per at-bat. Don't confuse it with batting average, which counts every hit the same. Slugging gives more weight to extra-base hits such as doubles, triples, and home runs, which are more valuable for scoring runs.
Formula: SLG = Total Bases / At-Bats
Calculating OPS
Add the two together and you get On-Base plus Slugging. The result gives a fairly complete view of a hitter's offense, blending their ability to reach base (OBP) with their ability to hit for extra bases (SLG). A player with an OPS over 1.000 is considered excellent, because it means they are both getting on base often and hitting for power.
Formula: OPS = OBP + SLG
So What Is a Good OPS?
Now that you know how the score is calculated, let's talk numbers. OPS is most useful as a starting point once you know the full scale, so let's break down what counts as average, above average, and elite.
What Is an Average OPS?
Keep in mind that league average fluctuates from year to year. In recent seasons it has hovered around .700 to .720, and the 2025 leaguewide OPS came in near the bottom of the modern range as offense across the sport declined, according to Baseball Reference's year-by-year league batting data. A hitter sitting around that mark is roughly an average bat.
What Is an Above-Average OPS?
Clearing .800 marks an above-average hitter and puts a player in the upper echelon. A hitter who consistently posts an OPS over .900 is often among the league leaders and viewed as excellent. The truly elite, a small group, hover at or above 1.000. One way analysts add context is by measuring how many standard deviations above league average a hitter sits, since a .900 OPS means more in a low-offense season than in a high-scoring one.
The Best OPS Hitters in Baseball History
How do these numbers play out in real life? Let's look at some examples from baseball history. Ted Williams, of the American League's Boston Red Sox and widely regarded as one of the purest hitters ever, retired with a career OPS of 1.116 and still holds the all-time career OBP record at .482. The all-time leader is Babe Ruth, who owns the highest career OPS in Major League Baseball at 1.164, according to Baseball Reference. You can see the full career leaders list on Baseball Reference.
In more recent eras, Barry Bonds retired with a career OPS of 1.051 and still holds the top single-season OPS marks in the sport's history. Power hitters of the late 1990s pushed the conversation further, too. Mark McGwire finished with a career OPS of .982, and his 1998 home run chase with Chicago Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa put OPS-driven power on the national stage. Frank Thomas, the Chicago White Sox standout known as "The Big Hurt," carried a career OPS well above .900 across his peak as one of the most feared power hitters of his generation.
Today's stars are measured against the same bar. Aaron Judge of the American League's Yankees posted a 1.159 OPS in 2024, the highest single-season mark since Bonds in 2004, a 20-year gap that shows how rare those seasons are.
The Place of OPS in Baseball History and Today's Game
OPS carried little weight in the sport a few decades ago, but today it is one of the first numbers analysts reach for when assessing a hitter. It blends a player's ability to get on base with their power, which is why it has earned such a prominent place in the modern game.
How Baseball Statistics Evolved
For most of baseball history, traditional statistics like home runs, batting average, and runs batted in were the go-to measures of offense. As understanding of the game deepened, that changed. OPS was developed by statistician Pete Palmer, the same researcher behind the linear weights method, as a simpler way to capture offensive value. It was popularized in the 1984 book The Hidden Game of Baseball, which Palmer co-wrote with John Thorn. By 2004, the stat had spread far enough to appear on Topps baseball cards. Around the same era, Bill James's broader work in sabermetrics, a field of statistics that measures in-game activity, reshaped how the sport thought about player value.
The Moneyball Theory
The sabermetric movement was famously put into practice by Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland Athletics, and depicted in Michael Lewis's 2003 book "Moneyball." Beane's front office shifted away from traditional metrics toward more predictive indicators of run production, leaning heavily on on-base percentage and on-base average alongside OPS. Rather than paying a premium for home run totals and batting average, his baseball operations group valued reaching base and advancing runners, an approach that let a small-budget club compete with richer rivals.
OPS in Today's Game
Today's game looks very different. OPS is now a preferred shortcut for evaluating hitters, and it appears beside traditional statistics in nearly every broadcast graphic and scouting report. It does have blind spots, though. Raw OPS does not account for park effects, era, or league context, so a .900 OPS in a hitter-friendly ballpark is not the same as a .900 in a pitcher's park. To address that, analysts turn to OPS+, an advanced metric that adjusts for park effects and league context, placing every hitter on a scale where 100 equals league average, so a mark of 150 sits 50 percent above the average bat.
OPS also sits alongside newer Statcast data. Measurements like exit velocity capture how hard a player hits the ball, and a high exit velocity often shows up later as a high OPS. Pairing the two gives scouts a better read on a hitter than either number alone. For deeper comparisons, Baseball Reference publishes OPS, OPS+, and standard deviation context for players across every era. Pete Palmer himself has written about why the stat endures in SABR's "Why OPS Works", and you can track the current career leaders at MLB.com.
Around the Horn: How BRUCE BOLT Can Help Enhance Your OPS
Having thoroughly explored what constitutes a good OPS, the players who have achieved it, and its role in the modern game, you might be wondering: how can I improve my own OPS?
Choosing the Right Gear
Raising your OPS comes down to reps, plate discipline, and a quality swing. But performing at a high level isn't only about raw talent or practice hours. The right equipment also helps you do your best on the field. That's where we come in.
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