Baseball Baseline

The Friday File: Batting average predicts 67% of the runs a team scores. On-base percentage, the frequency with which a player reaches base/at-bat, predicts 78%. On-base percentage plus slugging percentage (OPS), the sum of the on-base percentage and the average number of bases gained per at-bat (a measure of batter power) predicts 89%. So, ignore exit velocity, launch angle, distance traveled, and the other newfangled stats and focus on OPS.