What does OPS stand for in baseball? It stands for on-base plus slugging, a stat made by adding a batter's on-base percentage (OBP) to his slugging percentage (SLG). The result is one number that shows two skills at once: how often a hitter avoids making an out, and how much damage he does when he connects.
You will spot OPS on the back of baseball cards, in TV graphics and in player pages on sports sites. A higher number is better. Most regular hitters fall somewhere between .650 and .900, and a mark above 1.000 for a full season puts a batter among the very best in the game.
Quick facts
Stands for
On-base plus sluggingFormula
OBP + SLGType
Initialism, said O P SWritten as
A decimal, such as .812 or 1.004Used in
Baseball and softball statsRelated terms
OPS+, OBP, SLG, RBIOther meanings
Operations, as in "ops team"
What does OPS stand for in baseball, piece by piece?
The name tells you the recipe. Each part is a stat of its own:
| Part | Stat | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| On-base | OBP, on-base percentage | How often a batter reaches base by a hit, a walk or being hit by a pitch |
| Plus | Addition | The two numbers are simply added together |
| Slugging | SLG, slugging percentage | Total bases per at bat, so doubles, triples and home runs count for more |
So OPS is not a percentage of anything. It is a sum of two rates, which is why a great season can push it above 1.000. Fans read it aloud letter by letter, "O P S," which makes it an initialism. The guide to acronyms explains that label.
How to work out OPS yourself
You only need the two parts. Say a shortstop has an OBP of .340 and a slugging percentage of .460.
Box score math: .340 + .460 = .800. On a stat sheet, his line would read "OPS .800," and a broadcaster might call that a solid, above average season.
If you want to go back one step further, OBP is times on base divided by plate appearances (with a few small adjustments), and SLG is total bases divided by at bats. A single is one base, a double two, a triple three and a home run four.
What counts as a good OPS
Numbers shift a little from season to season as pitching and the ball change, but these rough bands are a fair guide for a big league regular:
- 1.000 and up: rare, elite production.
- .900 to .999: star level.
- .800 to .899: very good.
- .700 to .799: around average to a bit above.
- Below .650: weak at the plate, often kept in the lineup for defense.
Pitchers have an OPS too. "OPS against" shows what hitters do versus a given pitcher, and for that number lower is better.
OPS+ and why some fans want more
OPS+ takes a player's OPS and adjusts it for his home ballpark and the league that year. It is scaled so that 100 is exactly average. A 130 OPS+ means about 30 percent better than a typical hitter, and an 85 means below average. This makes it easier to compare a player in a hitter friendly park with one in a park that favors pitchers, or a hitter from decades ago with one today.
Stat fans also note a flaw in plain OPS: it treats a point of OBP and a point of slugging as equal, even though getting on base is usually worth a bit more. That is why newer stats exist. OPS stays popular because it is quick to figure and easy to read.
OPS outside the ballpark
Away from baseball, the letters have other common uses. Context almost always makes the meaning clear.
| Setting | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Workplace | Operations (often written "ops") | "Send the shipping question to ops." |
| Military | Operations, as in special ops | "He served in special ops for six years." |
| Events and news | Photo ops, short for photo opportunities | "The visit was mostly photo ops." |
In those uses the word is usually said like "ops," one syllable, while the baseball stat is said as three letters. Award letters such as MVP show up in the same box scores. For other sports letters, browse the famous acronyms list.
OPS in a sentence
- "His OPS jumped almost 100 points after he started pulling the ball."
- "She led the softball league with a 1.120 OPS."
- "The team's OPS against left handed pitching is the worst in the division."
- "Batting average looks fine, but his OPS shows he rarely walks."
- "An .850 OPS from a catcher is a real bonus."
Note the article: write "an .850 OPS" because people say "an eight fifty," and "an OPS of .850" because O is read "oh."
Questions people ask
What does OPS stand for in sports?
In baseball and softball, OPS stands for on-base plus slugging. It adds on-base percentage and slugging percentage into one hitting number.
Is a .700 OPS good?
A .700 OPS is close to average or slightly below for a big league hitter. Around .800 is very good, and .900 or higher is star level.
What is the difference between OPS and OPS+?
OPS is the raw sum of OBP and SLG. OPS+ adjusts that number for ballpark and league and sets 100 as average, so it is better for comparing players from different teams or eras.
Can OPS be over 1.000?
Yes. Because it adds two rates together, a great hitter can pass 1.000. Only a handful of players do it over a full season.
What does ops mean at work?
At work, ops is short for operations, the team that keeps daily processes running. It is said as one word, unlike the baseball stat.