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In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. A player completes a turn batting when: Image File history File links Information. ... Statistics are very important to baseball, perhaps as much as they are for cricket, and more than almost any other sport. ...

• He is declared out before reaching first base, or
• He reaches first base safely, or
• He hits a fair ball which causes a third out on another runner (see left on base)

(In other words, in the last two cases, he becomes a runner.) In baseball, an out occurs when the defensive team effects any of a number of different events, and the umpire rules a batter or baserunner out. ... A baserunner safe on a base, just in time, on a pickoff attempt In baseball, a baserunner is safe when he reaches a base without being put out by various ways. ... In baseball, a fair ball is a batted ball that has not yet become a foul ball, and that. ... In baseball, a baserunner is said to be left on base (abbreviated LOB) when the half-inning ends, he has not scored, and he has not been put out. ...

Thus, a batter does not have a plate appearance if, while he was at bat, the inning ended some other way (for example, a teammate on base is caught stealing for the third out). A batter also does not have a plate appearance in the rare instances when he is replaced by a pinch hitter after having already started his turn at bat (in such a case, the pinch hitter would receive the plate appearance). (However, notice that if a batter is replaced when he already has 2 strikes, and the pinch hitter then completes the strikeout, the at-bat is charged to the 1st batter.) In baseball, a player is charged with a caught stealing when, as a runner, the player attempts to advance from one base to another without the ball being struck by a batter, but is put out by a fielder while making the attempt. ... In baseball, a pinch hitter is a common term for a substitute batter. ...

 PA = AB + BB + HBP + SH + SF + Times Reached on Defensive Interference 

(Plate appearances = at-bats + bases on balls (i.e., walks) + hit by pitch + sacrifice hits + sacrifice flies + times reached on defensive interference) Basically, "plate appearances" = at bats + some of the scenarios excluded from at bats such as base on balls, hit by pitch, sacrifice or catcher's interference which positively affect the offensive team. In baseball statistics, an at bat (AB) is used to calculate other data such as batting average. ... In baseball statistics, a base on balls (BB), also called a walk, is credited to a batter and against a pitcher when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. ... In baseball, being hit by a pitch refers to the batter being hit in some part of the body by a pitch from the pitcher. ... In baseball, a sacrifice hit (also called a sacrifice bunt) is the act of deliberately bunting the ball in a manner that allows a runner on base to advance to another base, while the batter is himself put out. ... Alex Rodriguez commits interference, 2004 In baseball, interference is an infraction where a person illegally changes the course of play from what is expected. ...

In common terminology, the term "at bat" is sometimes used to mean "plate appearance" (for example, "he fouled off the ball to keep the at bat alive"). The intent is usually clear from the context, although the term "official at bat" is sometimes used to explicitly refer to an at bat as distinguished from a plate appearance.

Section 10 of the official rules states what an at bat is not: "Number of times batted, except that no time at bat shall be charged when a player: (i) hits a sacrifice bunt or sacrifice fly; (ii) is awarded first base on four called balls; (iii) is hit by a pitched ball; or (iv) is awarded first base because of interference or obstruction "

The main use of the plate appearance statistic is in determining a player's eligibility for leadership in some offensive statistical categories, notably batting average; currently, a player must have 3.1 PAs per game scheduled to qualify for the batting title (for the 162-game schedule, that means 502 PAs). Also, it is often erroneously cited that total plate appearances is the divisor (i.e., denominator) used in calculating on base percentage (OBP), an alternative measurement of a player's offensive performance; in reality, the OBP denominator does not include certain PAs, such as sacrifice hits and times reached via either catcher’s interference or fielder’s obstruction or base-on-balls or hit batter. Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball measuring the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters, respectively. ... In baseball statistics, on base percentage (OBP) (sometimes referred to as on base average (OBA)) is a measure of how often a batter gets to first base for any reason other than a fielding error or a fielders choice. ... In baseball, a sacrifice hit (also called a sacrifice bunt) is the act of deliberately bunting the ball in a manner that allows a runner on base to advance to another base, while the batter is himself put out. ...

Plate appearances are also used by scorers for "proving" a box score. If the game has been scored correctly, the total number of plate appearances for a team should equal the total of that team's runs, men left on base, and men put out. Bengie Molina of the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (in gray and red) scores a run by touching home plate after rounding all the bases. ... In baseball, a baserunner is said to be left on base (abbreviated LOB) when the half-inning ends, he has not scored, and he has not been put out. ... In baseball, an out occurs when the defensive team effects any of a number of different events, and the umpire rules a batter or baserunner out. ...