Stat of the Week: OPS

The sum of a player’s on-base percentage (OBP) and their slugging average (SLG). This is a quick and easy statistic for understanding a player’s offensive productivity.

OPS is more closely correlated to run scoring than batting average, on-base percentage, or slugging average alone, which is why many baseball fans prefer this statistic to compare players’ offensive ability.

Understand that OPS has its limitations, such as the assumption that OBP and SLG are equal. For example, a player with a .340 OBP and a .340 SLG is offensively different than a player with a .440 OBP and a .240 SLG, despite each sets adding up to an OPS of .680.