How to Calculate a Baseball Player's Slugging Percentage

This article explains how to calculate a baseball player's slugging percentage. This baseball statistic is commonly associated with power hitters. Barry Bonds holds the single-season record for highest slugging percentage at .863. A big component of slugging percentage is total bases, so those players who hit the most home runs (four total bases) are going to have the highest slugging percentage. A player's slugging percentage also plays a big role in their OPS (On-base Plus Slugging) statistic.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. Locate the current or year-end statistics for the player whose slugging percentage you want to calculate.

2. Determine how many singles the player has had during the year. Each single equals 1.

3. Determine how many doubles the player has had during the year. Each one of these hits equals 2.

4. Determine the number of triples the player has hit in the current season. Each triple is worth 3.

5. Determine the number of home runs the player has hit in the current season. Each homer equals four total bases.

6. Add the figures from steps 2, 3, 4 and 5 together to find the total number of bases the player has for the current season.

7. Identify the number of at-bats the player has had for the year.

8. Divide the total number of bases that you calculated in step 6 by the number of at-bats the player has had during the year. This will give you the player's slugging percentage.