In
baseball statistics
Baseball statistics play an important role in evaluating the progress of a player or team.
Since the flow of a baseball game has natural breaks to it, and normally players act individually rather than performing in clusters, the sport lends itsel ...
, ground ball-fly ball ratio (denoted by G/F or GB/FB) is a measure of:
* Frequency of batted ground balls in play versus fly balls in play to denote what kind of contact a
batter makes more frequently. Calculated as (total ground balls in play) / (total fly balls in play) ; and
* Frequency of ground balls allowed in play versus fly balls allowed in play to denote what kind of contact a pitcher surrenders more frequently to opposing batters. Calculated as (total ground balls in play surrendered) / (total fly balls in play surrendered).
The related statistic of ''ground outs-fly outs ratio'' (denoted by ''GO/AO''), is a measure of:
* Frequency of batted ground ball outs versus fly ball outs hit by the batter, calculated as (number of ground ball outs) / (number of fly ball outs).
* Frequency of batted ground ball outs versus fly ball outs thrown by the pitcher, calculated as (number of ground ball outs) / (number of fly ball outs).
A statistic in baseball that compares the number of ''ground outs'' (ground ball hits that lead to an out for the batter) to ''air outs'' (fly balls that lead to an out for the batter), which determines the mix of fielded out types for both batters and
pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...
s. For each ground out (GO) and air out (AO), both the batter put out and the pitcher on the play receive either a GO or AO on their stat line, which is used in the calculation of the ratio.
The
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...
have led
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
in team ground ball/fly ball ratio since 2006. Sinker, cutter, and
curveball
In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curve ...
pitchers tend to produce more ground balls, while pitchers who rely on fastballs, sliders, and split-fingered fastballs tend to produce more fly balls. Roughly 10% of fly balls are home runs. Fly ball pitchers in large parks however, tend to allow less than 7%.
Baseball statistics
Statistical ratios
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