What is wOBA in Baseball?

Q: How is wOBA calculated?

wOBA uses linear weights derived from run expectancy analysis. Each type of positive offensive event is multiplied by its approximate run value relative to an out, then the sum is divided by plate appearances. The weights shown (0.69 for a walk, 0.89 for a single, etc.) reflect approximate mid-2010s values — analysts at FanGraphs recalibrate these each season to match the actual run environment. The all-time leaders shown here use these fixed weights, which introduces a small cross-era bias but is suitable for historical comparisons.

Q: What is a good wOBA in baseball?

wOBA is scaled to resemble OBP. A wOBA above .400 is exceptional; .370–.400 is excellent; .340–.369 is above average; .310–.339 is average; below .310 is below average at the major league level. League-average wOBA is typically around .315–.330 depending on the offensive environment of the season.

Q: How does wOBA differ from OPS?

OPS adds on-base percentage and slugging percentage, which have different denominators and aren't equally valuable per point. Research shows OBP is roughly 1.8 times more valuable per point than SLG. wOBA uses linear weights derived from actual run production data to assign the correct value to each offensive outcome — a walk, single, double, triple, and home run each get a weight reflecting how many runs they actually generate. wOBA is more accurate than OPS as a predictor of run scoring and is the preferred offensive metric among analysts.

Q: What are the wOBA linear weights and do they change?

The wOBA weights (e.g., 0.89 for a single, 1.27 for a double) are recalculated each season based on the run environment of that year. In a high-scoring era, extra-base hits are worth slightly more because runs are easier to score; in a low-scoring era, they're worth less. FanGraphs publishes updated weights annually. The simplified weights shown here (roughly matching the 2010s average run environment) are suitable for career comparisons across a broad range of seasons.

wOBA (Weighted On-Base Average) is an offensive metric that assigns each hitting outcome — singles, doubles, triples, home runs, walks, and hit-by-pitches — a weight based on its actual run value, then scales the result to resemble an on-base percentage for easy interpretation. Unlike OPS, which double-counts plate appearances and treats OBP and SLG as equal, wOBA more accurately reflects the true offensive contribution of each outcome by weighting them proportionally to how many runs they actually generate.

Formula

wOBA = (0.69×uBB + 0.72×HBP + 0.89×1B + 1.27×2B + 1.62×3B + 2.10×HR) ÷ PA

A batter with 50 walks, 5 HBP, 80 singles, 30 doubles, 5 triples, 25 home runs, and 600 plate appearances has approximately: wOBA = (0.69×50 + 0.72×5 + 0.89×80 + 1.27×30 + 1.62×5 + 2.10×25) / 600 = (34.5 + 3.6 + 71.2 + 38.1 + 8.1 + 52.5) / 600 ≈ 208 / 600 ≈ .347.

Benchmarks

Level	wOBA
Elite	> .400
Excellent	.370–.400
Above Average	.340–.369
Average	.310–.339
Below Average	< .310

ALL-TIME CAREER wOBA LEADERS

Rank	Player	wOBA
1	Babe Ruth	0.492
2	Ted Williams	0.471
3	Lou Gehrig	0.462
4	Jimmie Foxx	0.446
5	Turkey Stearnes	0.443
6	Rogers Hornsby	0.438
7	Mule Suttles	0.438
8	Hank Greenberg	0.436
9	Oscar Charleston	0.435
10	Jud Wilson	0.425

View full career wOBA leaderboard →

BEST SINGLE-SEASON wOBA IN MLB HISTORY

Rank	Player	Year	Team	wOBA
1	Mule Suttles	1926	SLS	0.566
2	Babe Ruth	1920	NYY	0.564
3	Babe Ruth	1921	NYY	0.558
4	Babe Ruth	1923	NYY	0.544
5	Ted Williams	1941	BOS	0.541
6	Rogers Hornsby	1925	STL	0.525
7	Babe Ruth	1924	NYY	0.525
8	Babe Ruth	1926	NYY	0.525
9	Babe Ruth	1927	NYY	0.524
10	Barry Bonds	2001	SFG	0.520

View full single-season wOBA leaderboard →

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

wOBA was developed by Tom Tango (along with Mitchel Lichtman and Andrew Dolphin) and published in "The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball" (2006). It addressed key weaknesses of OPS: OPS adds OBP and SLG despite them having different denominators and different relationships to run scoring, and it treats each component as equally valuable.

The development of linear weights dates back to George Lindsey's 1963 paper in Operations Research and Pete Palmer's work in the 1970s and 1980s, culminating in "The Hidden Game of Baseball" (1984). Tango refined Palmer's approach by calibrating weights from empirical run expectancy matrices and scaling the result to an OBP-like scale, making it more intuitive.

Barry Bonds's 2002 season produced the highest wOBA ever calculated at approximately .559 — the result of a .370 batting average, 198 walks (including 68 intentional), and 46 home runs in just 403 at-bats. His seasons from 2001–2004 represent the four highest single-season wOBA marks in modern baseball history. Ted Williams's seasons in the 1940s and 1950s are comparably elite, with wOBA marks estimated at .530+.

wOBA scales directly to wins through the concept of wRAA (Weighted Runs Above Average) and is a core input in WAR calculations. FanGraphs popularized wOBA's widespread use, and it now appears on virtually every major statistics platform. wOBA+ (park- and era-adjusted) allows cross-era comparisons. The stat's direct relationship to run production makes it the preferred single-metric summary of offensive value for analysts.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How is wOBA calculated?

wOBA uses linear weights derived from run expectancy analysis. Each type of positive offensive event is multiplied by its approximate run value relative to an out, then the sum is divided by plate appearances. The weights shown (0.69 for a walk, 0.89 for a single, etc.) reflect approximate mid-2010s values — analysts at FanGraphs recalibrate these each season to match the actual run environment. The all-time leaders shown here use these fixed weights, which introduces a small cross-era bias but is suitable for historical comparisons.

What is a good wOBA in baseball?

wOBA is scaled to resemble OBP. A wOBA above .400 is exceptional; .370–.400 is excellent; .340–.369 is above average; .310–.339 is average; below .310 is below average at the major league level. League-average wOBA is typically around .315–.330 depending on the offensive environment of the season.

How does wOBA differ from OPS?

OPS adds on-base percentage and slugging percentage, which have different denominators and aren't equally valuable per point. Research shows OBP is roughly 1.8 times more valuable per point than SLG. wOBA uses linear weights derived from actual run production data to assign the correct value to each offensive outcome — a walk, single, double, triple, and home run each get a weight reflecting how many runs they actually generate. wOBA is more accurate than OPS as a predictor of run scoring and is the preferred offensive metric among analysts.

What are the wOBA linear weights and do they change?

The wOBA weights (e.g., 0.89 for a single, 1.27 for a double) are recalculated each season based on the run environment of that year. In a high-scoring era, extra-base hits are worth slightly more because runs are easier to score; in a low-scoring era, they're worth less. FanGraphs publishes updated weights annually. The simplified weights shown here (roughly matching the 2010s average run environment) are suitable for career comparisons across a broad range of seasons.

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Career Home Runs → Career Batting Average → Single-Season RBI → Single-Season ERA → Career Wins → All Leaderboards →