Plate AppearancesPA

PA stands for plate appearances in baseball. Every trip a batter takes to the plate, however it ends: a hit, an out, a walk, a hit by pitch or a sacrifice.

How PA is calculated

PA = AB + BB + HBP + SF + SH + catcher’s interference

At-bats leave walks and sacrifices out, which is why on-base percentage is built on plate appearances and batting average is not.

What counts as a good PA?

Half of the 445 qualified MLB players in 2026 were at or below 356. Clearing 627.8 put a season in the top tenth of the league.

Median: 356
Top 10%: 627.8
Leader: 702

By position, the median was 501 for 1B, 407 for SS, 390 for LF, 381 for 2B, 363 for CF and 351.5 for 3B.

Qualified: 100+ AB, non-zero, 2026 regular season.