MLB batting average drops again to .239, near record low in 1968's Year of the Pitcher

NEW YORK — Offense is down again at the start of the big league season, with hits even harder to come by.

The big league batting average was .239 through the first full week of play, down from .240 through the first full week of 2024.

While the overall average generally goes up as weather warms in much of the country, last year's average didn't rise much and finished at .243 — among the eight lowest years since professional baseball leagues started in 1871. This year's current average is just above the record low of .237 set in 1968's Year of the Pitcher.

In the batter/pitcher battle, arms win in the Analytics Era winner — even with hitting innovations like the torpedo bat.

''There's more scouting reports and more data and things that they have a better idea of what to throw us,'' Toronto shortstop Bo Bichette said. ''They dictate the game. They have the ball first.''

Offense picked up significantly in the first full week, rising from 8.3 runs per game and a .231 average through March 30 to 9.3 runs and a .243 average from March 31 through Sunday.

Left-handed batting average is up slightly to .247 this season from .241 through the first full week last year and righty average has dropped to .232 from .239. Home runs per ball is play rose to 4.5% from 4.0%.

Stolen bases are up markedly. Teams have averaged 1.7 steals per game with a 79.3% success rate, rising from a 1.3 average and 76.4% success rate through the first full week in 2024.

Pitchers are just starting to heat up as they gain arm strength. The average four-seam fastball velocity is 94.1 mph. Last year, it was 93.9 mph through a similar period and the final figure of a record 94.3 mph was up from 91.9 mph, when MLB first started keeping track.

''When I first came in, most everyone's three or four starter was like the 88 to 92 roughly,'' said Yankees slugger Giancarlo Stanton, who debuted in 2010. ''It felt like there was one guy that was 100 (mph) a division and then one a team and then two a team and then three.''

Arizona manager Torey Lovullo notices the options in his own and opposition bullpens.

"I think the magic marker 12, 15 years ago was 90-plus," he said. ''Now everybody's coming out of the bullpen throwing 95-plus.''

In the third year of the pitch clock, nine-inning games have averaged 2 hours, 37 minutes, down from 2:39 at the start of last season. Last year's average of 2:36 was the lowest since 1984.

Pitch clock violations dropped to 0.22 per game from 0.37, with four by the offense and 27 by the defense — down from 15 by the offense and 39 by the defense. The Los Angeles Angels and San Francisco had the most violations with four each, while 11 teams didn't have any.

Attendance is down by 0.15% to an average from 29,909 from 29,955 through the same point last year. Several big league cities have had cold and rainy weather.

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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb