A popular stat for fantasy baseball managers over the last decade is BABIP (Batting Average Balls in Play). However, this data point isn’t a good reference for determining a player’s batting average. Every player in baseball has their own skill set and baseline for BABIP. Like batting average, this stat can have a wide range from season to season for each player. What looks suitable for one player in one season may be bad for another player in the same year.
The bottom line for me is that if a player hits the ball hard, he will get more hits. With poor contact, a hitter will make easier outs.
My best example of this is Barry Bonds. He has a career .285 BABIP while hitting .298 in his major-league career. In essence, his low BABIP was due to a high volume of home runs (762), which is the part that bothers me the most. Why are we discounting the hardest hit balls? If a player hits a line drive off the centerfield wall for a hit, the defense had no chance to catch the ball. The same goes for a ball over the fence. Therefore, I decided to go against the grain in this area. I came up with CTBA (contact batting average). I wanted to know what a player hits when he makes contact with the ball.
