what does slugging percentage mean in baseball?

Answer 1

It is an indication of a batter's power.

A single = 1, double = 2, triple = 3, hr = 4.

So to figure a player SLG%
Multiply his hrs*4 + triples*3 + doubles*2 + singles
Then divide his total by his at bats for his SLG%

Answer 2

Oh, I like the wording. The formula for SLG is pretty simple:

SLG == (H + 2B + 2*3B + 3*HR) / AB

(this version speeds things up, as singles data isn't typically broken out)

But what does it MEAN?

Batting average (AVG) tells us a little bit, but makes the huge mistake of considering all hits equal, and even a neophyte fan realizes a home run is better than a single. AVG doesn't think so, or at least makes no consideration of this truth. A hit is a hit to AVG.

SLG improves this -- each hit is given a value, total bases gained by the batter. It's not perfect, because a home run is still more valuable than two doubles or four singles (a homer is a guaranteed run; runs are the currency of baseball; without runs, you don't win), but it gives us far greater insight into what batters (or entire teams) are doing at the plate than AVG does.

A hitter with .270 AVG and .500 SLG is doing more to help win games with his bat than someone with .301/.410, but the media (print and broadcast) continue to drool over their mythologically-charged "three hundred batting average" obsession that leads fans down the path AWAY from enlightenment. Don't listen to such drivel.

SLG tells us more than AVG does. Want to better know baseball? Delve into the numbers -- there's lots of them -- and listen to what they tell you.

Answer 3

slugging percentage means total bases divided by the number of at bats. the equation looks like this: ((singles)+(2 x doubles)+(3 x triples)+(4 x homeruns))/ At Bats

Answer 4

If someone hits a home run then in that at bat they batted 4,000.
You take the total bases and divide them in to at bats.