Baseball Glossary › Quality At-Bat
Quality At-Bat (QAB)
A quality at-bat (QAB) is a coaching and scorekeeping stat that counts plate appearances where the hitter did something productive, even without a hit. It is not an official MLB statistic and has no single definition. Many coaches count hard-hit balls, walks, hit-by-pitches, sacrifices, moving a runner and long at-bats.
Formula
Worked example (illustrative numbers): a hitter has 12 plate appearances in a weekend series, and his team's criteria count 7 of them as quality at-bats.
QAB% = 7 / 12 = 58 percent
The result depends entirely on which outcomes the team counts as quality, so it is not comparable across teams with different criteria.
What to Know
QAB does not appear in the Official Baseball Rules, which list the batting records an official scorer must keep, and it is not part of MLB's official stats. It comes from youth, high school and college coaching, where it is used to reward approach rather than results.
Despite the name, QAB is usually counted per plate appearance, not per official at-bat, because walks and sacrifices are often counted as quality outcomes and those are not at-bats. Check how your team defines it before comparing numbers. A plate appearance is every completed trip to the plate.
Criteria vary. Some programs count any at-bat of a set number of pitches or more, others count only two-strike battles, and some add a sacrifice fly or an advancing groundout. Because thresholds differ by team, there is no standard benchmark for a good QAB percentage.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a QAB in baseball?
QAB stands for quality at-bat. It is a coaching stat that credits a hitter for a productive plate appearance, such as a hard-hit ball, a walk or moving a runner, whether or not the result was a hit.
What counts as a quality at-bat?
There is no official list. Many coaches count hard-hit balls, walks, hit-by-pitches, sacrifice bunts and flies, productive outs that move a runner, and long at-bats that make the pitcher work. Each team sets its own criteria.
Is QAB an official MLB stat?
No. Quality at-bats are not in the Official Baseball Rules and are not an official MLB statistic. The stat is used mainly by coaches and scorekeeping programs in youth, high school and college baseball.
What is a good QAB percentage in baseball?
There is no standard benchmark, because teams use different criteria. A strict definition produces lower percentages than a loose one. The useful comparison is a player against teammates scored with the same rules.
How do you calculate QAB percentage?
Divide the number of quality at-bats by total plate appearances. Plate appearances are usually used rather than official at-bats, because walks and sacrifices often count as quality outcomes.
Why do coaches track quality at-bats?
Batting average only rewards hits, and a hitter can make solid contact and still be out. QAB rewards a good approach, such as working a count or moving a runner, which coaches see as more within the hitter's control.
Related Terms
Sources
- Official Baseball Rules 2026 (MLB)
- MLB.com Glossary: At-bat (AB)
- MLB.com Glossary: Plate Appearance (PA)
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