NEW YORK (AP) — Baseball offense has increased as temperatures have risen across much of the United States, pushing the major league batting average above the level seen early last season.
Batters are hitting.242 through April, up from.240 in the first month of the 2024 season but down from.248 in April of 2023.
The MLB’s overall batting average was.239 through the first full week of the season, up from.231 during the partial first week and.243 in the first full week.
The average fell to.228 during the week of April 7, then increased to.243 the week of April 14,.249 the week of April 21, and.262 for the first three days of this week, Major League Baseball announced Thursday.
Right-handed batters are hitting.242 is down one percentage point from April 30 last year, and lefties are hitting.241, up five percentage points.
Last year’s final batting average of.243 was higher in the post-1900 era than.237 in 1968,.239 in 1908,.242 in 1967, and.2427 in 2022. The average increased to.248 in 2023, the first season with defensive shift restrictions.
Nine-inning games last an average of 2 hours and 37 minutes, which is the same as the first full month of last year.
Home runs are up slightly (an average of 2.1 per game from 2.0) and stolen bases (2.1 from 1.9),
Strikeouts have decreased slightly (an average of 22.1% of plate appearances from 22.5%), while walks have increased marginally (an average of 9.0% of plate appearances from 8.7%).
