What Is Walk Rate in Softball?

Walk rate is walks divided by plate appearances, expressed as a percentage. It measures how often you decline to swing at pitches you can't drive, and it's one of the more stable hitting skills — it settles into a reliable number faster than batting average does.

A high walk rate props up on-base percentage independently of how well you're hitting, which is why players in slumps who keep walking remain useful in the lineup.

Walks are rarer in slowpitch than baseball, since the pitcher is trying to put the ball in a hittable arc rather than to miss bats. The tracked rec-league walk rate is about 7.5% of plate appearances.