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 Changing the Rules Chronology of Changes to Major League Baseball Official Rules Table D: Changes to Batting Average Rules |
| Table D. Changes to Batting Average Rules | ||
| DATE | RULE CHANGE | Rule |
| 1865 | The first batting averages are computed. | 10.22 |
| 1920 | A player must appear in at least one hundred games to qualify as the league leader in Batting Average and Slugging Average. Before this there was no official rule, but it was generally accepted that a man had to play in sixty percent of the scheduled games to qualify. | 10.23 |
| 1945 | A player must have at least four hundred at-bats to qualify as the league leader in Batting Average or Slugging Average | 10.23 |
| 1950 | A player must play in at least two-thirds of his team's scheduled games to qualify as the league leader in Batting Average or Slugging Average. | 10.23 |
| 1951 | A player must have at least four hundred at-bats to qualify as the league leader in Batting Average or Slugging Average. However, if there is any player with fewer than the required number of times at bat whose average would be the highest if he were charged with this required at-bat total, then he shall be recognized as the league leader. | 10.23 |
| 1955 | The 1951 rule is repealed. A player must have at least four hundred at-bats, period, to qualify as the league leader in Batting Average or Slugging Average. | 10.23 |
| 1958 | A player must have a total of at least 3.1 plate appearances for every scheduled game to qualify as the league leader in Batting Average or Slugging Average. | 10.23 |
| 1967 | A player must have a total of at least 3.1 plate appearances for every scheduled game to qualify as the league leader in Batting Average or Slugging Average. However, if there is any player with fewer than the required number of plate appearances whose average would be highest if he were charged with this required number of appearances, then the player shall be recognized as the league leader in Batting or Slugging Average | 10.23 |
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