In baseball statistics, a player is credited with a plate appearance (denoted by PA) each time he completes a turn batting. A player completes a turn batting when:
- He is declared out before reaching first base, or
- He reaches first base safely , or
- He hits a fair ball which causes a third out on another runner (see left on base)
Thus, a batter does not have a plate appearance if, while he was at bat, the inning ended some other way (for example, a teammate on base is caught stealing (CS) for the third out).