figuratively, to have a
perfect record of achievement, accomplishment or
performance; to attain perfection. This
term originated in
baseball where a player's
effectiveness is reflected in his
batting average.
Batting average refers to a player's
success at hitting the
ball, in comparison to the number of chances to do so. For
example, a player who has 100 turns to
hit the
ball and is
successful on 40 of those opportunities, has a
batting average of .400 (spoken as "four hundred"). This
average is considered exceptional and few players have ever scored higher. If a player was batting 1.000 (spoken as "one thousand"), it would mean he was
successful every
turn at
bat. The
phrase bat 1000 came to be used more generally to indicate a
perfect record of achievement,
performance, etc. For
example, if a person passed every one of his exams in an entire
school year, he could be said to be batting 1000.