Total average

Total average is a baseball statistic devised by sportswriter Thomas Boswell in the 1970s. The statistic is designed to measure a hitter's overall offensive contributions.

The definition of the statistic is simple. A player gets a credit for every base he accumulates and a penalty for every out he makes. So a player gets one credit for a single, walk, stolen base or being hit by a pitch; two for a double; three for a triple; and four for a home run. A player's Total Average is calculated by adding all the bases together and dividing them by the number of outs the player makes.

The formula is:

$TA={\frac {TB+HBP+BB+SB}{AB-H+CS+GIDP}}$

where

TA = Total average
TB = Total bases
HBP = Hit by pitch
BB = Walks
SB = Stolen base
CS = Caught stealing
AB = At bats
H = Hits
GIDP = grounded into double play

Because Total average emphasizes walks and extra base hits - and de-emphasizes singles - it has much in common with statistics developed by Bill James and other sabermetricians. Like OPS, total average gives credit to players who draw a lot of walks and hit with a lot of power: Babe Ruth, Barry Bonds, Ted Williams and Frank Thomas for instance. James himself was critical of total average.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.