Total average is a
baseball statistic
Baseball statistics play an important role in evaluating the progress of a player or team.
Since the flow of a baseball game has natural breaks to it, and normally players act individually rather than performing in clusters, the sport lends itsel ...
devised by sportswriter
Thomas Boswell
Thomas M. Boswell (born October 11, 1947, in Washington, D.C.) is a retired American sports columnist.
Career
Boswell spent his entire career at the ''Washington Post'', joining it shortly after graduating from Amherst College in 1969. He became ...
and introduced in the 1978.
It was also described in his 1982 article "Welcome to the world of Total Average where a walk is as good as a hit". It is designed to measure a hitter's overall offensive contributions, on the basis that "all bases are created equal".
The statistic was included in issues of ''
Inside Sports
''Inside Sports'' magazine was a major general interest sports magazine in the United States. Launched in 1979 by Newsweek, it was designed as an edgier, monthly alternative to the longer-running ''Sports Illustrated'' and '' SPORT Magazine'' bra ...
''.
The definition of the statistic is simple. A player gets a credit for every base accumulated and a penalty for every out made. So a player gets one credit for a single,
walk
Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an 'inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ov ...
,
stolen base
In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...
or being
hit by a pitch
In baseball, hit by pitch (HBP) is an event in which a batter or his clothing or equipment (other than his bat) is struck directly by a pitch from the pitcher; the batter is called a hit batsman (HB). A hit batsman is awarded first base, provided ...
; two for a
double
A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another.
Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to:
Film and television
* Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character
* Th ...
; three for a
triple
Triple is used in several contexts to mean "threefold" or a " treble":
Sports
* Triple (baseball), a three-base hit
* A basketball three-point field goal
* A figure skating jump with three rotations
* In bowling terms, three strikes in a row
* ...
; and four for a
home run
In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...
. A player's total average is calculated by summing the accumulated bases and dividing by the number of outs the player makes.
Formula
When initially announced in an article in ''Inside Sports'', the formula for total average was:
Boswell revised the formula, which by 1981 had been modified to its final form:
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
Like
OPS
In ancient Roman religion, Ops or ''Opis'' (Latin: "Plenty") was a fertility deity and earth goddess of Sabine origin. Her equivalent in Greek mythology was Rhea.
Iconography
In Ops' statues and coins, she is figured sitting down, as Chthon ...
, total average gives credit to players who draw a lot of walks and hit with a lot of power, such as
Babe Ruth
George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...
,
Barry Bonds
Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants f ...
,
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 ...
and
Frank Thomas.
Reception
Bill James
George William James (born October 5, 1949) is an American baseball writer, historian, and statistician whose work has been widely influential. Since 1977, James has written more than two dozen books devoted to baseball history and statistics. ...
was critical of total average, stating the "all bases are created unequal".
For example, a walk and a single both advance the batter to first base, but a walk can advance
baserunner
In baseball, base running is the act of running from base to base, performed by members of the team at bat.
Base running is a tactical part of the game with the goal of eventually reaching home base (home plate) to score a run. Batters strive to ...
s only one base (or none, if there is no baserunner on first base), whereas a single can advance all baserunners.
That is, "a single has more value".
Likewise, a stolen base is treated the same as a hit, but does not add a baserunner or advance other baserunners as a hit does.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Total Average
Batting statistics