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:

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.

Famous quotes containing the words total and/or average:

    I find myself ... hoping a total end of all the unhappy divisions of mankind by party-spirit, which at best is but the madness of many for the gain of a few.
    Alexander Pope (1688–1744)

    A fairly bright boy is far more intelligent and far better company than the average adult.
    —J.B.S. (John Burdon Sanderson)