Total average
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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. Add all the bases together and divide them by the number of outs the player makes and you have the player's Total Average.
The formula is: Total Average = [(Total Bases + Hit By Pitch + Walks + Stolen Bases) - Caught Stealing]/[(At Bats - Hits) + Caught Stealing + 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.[citation needed]
