Total average is a baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

 statistic devised by sportswriter Thomas Boswell

Thomas Boswell

Thomas M. Boswell is an American sports columnist.Boswell has spent his entire career at the Washington Post, joining it shortly after graduating from Amherst College in 1969. He became a Post columnist in 1984. Writing primarily about baseball, he is credited with inventing the total average...

 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

Base on balls

A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...

, stolen base

Stolen base

In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a baserunner successfully advances to the next base while the pitcher is delivering the ball to home plate...

 or being hit by a pitch

Hit by pitch

In baseball, hit by pitch , or hit batsman , is a batter or his equipment being hit in some part of his body by a pitch from the pitcher.-Official rule:...

; two for a double

Double (baseball)

In baseball, a double is the act of a batter striking the pitched ball and safely reaching second base without being called out by the umpire, without the benefit of a fielder's misplay or another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....

; three for a triple

Triple (baseball)

In baseball, a triple is the act of a batter safely reaching third base after hitting the ball, with neither the benefit of a fielder's misplay nor another runner being put out on a fielder's choice....

; and four for a home run

Home run

In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

. 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

Bill James

George William “Bill” James is a 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...

 and other sabermetricians

Sabermetrics

Sabermetrics is the specialized analysis of baseball through objective, empirical evidence, specifically baseball statistics that measure in-game activity. The term is derived from the acronym SABR, which stands for the Society for American Baseball Research...

. Like OPS

On-base plus slugging

On-base plus slugging is a sabermetric baseball statistic calculated as the sum of a player's on-base percentage and slugging percentage. The ability of a player to both get on base and to hit for power, two important hitting skills, are represented. An OPS of .900 or higher in Major League...

, total average gives credit to players who draw a lot of walks and hit with a lot of power: Babe Ruth

Babe Ruth

George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...

, Barry Bonds

Barry Bonds

Barry Lamar Bonds is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. Bonds played from 1986 to 2007, for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds...

, Ted Williams

Ted Williams

Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...

 and Frank Thomas

Frank Thomas (AL baseball player)

Frank Edward Thomas, Jr. , nicknamed "The Big Hurt", is a former Major League Baseball designated hitter and first baseman....

for instance.
James himself was critical of total average.