In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player gains with hits. It is a weighted sum with values of 1 for a single, 2 for a double, 3 for a triple and 4 for a home run. For example, three singles is three total bases, while a double and a home run is six total bases.

Only bases attained from hits count toward this total. Reaching base by other means (such as a base on balls) or advancing further after the hit (such as when a subsequent batter gets a hit) does not increase the player's total bases. In box scores and other statistical summaries, total bases is often denoted by the abbreviation TB.[1][2]

The total bases divided by the number of at bats is the player's slugging percentage.

Records

Hank Aaron (left) and Babe Ruth hold the MLB records for total bases in a career and in a single season, 6,856 and 457, respectively.
Shawn Green (left) and Josh Hamilton hold the records for total bases in a single game for the National League and American League, 19 and 18, respectively.

Hank Aaron's 6,856 career total bases make him the all-time MLB record holder.[3] Having spent the majority of his career playing in the National League, he also holds that league's record with 6,591 total bases.[4] Aaron hit for 300 or more total bases in a record 15 different seasons.[5] Aaron regarded this record as his proudest accomplishment, over his career home run record, because he felt it better reflected his performance as a team player.[6] Ty Cobb's 5,854 total bases constitute the American League record.[7] Albert Pujols is the active leader and 2nd all-time with 6,144 total bases, as of August 22 of the 2022 MLB season.[8][9]

The single season MLB and American League records are held by Babe Ruth, who hit for 457 TB in the 1921 season.[10] The following season saw Rogers Hornsby set the National League record when he hit for 450 total bases.[11]

Shawn Green holds the single game total bases record of 19 TB. Green hit four home runs, a single and a double for the Los Angeles Dodgers against the Milwaukee Brewers on May 23, 2002.[12] The equivalent American League record is held by Josh Hamilton, who hit four home runs and a double (18 TB) for the Texas Rangers in a May 8, 2012, game versus the Baltimore Orioles.[12]

Dustin Pedroia collected the most total bases in a single interleague game during the regular season, with 15. Pedroia hit three home runs, a single and a double for the Boston Red Sox on June 24, 2010, in a game against the Colorado Rockies at Coors Field.[13]

The 2003 Boston Red Sox and 2019 Minnesota Twins jointly hold the American League single season team record with 2,832 total bases; the National League record is held by the 2001 Colorado Rockies (2,748 TB).[14] The Red Sox also have the record for most total bases by a team in one game: they hit for 60 TB in a 29–4 victory over the St. Louis Browns on June 8, 1950.[15]

Among major league pitchers, Phil Niekro gave up the most total bases in a career (7,473),[16] while Robin Roberts (555 TB allowed in 1956) holds the single season record.[17] The record number of total bases allowed in a single game by one pitcher is 42, by Allan Travers of the Detroit Tigers.[18]

Postseason

Two players have hit for 14 total bases in a postseason game.[19] Albert Pujols is the only player to accomplish this in the World Series, doing so for the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 3 of the 2011 World Series, when he had two singles and three home runs.[20] Bob Robertson also achieved the feat while playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates in Game 2 of the 1971 National League Championship Series, with a double and three home runs.[21] David Freese holds the record for a single postseason, with 50 total bases during the 2011 playoffs for the St. Louis Cardinals, while Derek Jeter has the career postseason record of 302 total bases, all with the New York Yankees.[22]

The Boston Red Sox hit for 45 total bases in their 23–7 victory over the Cleveland Indians in Game 4 of the 1999 American League Division Series, a postseason record. The most total bases by a team in a World Series game is 34, by the Atlanta Braves in Game 5 of the 1991 World Series, when they beat the Minnesota Twins by a score of 14–5.[23]

All-Star Games

Ted Williams hit for a record 10 total bases (two singles and two home runs) in the All-Star Game when representing the American League in the 1946 edition.[24][25] The 1954 edition, when the American League had 29 and the National League had 23, produced the most total bases in a single All-Star Game, 52.[26] The most total bases by one team in an All-Star Game is 29, achieved by the American League in both the 1954 and 1992 editions. The National League had a high of 25 total bases in the 1951 game.[27]

References

  1. ↑ "Team Batting Game Finder: From 1988 to 2018, Playing for SFG, (requiring TB>=40), sorted by greatest TB". Baseball Reference. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Giants 13, Braves 4". MLB.com. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Career Leaders & Records for Total Bases". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Batting Season & Career Finder: Spanning Multiple Seasons or entire Careers, Playing in the NL, From 1871 to 2018, (requiring TB>=5500), sorted by greatest Total Bases". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Batting Season & Career Finder: For Single Seasons, From 1871 to 2018, (requiring TB>=300), sorted by greatest Seasons matching criteria". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  6. ↑ Aaron, Henry; Wheeler, Lonnie (2014). I Had a Hammer (2 ed.). Harper-Collins. p. 202.
  7. ↑ "Batting Season & Career Finder: Spanning Multiple Seasons or entire Careers, Playing in the AL, From 1871 to 2018, (requiring TB>=5500), sorted by greatest Total Bases". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Active Leaders & Records for Total Bases". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Career Leaders & Records for Total Bases". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Single-Season Leaders & Records for Total Bases". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  11. ↑ "Batting Season & Career Finder: For Single Seasons, From 1871 to 2018, (requiring TB>=425), sorted by greatest Total Bases". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  12. 1 2 "Batting Game Finder: From 1908 to 2018, (requiring TB>=17), sorted by greatest TB". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  13. ↑ "Batting Game Finder: From 1908 to 2018, in Inter-league play, (requiring TB>=13), sorted by greatest TB". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Team Batting Season Finder: For Single Seasons, from 1871 to 2021, Standard stats, requiring Total Bases >= 2700, sorted by greatest Total Bases". Stathead Baseball. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  15. ↑ "Team Batting Game Finder: From 1908 to 2018, (requiring TB>=50), sorted by greatest TB". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  16. ↑ "Pitching Season & Career Finder: Spanning Multiple Seasons or entire Careers, From 1871 to 2018, (requiring TB>=6000), Stats only available back to 1908 and some partially complete., sorted by greatest Total Bases". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  17. ↑ "Pitching Season & Career Finder: For Single Seasons, From 1871 to 2018, (requiring TB>=475), Stats only available back to 1908 and some partially complete., sorted by greatest Total Bases". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 8, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Pitching Game Finder: From 1908 to 2018, (requiring TB>=35), sorted by greatest TB". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Batting Game Finder: In the Postseason, From 1903 to 2017, (requiring TB>=12), sorted by greatest TB". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  20. ↑ "St. Louis Cardinals 16, Texas Rangers 7". Retrosheet. October 22, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  21. ↑ "Pittsburgh Pirates 9, San Francisco Giants 4". Retrosheet. October 3, 1971. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  22. ↑ "All-time and Single-Season Postseason Batting Leaders". Baseball Reference. Retrieved August 27, 2018.
  23. ↑ "Team Batting Game Finder: In the Postseason, From 1903 to 2017, (requiring TB>=32), sorted by greatest TB". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  24. ↑ "Team Batting Game Finder: In the All-Star Game, From 1933 to 2017, (requiring TB>=8), sorted by greatest TB". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
  25. ↑ "American League 12, National League 0". Retrosheet. July 9, 1946. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  26. ↑ "All-Star Game Records: Team All-Star Game Hitting Records". Baseball Almanac. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  27. ↑ "Team Batting Game Finder: In the All-Star Game, From 1933 to 2017, (requiring TB>=22), sorted by greatest TB". Baseball Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2018.
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