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I really like the idea of this stat, as it allows for the value a player adds to be tracked in ways traditional stats do not. However, it should be more nuanced if it is to realize its true potential. The idea should be to account for every base created once and only once, attributing it to the player most responsible for creating it. For example, a sac fly and sac bunt can create more than one base (multiple runners on). You can also advance runners with a normal ground out that does not count as a sac bunt. Additionally, a walk/hbp can also advance runners other than the batter. Optionally, you could weigh the bases created relatively given that there is a value difference between second and first base, etc.

This would be hard to add, but there are some other baserunning things to consider, like anytime a runner advances on two or three bases on anything that is a single or lower. Like going first to third on a single, or scoring from second on a sac fly. You could argue that if the hitter does something to gain 1 base, and the runner adds two, the runner added one more base than expected, essentially creating a base.

This would be a good stat if it didn't assume that a sac bunt that advances a runner from 1st to 2nd is equal to a single. It fails to realize one of the most important facts about baseball, that outs are bad.

SIMthing about the dodger on the thumbnail looks kinda off

Good video, if I can give you criticism is the audio being so low

If a runner is getting penalized for a caught stealing shouldn't the negative value be equal to its initial value? So if I hit a double and get caught stealing third shouldn't I lose two points since that caught stealing negates my double? Kinda like if someone gets out for attempting to stretch a double into a triple.

Theres 2 things I would question here. 1) if you hit a double and then get caught stealing in this metric would be +1 (+2-1) when you haven’t created any bases in reality (assuming bases empty in your PA). I would argue in reality you should get -2 for the CS in that instance for a net 0. 2) this is more of a stretch but if you hit a single and the runner is able to use that hit to go from 1 to 3, should that be covered in the metric somewhere if it isn’t already. While you the batter have created the opportunity the runners speed and lead off is the reason they’re stood on 3 and not 2 even if that extra base tends to be easier than a steal? Basically going 1 to 3 on a single would be an extra +1 to the base runner?

Your ratio of Bases Created/Plate Appearances incorporates some of the factors included in my "Overall Offensive Performance (OOP)" article which was published in BASEBALL RESEARCH JOURNAL [BRJ], Vol. 50, No. 2, Fall 2021, pp. 130-139. OOP, like your stat, is also a ratio of two numbers. The OOP numerator is Bases Advanced (BA), which includes base hits, walks, and stolen bases but also gives credit to the batter for advancing runners already on base. For example, a batter who hits a single with a runner on 1st and advances the runner to 2nd gets credit for two BA. The OOP denominator is Outs Created (OC) so a batter who hits into a double-play gets charged for two outs. See the BRJ article for many more details plus OOP values for several players.

Thank you for poiting out the silliness of OPS. That whole business of a single being worth two walks has always bothered me. I'd argue, as it seems other commenters have, that if you're going to subtract for a Caught Stealing, you should do the same for a GIDP, as you have essentially cost your team a base that a different batter earned. Otherwise, I think it's great, far superior to OPS.

Interesting stat and I appreciate the innovative thinking. Besides adding a couple more stats (pick offs, good, etc) like others suggested I would try to calculate the season percentile for each hitter. This allows you to see where they rank. I tried it and it can show you who the consistent performers are year and year out. Great video and best of luck!

It would be better to use outs as the denominator rather than plate appearances.

What would be the r value of bases created and team wins? Surely more bases = more better

Wow. Very fair list. I appreciate that you compared your pre-season rankings to your post-season rankings. Thumbs up.

I love it. I have this old idea (that of course I never even tried to implement, because that's what I do, playing with concepts in my head when I'm bored). The concept is one of a stat that is almost like yours, but I would add "bases advanced". Like: you hit a single and there is a runner, he advances one base, +1 to bases created. The problem with this stat is if said runner advances two bases (on your single), do you give yourself +2 or do you get +1 and the runner +1? (Maybe the scoring can settle this?) Also, as user @jxyv7175 said, maybe you should make it -1 when hitting in double plays, etc. Tell me what you think.

These are some great discussions (and respectful as well thankfully) going on in the comment section. Everyone bringing up great points about SAC, IBB, SB, CS, pick-offs, extra bases, outs, movement, PA, AB. I think the bare bones idea here is great, but ultimately it's flawed in that it is trying to be an everything productivity stat to replace other tried and true methods. Unfortunately, when you try to please everyone, you end up pleasing no one. Baseball has too many nuanced situations to really create 1 all encompassing stat. We need to use our entire arsenal of different calculations that each isolate a certain part of a players' game and think about all of them holistically

I think the SB & CS should be added to both the numerator and the denominator because they still require another plate appearance (that of the hitter) and should therefore be less valuable than creating the base immediately with no need for another hitter to be stagnant for a pitch.

Uh... Mark Vientos? From Wikisnarkia: In 2024, Vientos appeared in 111 games for the Mets, batting .266/.322/.516 with a career-high 27 home runs and 71 RBI. During the postseason, Vientos slashed .327/.362/.636 with five home runs and 14 RBIs with the 14 RBIs setting a Mets franchise record for postseason RBIs in a single season. I'm not such a fink that I would try to prove your omission of Vientos to be something horrible However, unlike several of your top ten 3rd baseman, Vientos had a pulse Stick with it kid - you have potential Also, the volume on your video was hideously low

Interesting. The example given for caught-stealing was "single + CS = 0", which is fine so far as it goes... but what about a 2B+CS? That's worth the same as a single, even though it definitely doesn't end that way (adds an out with no baserunner.) I like the start of it, though.

OMG! This is crazy. I DID EXACTLY THIS a couple years ago and NAMED IT THE SAME NAME AS YOU, here is my formula: (TB+BB+HBP+SB+SF+SH) - (CS+GIDP) / Games Played The reason I divided the stat by games played is that I wanted to measure how many bases a player created on average in a game, since that is what most fans will remember, the one who created more bases in a game. Obviously dividing on PA is more basebally accurate, but I wanted to measure it on a game played scale, because mine is a stat to measure, on average, how many bases would a player create for my team on any given game of his career. Heres my top ten for players above 2000 career hits: Babe Ruth 3,15 Lou Gehrig 3,05 Ted Williams 3,01 Barry Bonds 2,86 Jimmie Foxx 2,78 Joe DiMaggio 2,74 Frank Thomas 2,68 Manny Ramírez 2,67 Jeff Bagwell 2,61 Mickey Mantle 2,61 Aaron Judge is currently 2,89 You could also give Home runs an extra value, since they are garantized to score any runner, and just for fun, since we are measuring a players offensive greatness, and theres nothing greater than a home run. You could also even add deffensive indiference, out on the throw and more advanced stats. But that doesnt make a huge difference. As a final note, when we are looking at stats, we must take in considerarion that baseball is a very psichological sport, meaning that it is much more difficult to create a base when you need to, than when you really don't need it that much. Close games and playoff games or pennant race games are much more difficult for hitters than regular season games. Oh and Hitting with RISP is also important. Marcel Escoda

Love this stat. Also wish there was (maybe there is) something that measures pitches / AB (and pairs it with result to?). Quality AB stat basically

.5 for sac & bunts because you get outs.

Shouldn’t you include the bases created by your teammates if your plate appearance moves them along the bases?

Aren't you completely ignoring every other baserunner? If a sacrifice adds a base (due to ANOTHER baserunner advancing) how is a single with a runner on not worth (at least) an additional base than a single with no one on? Either the other baserunners advancing are included in the number of bases or they're not. But you seem to only include them in sacrifice situations.

Don't most modern stats exclude sacs because they're not really under your control? If you hit behind a good hitter/fast runner you have a lot more sac opportunity than someone who hits after a terrible hitter. I agree that it feels like sacs should be rewarded somewhat because they're sort of intentional (although in TTO baseball do you really do much different to hit a sac fly than you would to just hit for power? Genuine question, I'm not a player). But I think they should probably be worth very little.

Wrong if a player comes to the plate and a baserunner is thrown out ending inning it’s not a plate appearance

Have been using that for years myself! Cheers!

There seems to still be some stuff missing. As mentioned elsewhere, GIDP should count as a minus one, as you've eliminated a base. What about non sacrifice base advancement? Grounding out to the second baseman to advance a runner on second to third isn't a sacrifice, but is a base created. Base running mistakes needs to be also figured in, as getting a double, but being thrown out at third certainly doesn't help your team. What about induced errors? Stealing second and taking third on a throwing error needs to count. I'm sure I am missing some other cases also.

One thing that would add to this statistic would be to consider the bases created by advancing other players. A double advances other players more than a single and steal does. Oh, yes, double plays, as well. I don't think you mentioned that, but that would erase another runner.

good video, only question I have is did you include "productive outs" in bases created? Ie RBI groundout as an example. If not, that would be a good tweak to make. Otherwise, great stuff!

Thomas Boswell introduced a comparable, and more accessible stat in Total Average, in the early '80s. Essentially measuring 'Bases' versus 'Outs'. It was probably better received at that time because base stealing (and running) were a big part of the game ...

I’ve been thinking along these lines for quite a while. I’d love to see this included on baseball-reference. BRry Bonds’ numbers would be stratospheric!

Great video! This has probably been mentioned in one of the 200+ comments already; but, if you're caught stealing following a double, then you've erased more than one base. And the same would apply for a triple and then getting caught attempting to steal home (or perhaps caught at home after tagging up). Those events happen so infrequently, it probably won't affect your calculation significantly; but, I thought I'd throw it out there. Similarly, if you're caught stealing third (after successfully stealing second), then you've erased your hit and successful steal (2 bases).

I've always thought that runs allowed by relief pitchers should be assessed to both reliever and starter. For example, if starter departs with runner on first and reliever allows the run to score, reliever should be charged with .75 run and starter .25 run. Another stat that should get more attention is the % of runners on base that a batter actual drives in.

If you're going to count a sacrifice as a base created (you not reaching base while a teammate advances or advances to score), then you're kind of opening the door to having to count extra bases created for situations like getting a single and your teammate advancing from 1st to 3rd, or 2nd to Home...

Cool stat, but a few things Id like to mention: - Create a stat with Total Bases created / Outs created. This is because Singles>Sac flies/bunts. A single is 1 base and 0 outs, while a sacrifice is 1 base and 1 out. Etc. - Caught stealing should be worth like, -3 outs. I heard that CS is worth -3x the run value of a SB. - I do think this would be much better considering outs created as well, because that considers double plays and weights things better

Cool stat, but a few things Id like to mention: - Create a stat with Total Bases created / Outs created. This is because Singles>Sac flies/bunts. A single is 1 base and 0 outs, while a sacrifice is 1 base and 1 out. Etc. - Caught stealing should be worth like, -3 outs. I heard that CS is worth -3x the run value of a SB. - I do think this would be much better considering outs created as well, because that considers double plays and weights things better

Hey I love the stat, great video!! If you ever decide to expand on it, have you thought about applying weights via base-out states? (Such as how stealing third with 2 out isn’t as valuable as a leadoff walk or single, or how a two-out rbi double is more valuable than a rbi double with no out)

the stat with division should be BC/PA or BC%. the numerator itself should be Bases Created

I have actually in my head been theorizing almost the exact same idea as you for a stat. I strongly disagree with having sac flies/bunts as equal value to a single, for a few different reasons. A) If a player hits a ground ball with a runner on 1st but the defense only goes for the out at 1st instead of 2nd, then that's just considered an out by statistics instead of a sacrifice hit, despite having the exact same outcome. B) Getting a single is clearly a more favorable outcome than getting a sac fly/bunt, as there are fewer outs, and it's possible for runners to advance more than 1 base. C) Sac flies/bunts are dependent on players besides yourself, so your stat is heavily affected by what your teammates do, which makes the stat less informative (like RBIs and Wins). Another couple of things unrelated to that: I kind of like the idea of extra bases taken running being included, but it goes against my last point that teammates' gameplay shouldn't affect the stat, so I don't think it should be included. I'd be interested to see the stat if reaching base on error was included in your favor, as I have always theorized that a faster runner will pressure fielders into errors more often, but I don't know if that's actually supported by any data. As others have said, if possible, being caught trying to steal 3rd should cause you to go -2 instead of -1, but I understand that it would be difficult to implement

For the cs, make sure that it subtracts the total bases created at that plate appearance instead of just a flat 1. So if they get a double then get caught it shout subtracts 2.

If someone hits a grand slam do they get credit for creating bases for all baserunners? I think they should. That’s 10 bases created for the hitter. If a runner is on first and the batter hits the double but the runner scores then the batter should get 4 BC and the runner 2. If the throw goes into home and lets the batter go to third then who gets credit for that base?

A good start. Consider further detailed attribution and/or the “present value of a base created” where time is measured in pitches. That is the difference between a double and a 1b+stl. This gets quite complicated and you can probably go at it from a few different angles, but you should consider it if you haven’t already. If the next hitter deliberately takes the first pitch so his teammate can steal a base then that batter may start in a 0-1 count. If the current better is handicapping himself so that his teammate can be credited with a base created then he deserves some sort of attribution. Perhaps he’s better at hitting while behind in the count. also, you aren’t considering bat control type plays. Say a runner on second with 0 out and the righty at the plate grounds into a fielder choice behind the runner to the 2nd basemen. put out 4-3. This essentially serves as a sac bunt with the added chance that the hitter finds the hole between 3 and 4 but it goes into the scorebook as an AB and PA but no credit for the base created. I’m not saying I have the answers. The attribution is very complicated.

Top 10 1B of 2024 coming up next.

Based and creative

if you are going to count sac flies and such, why not count all the bases advanced by the existing baserunners as a result of the PA? A guy scoring from second on a long single should add two to the total, giving you three bases created. A grand slam gives you 10 bases created! OTOH, the base created by a sac fly costs an out and is way less valuable than a single or even a walk.

I like the idea of hitting into a double play as being a -2 on the numerator. Future videos should explore that and also how this start applies historically. Does it quantify something that baseball guys all "knew" but the stats didn't show?

wBC+ has a really nice ring to it

So, hitting into a double play drops one from the numerator while adding one to the denominator?

only thing that came up for me a few times was single + stolen base feels less valuable than a double because of the time the batter actually spends at first. But batters losing a whole base for getting caught stealing feels way harsher than any leeway they gain from it so I wouldn't advocate changing it. Thank!!! Fun video

I don’t understand why any stat uses ABs over PAs, why on earth would we ever want to ignore a walk??