How to Calculate Runs Created in Baseball

The object of baseball is to score runs. However, most baseball statistics such as batting average, home runs and runs batted in don't tell you how many runs a player contributes to a team in total. "Runs created" attempts to do just this. By learning to calculate runs created you can see which players are contributing the most to scoring runs.

Instructions

1. Gather statistics for the baseball players you want to calculate the number of runs created for. You can calculate runs created for a partial season, entire season or a player's entire career. Look at hits, walks, total bases, stolen bases, the number of times the player was caught stealing and at bats.

2. Start by adding a player's "hits" and his "walks." From this number, subtract the number of times a player was thrown out attempting to steal. Set this number aside.

3. Take the number of stolen bases the player has and multiply that number by .55. Take the result and add it to the number of total bases the player has. To calculate total bases, figure the number of bases a player has accumulated by hitting the ball. So, a player gets one base for a single, two for a double, three for a triple and four for a home run.

4. Multiply the result in Step 2 with the result in Step 3. Set this number aside for now.

5. Add the number of "at bats" the baseball player has to the number of "walks" he has. Divide the number you set aside in Step 4 by this number. The result is the number of runs the player has created.

6. Divide a player's "runs created" by the number of games he has played in or the number of plate appearances he has to calculate how many runs a player has created per game or per plate appearance. This is useful to compare players who have played different amounts of games.