Baseball is a game of complexity that is tracked with various statistics. The official Major League Baseball rulebook designates an official scorekeeper at each game to track the different statistics and use the 101 statistical abbreviations split into offensive, pitching and defensive categories. At times, the wide variety of abbreviations can be difficult to understand, such as "TB."
Definition
TB is an offensive statistic abbreviation meaning total bases. This offensive statistic is used to calculate the total number of bases earned with hits or walks over the entire course of the game or season.
Calculating
With four bases on the field, each base corresponds with a specific number for the TB statistic. Singles add one base, doubles add two bases, triples add three bases and a home run adds four bases to TB. For example, if a batter has two singles, a double and a home run during a game, his TB is eight:
Rules
The official scorer keeps track of total bases, along with every other statistic. A ruling for a hit or error can ultimately affect TB, based on the number of bases awarded. After the game, the official score report, or box score, indicates the total bases on safe hits and the total number of bases on balls.
Other Stats
With the variety of statistics and abbreviations, the TB statistic is an essential component to calculating other stats. For example, slugging percentage uses total bases from hits divided by at-bats, according to The Baseball Scorecard. Another unofficial statistic is "runs created," which also uses hits, walks and stolen bases.
