In baseball statistics, total bases is the number of bases a player has gained with hits. It is a weighted sum for which the weight value is 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, a double and a home run is six total bases, and three triples is nine total bases. Only bases attained from hits count toward this total. Reaching base by other means or advancing further after the 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. The total bases divided by the number of at bats is the player's slugging percentage.
Records
's 6,856 career total bases make him the all-time MLB record holder. Having spent the majority of his career playing in the National League, he also holds that league's record with 6,591 total bases. Aaron hit for 300 or more total bases in a record 15 different seasons. Ty Cobb's 5,854 total bases constitute the American League record. Albert Pujols is the active leader and fifth all-time, with 5,863 TB through the 2019 MLB season. The single season MLB and American League records are held by Babe Ruth, who hit for 457 TB in the 1921 season. The following season saw Rogers Hornsby set the National League record when he hit for 450 total bases. 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. The equivalent American League record is held by Josh Hamilton, who hit four home runs and a double for the Texas Rangers in a May 8, 2012, game versus the Baltimore Orioles. 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. The 2003 Boston Red Sox hit for 2,832 total bases in the American League; the National League team record for a single season is held by the 2001 Colorado Rockies. 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. Among major league pitchers, Phil Niekro gave up the most total bases in a career, while Robin Roberts holds the single season record. The record number of total bases allowed in a single game by one pitcher is 42, by Allan Travers of the Detroit Tigers.
hit for a record 10 total bases in the All-Star Game when representing the American League in the 1946 edition. 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. 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.