How do Players Get Runs Assisted?

In earlier posts, I proposed the Run Assisted statistic as a complement to runs scored and RBI.  One of the criteria for Runs Assisted was:

A batter advances a runner on first to either second or third with a single, double, base on balls, hit batsmen, error, sacrifice bunt, or another kind of out.  If that runner then scores, the batter who advanced him is given a Run Assisted. If the run scored on a triple or home run, a Run Assisted would not be credited, because the advancement would be unnecessary in scoring the run. 

Tom Tango and others have questioned the emboldened portion reasoning that there are additional scenarios where an assist hit might not be necessary.  For example, suppose a team gets three straight singles to score a run. The single would be a Run Assisted.  However, if the next batter doubles scoring two more runs, the second single becomes unnecessary to the first run being scored.  This was causing a bit of confusion, I am removing the emboldened portion and giving a player an assist any time he advances a runner who later scores. That should give us a cleaner statistic

Also note that a player also gets a Run Assisted if he advances a runner to second or third and the run scores during his at bat without a his getting an RBI.  For example, if a batter singles a runner to third and the runner scores on a throwing error all during one at bat, the batter gets credited with a Run Assisted. The ways a player can get a Run Assisted (RAS) are described below:

• A batter advances a runner to either second or third with a hit, base on balls, hit batsmen, error, sacrifice bunt, or another kind of out.  If that runner then scores either during the same at bat or an ensuing at bat, the batter who advanced him is given a Run Assisted.

• A batter reaches base and is removed for a pinch runner or is replaced by another runner on a force out.  If the new runner then scores, the batter who originally reached base is given a Run Assisted. 

Table 1 below shows that players accumulated 5,668 Runs Assisted in the American League in 2012.  The most common type of Run Assisted was a single advancing a runner (2,306 or 41% of all Runs Assisted).  The final row of the table ("replaced by runner") tells us that there were 289 instances where a batter reached base, was removed for pinch runner or replaced by by another runner on a force out and then the runner scored.  The rest of the rows should be self-explanatory.  

About three quarters (76%) of Runs Assisted involved a batter getting on base, so it wasn't just a bunch of "productive outs".  The NL percentage (72%) was a little lower because of the greater number of sacrifice bunts.  In comparison, about 86% of plate appearances (in both leagues) when an RBI occurred involved a batter reaching base.

Table 1:  Runs Assisted by League, 2012

	American League		National League
Assisted Run Type	N	%	N	%
Single	2,306	40.7	2,452	39.1
Double	415	7.3	398	6.4
Base on balls	904	16.0	967	15.4
Hit batsman	151	2.7	127	2.0
Reached on error	246	4.5	274	4.4
Sacrifice bunt	258	4.4	495	7.9
Ground out	879	15.5	1,007	16.1
Air Out	220	3.9	266	4.2
Replaced by runner	289	5.1	285	4.5
Totals	5,668	100.0	6,271	100

Tables 2, 3 and 4 below list the AL, NL and Tigers Runs Assisted Leaders respectively.  Each table is broken down by type of assist.  Twins catcher Joe Mauer was the AL leader with 68, only 12 (18%) involving an out.  Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera was 11th with 49 RAS.  The biggest surprise on the list is probably Twins outfielder Ben Revere with 52 including 5 sacrifice bunts.  

Braves multi-position player Martin Prado led the NL with 65 RAS.  In fact three of the top six were Braves including Jason Heyward (53) and Freddie Freeman (50).  

The Tigers Runs Assisted leader was Cabrera (49), followed by first baseman Prince Fielder (44) and surprisingly Brennan Boesch (40).  The fact that Austin Jackson had fewer RAS (39) than Boesch probably says more about his spot in the batting order than anything else.  He didn't have a lot of opportunities to move runners along due to the generally weak bottom of the Tigers order. 


Table 2: Runs Assisted Leaders in AL, 2012

Player	Team	H	BB	HBP	ROE	SH	OUT	RR	RAS
Joe Mauer	MIN	36	16	0	2	0	12	2	68
Robinson Cano	NYA	34	11	1	1	0	12	3	62
Elvis Andrus	TEX	26	6	1	1	6	15	4	59
Paul Konerko	CHA	26	13	0	1	0	6	10	56
Billy Butler	KCA	25	3	3	1	0	12	8	52
Ben Revere	MIN	33	3	1	0	5	9	1	52
J.J. Hardy	BAL	23	2	2	1	4	17	2	51
Derek Jeter	NYA	27	14	0	0	2	6	1	50
David Murphy	TEX	26	7	0	6	0	9	2	50
Asdrubal Cabrera	CLE	31	5	3	0	0	9	1	49
Miguel Cabrera	DET	25	6	1	2	0	15	0	49
Jason Kipnis	CLE	23	11	0	1	0	14	0	49
Michael Brantley	CLE	24	6	0	4	0	14	0	48
Erick Aybar	ANA	26	3	3	7	3	3	2	47
Yunel Escobar	TOR	18	7	2	5	5	9	1	47

Table 3: Runs Assisted Leaders in NL, 2012

Player	Team	H	BB	HBP	ROE	SH	OUT	RR	RAS
Martin Prado	ATL	25	13	0	5	4	14	4	65
Matt Holliday	SLN	32	13	3	1	0	11	2	62
Adam LaRoche	WAS	23	11	0	2	0	16	2	54
Jason Heyward	ATL	29	9	0	3	0	11	1	53
Buster Posey	SFN	33	6	0	0	0	7	5	51
Freddie Freeman	ATL	16	15	3	2	0	13	1	50
Andrew McCutchen	PIT	26	12	0	0	0	9	3	50
Daniel Murphy	NYN	28	1	2	3	0	15	1	50
Chase Headley	SDN	23	16	0	2	0	8	0	49
Jon Jay	SLN	22	3	6	2	9	5	2	49
Ryan Zimmerman	WAS	27	8	0	2	0	11	1	49
Darwin Barney	CHN	26	5	1	4	1	10	0	47
Melky Cabrera	SFN	26	4	0	3	1	13	0	47
Starlin Castro	CHN	22	8	0	7	0	10	0	47
Justin Upton	ARI	34	5	0	0	0	7	0	46

Table 4: Tigers Runs Assisted Leaders, 2012

Player	H	BB	HBP	ROE	SH	OUT	RR	RAS
Miguel Cabrera	25	6	1	2	0	15	0	49
Prince Fielder	25	3	4	1	0	9	2	44
Brennan Boesch	25	0	0	3	0	11	1	40
Austin Jackson	20	3	2	1	2	9	2	39
Delmon Young	23	0	1	2	0	4	6	36
Andy Dirks	17	4	0	0	2	4	1	28
Jhonny Peralta	15	2	0	3	0	5	2	27
Quintin Berry	14	6	0	0	2	2	0	24
Ramon Santiago	10	0	2	0	3	8	1	24
Alex Avila	7	9	0	0	2	3	1	22
Omar Infante	9	1	0	1	3	5	0	19
Ryan Raburn	8	1	0	0	0	8	0	17
Danny Worth	6	2	0	0	0	3	0	11
Gerald Laird	8	1	1	0	0	0	0	10
Avisail Garcia	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	3

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