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Runs Created Calculator (Bill James RC & RC/27)

Calculate Bill James’ Runs Created with the basic, stolen-base and technical formulas, plus runs created per 27 outs, total bases and outs made, from a hitter’s season line.

Formula

At-bats (AB)

Hits (H)

Doubles (2B)

Triples (3B)

Home runs (HR)

Walks (BB)

Hit by pitch (HBP)

Intentional walks (IBB)

Stolen bases (SB)

Caught stealing (CS)

Sacrifice hits (SH)

Sacrifice flies (SF)

Grounded into double plays (GIDP)

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How it works

Basic: RC = (H + BB) × TB ÷ (AB + BB) · Stolen-base: RC = (H + BB − CS) × (TB + 0.55 × SB) ÷ (AB + BB) · Technical: RC = (H + BB + HBP − CS − GIDP) × (TB + 0.26 × (BB − IBB + HBP) + 0.52 × (SH + SF + SB)) ÷ (AB + BB + HBP + SH + SF) · TB = H + 2B + 2 × 3B + 3 × HR · RC/27 = RC × 27 ÷ (AB − H + CS + SH + SF + GIDP).

Bill James’ Runs Created estimates how many runs a hitter produced by multiplying an on-base factor (getting on) by an advancement factor (moving runners) and dividing by opportunities. The basic version needs only hits, walks, total bases and at-bats; the stolen-base and technical versions credit steals, hit-by-pitches and sacrifices and charge caught stealing and double plays. RC/27 shows how many runs per game a lineup of nine copies of this hitter would score.

Worked example

A hitter with 550 AB, 160 H (32 doubles, 3 triples, 25 home runs) and 60 walks has 273 total bases. Basic RC = (160 + 60) × 273 ÷ (550 + 60) = 220 × 273 ÷ 610 = 98.5 runs created. With 410 outs made (550 − 160 + 3 CS + 5 SF + 12 GIDP) that is 98.5 × 27 ÷ 410 = 6.48 runs per 27 outs.

Sources: Baseball-Reference — Runs Created · Runs created — formulas

Frequently asked questions

What is a good Runs Created total?

For a full-time MLB regular, around 70–80 runs created is solid, 100+ is excellent and the best seasons reach 150+. RC/27 above 6 is very good; the league average is usually 4.5–5.

Which Runs Created formula should I use?

Use the basic formula when you only have hits, walks and total bases. The technical version is the most accurate because it includes hit-by-pitches, sacrifices, caught stealing and double plays, but it needs a full stat line.

What does RC/27 mean?

Runs created per 27 outs — the runs a team of nine identical hitters would score in a nine-inning game. It turns a counting stat into a rate, so part-time and full-time players can be compared.

How is Runs Created different from wRC+?

wRC+ is a modern FanGraphs stat built from linear weights (wOBA) and adjusted for park and league, with 100 as average. Runs Created is Bill James’ older multiplicative estimate in raw runs, but both rank hitters similarly.

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This calculator is for educational purposes. Double-check important results before acting on them.