Runs created (RC) is a baseball statistic invented by Bill James to estimate the number of runs a hitter contributes to their team. Purpose James explains in his book, The Bill James Historical Baseball Abstract, why he believes runs created is an essential thing to measure:With regard to an offensive player, the first key question is how many runs have resulted from what he has done with the bat and on the basepaths. Willie McCovey hit .270 in his career, with 353 doubles, 46 triples, 521 home runs and 1,345 walks -- but his job was not to hit doubles, nor to hit singles, nor to hit triples, nor to draw walks or even hit home runs, but rather to put runs on the scoreboard. How many runs resulted from all of these things? Runs created attempts to answer this bedrock question. The conceptual framework of the "runs created" stat is: where A = On-base factor B = Advancement factor C = Opportunity factor Formula Basic runs created In the most basic runs created formula: where H is hits, BB is base on balls, TB is total bases and AB is at-bats. This can also be expressed as where OBP is on-base percentage, SLG is slugging average, AB is at-bats and TB is total bases, however it is worth noting that OBP includes the hit-by-pitch while the previous RC formula does not. "Stolen base" version of runs created This formula expands on the basic formula by accounting for a player's basestealing ability. where H is hits, BB is base on balls, CS is caught stealing, TB is total bases, SB is stolen bases, and AB is at bats. "Technical" version of runs created This formula accounts for all basic, easily available offensive statistics. where H is hits, BB is base on balls, CS is caught stealing, HBP is hit by pitch, GIDP is grounded into double play, TB is total bases, IBB is intentional base on balls, SH is sacrifice hit, SF is sacrifice fly, SB is stolen base, and AB is at bats. 2002 version of runs created Earlier versions of runs created overestimated the number of runs created by players with extremely high A and B factors (on-base and slugging), such as Babe Ruth, Ted Williams and Barry Bonds. This is because these formulas placed a player in an offensive context of players equal to himself; it is