baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

, an extra-base hit (EB, EBH or XBH), also known as a long hit, is any base hit on which the batter is able to advance past first base without the benefit of a fielder either committing an

error An error (from the Latin , meaning 'to wander'Oxford English Dictionary, s.v. “error (n.), Etymology,” September 2023, .) is an inaccurate or incorrect action, thought, or judgement. In statistics, "error" refers to the difference between t ...

or opting to make a throw to retire another base runner (see

fielder's choice In baseball, fielder's choice (abbreviated FC) refers to a variety of plays involving an offensive player reaching a base due to the defense's attempt to put out another baserunner, or the defensive team's indifference to his advance. Fielder's c ...

). Extra-base hits are often not listed separately in tables of

baseball statistics Baseball statistics include a variety of metrics used to evaluate player and team performance in the sport of baseball. Because the flow of a baseball game has natural breaks to it, and player activity is characteristically distinguishable ind ...

, but are easily determined by calculating the sum total of a batter's doubles, triples, and home runs. Extra-base hits are particularly valuable because they ensure that there will be no runners on base that will be forced to advance on the next fair ball. Another related statistic of interest that can be calculated is "extra bases on long hits". A batter gets three of these for each home run, two for each triple, and one for each double. Thus, leading the league in "Most extra bases in long hits" is a significant accomplishment in power hitting. The statistic Extra-Base Hits Allowed (for example by a pitcher or by the fielding team in general) is denoted by the abbreviation XBA.

Major League Baseball leaders

Career

The record for most career extra-base hits is 1,477, held by Hank Aaron. Among players with at least 1,000 career hits, Mark McGwire is the only one to have had at least half of his hits go for extra bases.

Season

There have been 15 instances of a player recording 100 extra-base hits in a single season; Lou Gehrig, Chuck Klein and Todd Helton are the only players to have achieved this twice, with Helton the only one to do so in consecutive seasons. The top 5 are as follows: (totals are current through the end of the 2016 season) # Babe Ruth (1921) – 119 # Lou Gehrig (1927) – 117 # Barry Bonds (2001) – 107 # Chuck Klein (1930) – 107 # Todd Helton (2001) – 105

Single game

The modern-era record for most extra-base hits by one batter, in one game, is five, held by 15 different players, including Lou Boudreau, Joe Adcock, Willie Stargell, Steve Garvey, Shawn Green, Kelly Shoppach, Josh Hamilton, Jackie Bradley Jr., Kris Bryant, José Ramírez, Matt Carpenter, Alex Dickerson, Luis Urías, Adolis García, and most recently Shohei Ohtani. Adock, Green, and Hamilton did so while hitting four home runs. In the postseason, Albert Pujols, Hideki Matsui, Bob Robertson, Frank Isbell and Enrique Hernández have all recorded four extra-base hits in a game.

Consecutive games

Paul Waner (1927) and Chipper Jones (2006) jointly hold the longest hitting streak for extra bases. Both players recorded extra-base hits in 14 consecutive games.

Team records

The Boston Red Sox recorded 17 extra-base hits in a 29–4 victory against the St. Louis Browns in 1950. In the postseason, the team single game record for extra-base hits is 13, by the New York Yankees against the Red Sox in game 3 of the 2004 ALCS. Two teams have 9 extra-base hits in a World Series game, namely the 1925 Pittsburgh Pirates (in game 7 vs the Washington Senators) and the 2007 Boston Red Sox (game 1, vs the Colorado Rockies). The 2003 Boston Red Sox had 649 extra-base hits, the most by one team in a single season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Extra Base Hit Baseball statistics Hit (baseball)