Mike's counter example is a good one. However, I don't buy it (at least not now-maybe I'll get additional insights as this discussion develops). The heart of the multiplicative argument is that a double is worth more than 2 singles; a triple is worth more than a double and a single, or three singles; a home run worth more than 4 singles etc.

If you agree with this (and I do), then multiplying makes sense. If you don't, then addition is the better approach.

In other words, choosing is a more of a baseball issue than an abstract mathematical one. So, in Mike's example, the higher value would be justified.

Regarding stolen bases; can't argue with that. But nothing's perfect and the total # of SB's relative to bases through hits, is probably small enough to distort the results by a small amount.