¡ The Earned Run Average (ERA) is the measure of the number of earned runs surrendered per 9 innings ¡ ERA = (9*ER)/Innings Pitched ¡ Looking at C.C. Sabathia in 2013: He allowed a career-high 112 Earned Runs in 211 innings. ¡ ERA = (9*112)/211 ¡ ERA = 1,008/211 ¡ ERA = 4.78 (also a career-high) ¡ The winning percentage (WPCT) measured by dividing wins by wins-plus-losses, or W/(W+L) ¡ Also last year, Sabathia won 14 games and lost 13. ¡ 14/27 = .519 ¡ How does a starting pitcher get credit for a win or loss? ¡ He must pitch at least 5 innings and be leading (or trailing) when he leaves the game. If the result changes after he leaves, he does not have the result count on his record. ¡ How might winning percentage be deceptive? ¡ Innings pitched per start is another measure of effectiveness — if pitchers last longer, they can save relievers’ innings, and are generally giving their teams a better chance of winning. ¡ To find Innings per start, simply divide innings pitched (IP) by games started (GS). This only works for full-time starters. ¡ Staying again with Sabathia, he pitched 211 innings in 32 starts. ¡ 211/32 = 6.59 IPS ¡ You can also look at complete game percentage: 100*(CG/GS) ¡ For Sabathia: 100*(2/32) = 6.25% ¡ By dividing the number of strikeouts by walks, we get a sense of a pitcher’s effectiveness when a ball is not put in play. ¡ Last season, Toronto pitcher R.A. Dickey threw 177 strikeouts and walked 71 batters. ¡ K/BB ratio = 177/71 =2.49 ¡ FPCT is a percentage of successful chances out of all possible chances for a fielder ¡ Formula: (Put Outs + Assists)/(PO+A+Errors) ¡ Dustin Pedroia in 2013: 254 PO, 429 A and 5 E ¡ (254+429)/(254+429+5) ¡ 683/688= .993 ¡ What is a shortcoming in looking at Fielding Percentage? ¡ Another way to look at fielding, when evaluating careers, is to normalize statistics by dividing by 162. ¡ For example Pedroia has played in 1,014 games (G) at either 2B or SS (all but 6 at 2B), and has been part of 626 Double Plays (DP) ¡ The formula is: DP/G/162 = (DP*162)/G ¡ (626*162)/1,014 = 100.01 DP/162 .