Is ERA overrated?

r2d2 · Jun 3, 2009

First of all, sorry if this has been discussed before I made a search and nothing popped so if this someone has a link to a past thread I would appreciate.
I was wondering if there is or there are some stats experts in here that would help me identify more important stats for a pitcher or if someone thinks ERA is overrated.

Thanks in advance.

ru4scuba · Jun 3, 2009

r2d2 said:
First of all, sorry if this has been discussed before I made a search and nothing popped so if this someone has a link to a past thread I would appreciate.
I was wondering if there is or there are some stats experts in here that would help me identify more important stats for a pitcher or if someone thinks ERA is overrated.

Thanks in advance.

I think WHIP is a little more indicative of a pitcher's performance than ERA.

soccerman034 · Jun 3, 2009

ERA isn't overrated in the slightest. Its a very important stat. I would also say that ERA+ is an equally if not more important stat as it take into account what ball park you play in among other things. I would look into that.

flightposite · Jun 3, 2009

I am a firm believer that giving up more runs than your team scores has a big deal to do with the outcome of the game.

thefasterblade · Jun 3, 2009

I'd say ERA is pretty important. Its not like BA to me which is overrated to an extent.

BB/9, K/9, H/9 and ERA its obvious, but I don't see too many ways around them from being the most important factors. I wouldn't look at a W-L %.

aw00d05 · Jun 3, 2009

Win/Loss record and strikeouts are overrated, not ERA and WHIP those and BB/K ratio and groundball/flyball ratio are the best way to judge a pitcher IMO.

All The Hype · Jun 3, 2009

ERA is not overrated at all. There may be other numbers more indicative of a pitcher's effectiveness, but the ultimate goal is to avoid giving up runs. ERA is a number directly related to the number of runs per game that a pitcher is accountable for.

Other important pitcher numbers are WHIP (walks and hits per innings pitched (i.e., # of base runners per inning)) and Ks/IP.

soccerman034 · Jun 3, 2009

thefasterblade said:
I'd say ERA is pretty important. Its not like BA to me which is overrated to an extent.

BB/9, K/9, H/9 and ERA its obvious, but I don't see too many ways around them from being the most important factors. I wouldn't look at a W-L %.

Wins is arguably the worst stat in evaluating a pitcher as many other things came into play, affecting the outcome, that said pitcher cannot control. With that said (as flightposite pointed out) wins are really the ONLY thing that really matters, which really gets confusing. When looking at the overall REAL value of a pitcher, ERA, SO, and WP% are the key stats. When evaluating a pitcher in terms of performance, BAA, WHIP, ERA+, SO/BB reign supreme, at least in my mind.

r2d2 · Jun 3, 2009

Thanks guys

cowboysrule48 · Jun 3, 2009

aw00d05 said:
Win/Loss record and strikeouts are overrated, not ERA and WHIP those and BB/K ratio and groundball/flyball ratio are the best way to judge a pitcher IMO.

I disagree that strikeouts are overrated. So much can happen when the ball is put in play. You can make a good pitch, and jam the batter, but a fast runner, or a bad throw by the infielder and he is still standing on first base. I also can't name how many times I see a batter get jammed and bloop one between the infielders and outfielders. A strikeout is a sure out.

aw00d05 · Jun 3, 2009

cowboysrule48 said:
aw00d05 said:

Win/Loss record and strikeouts are overrated, not ERA and WHIP those and BB/K ratio and groundball/flyball ratio are the best way to judge a pitcher IMO.

Click to expand...

I disagree that strikeouts are overrated. So much can happen when the ball is put in play. You can make a good pitch, and jam the batter, but a fast runner, or a bad throw by the infielder and he is still standing on first base. I also can't name how many times I see a batter get jammed and bloop one between the infielders and outfielders. A strikeout is a sure out.

But alot of people think that's the most important stat when gauging pitchers when it's about 3rd (ERA & WHIP). Alot of guys who get a ton of strikeouts can't go as long in games as a sinkerballer can because they have to throw atleast 4-5 pitches to every batter. It is important but alot of general baseball fans think it's the most important stat and it's really not.

cbrandtw · Jun 3, 2009

aw00d05 said:
Win/Loss record and strikeouts are overrated, not ERA and WHIP those and BB/K ratio and groundball/flyball ratio are the best way to judge a pitcher IMO.

+10 Million

I know the ultimate goal is to win as many games as possible but being a pitcher you can't control what your team does offensively. A pitcher can not control his win/loss record when he relies on his batters to create a win for him. Ask Johan this year. In his 3 losses so far his team has scored a total of 5 runs but he leads the league in ERA. So I ask you would you rather have Johan as your ace with his 7-3 record, a 2.00 ERA, and 89 K's or would you prefer Kevin Slowey to take the hill as your game 7 World Series starter with his 8-1 record, 3.97 ERA, and 49 K's?

braden · Jun 3, 2009

ERA is a worthless stat for relievers.

Even for starters, I much prefer FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching).

I'm not a huge fan of ERA as it totally discounts defence. Further, a pitcher with a lot of unearned runs often has a better ERA than he truly deserves. A guy who gives up, say, 7 runs with only 3 earned probably didn't pitch all that well. Yes, his defence obviously let him down at some point but it can be indicative of hidden trends.

Penno · Jun 3, 2009

Using only one stat to judge a player is overrated. There are many tools to evaluate performance and just using one, like ERA, is foolish.

MattStairs12 · Jun 3, 2009

how else could you compare a 20-0 guy with a 5.66 era to a 8-11 guy with a 2.45 era if u just look at record ur an idiot u can rack up wins just for having a good offense.

DetroitTigers · Jun 3, 2009

ERA and WHIP are the most important stats to view how well a pitcher is doing.

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Is ERA overrated?

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