Basball Statistics: ERA+

Since regular ERA is so dependent upon ballpark size and the quality of the defense a pitcher is relying on, it cannot be used as an indicator of how valuable a pitcher is to his team. *ERA+ adjusts for league and ballpark. Average *ERA+ is 100, just like *OPS+. ERA+ is still not perfect, but it is vastly better than plain ERA for determining a pitcher's value.

*ERA+ Calculation

*lgERA / ERA

Examples: (2008 *ERA+)

American League

Mike Mussina 4.44 / 3.37 = 132

Cliff Lee 4.44 / 2.54 = 175

Roy Halladay 4.27 / 2.78 = 154

National League

Tim Lincecum 4.38 / 2.62 = 167

Brandon Webb 4.60 / 3.30 = 139

Johan Santana 4.21 / 2.53 = 166

Cy Young winners by ERA+

2007 Winners AL: C.C. Sabathia 143 NL: Jake Peavy 159

2006 Winners AL: Johan Santana 161 NL: Brandon Webb 152

2005 Winners AL: Bartolo Colon 121 NL: Chris Carpenter 149

2004 Winners AL: Johan Santana 182 NL: Roger Clemens 146

2003 Winners AL: Roy Halladay 145 NL: Eric Gagne 335

2002 Winners AL: Barry Zito 158 NL: Randy Johnson 192

2001 Winners AL Roger Clemens 128 NL: Randy Johnson 188

2000 Winners AL Pedro Martinez 291 NL: Randy Johnson 181

Career Leaders in ERA+

Name ERA+

1. Mariano Rivera 199

2. Pedro Martinez 160

3. Lefty Grove 148

4. Walter Johnson 146

4. Dan Quisenberry 146

4. Hoyt Wilhelm 146

4. Smoky Joe Wood 146

8. Ed Walsh 145

9. Johan Santana 144

10. Roger Clemens 143

10. Jim Devlin 143

10. Brandon Webb 143

Single Season Leaders in ERA+

Name ERA+ Year

1. Tim Keefe 294 1880

2. Pedro Martinez 291 2000

3. Dutch Leonard 279 1914

4. Greg Maddux 273 1994

5. Walter Johnson 259 1913

5. Greg Maddux 259 1995

7. Bob Gibson. 258 1968

8. Mordecai Brown 253 1906

9. Pedro Martinez 245 1999

10. Walter Johnson 240 1912

Remember, 1968 was the last year that Major League Baseball employed the use of a pitcher's mound greater than 10 inches, which is why the ERA+ put up by players of today's generation are even more impressive.

All ERA and ERA+ stats taken from www.baseball-reference.com/