Have you ever given a thought to why we enjoy playing and following sports? I personally think that it is because we worship excellence and dedication demonstrated by sportsmen and sportswomen in the field. Unlike life, in sports, precision matters and there is no room for error. Sportspeople must measure up to certain specified parameters of excellence. The statistical parameters of a sport provides objective parameters for comparison of performance of different baseball players. One such parameter that a pitcher in baseball is judged by is Earned Run Average (ERA) and a batter is judged by his batting average. For those of you who are new to baseball statistics calculation, I provide information about how to calculate ERA of any pitcher.
As you know, statistics matter a lot in baseball and the numbers need to be crunched out for every player as per his performance in past games. The baseball hall of fame listed players are known for their impeccable batting averages or ERAs. There is a dedicated body of statisticians who devote their time to calculation of game statistics which also provides selectors with objective parameters for selection of their future squads. You may find this statistic quoted on Baseball cards. Let me first explain what exactly is meant by an ERA and then elucidate how to calculate earned run average in baseball and softball.
What is ERA?
An ERA is a number that sums up a pitcher's performance based on his past performance. An Earned Runs Average (ERA) is a measure of how many runs a pitcher gives up over a game of nine innings on average. It is the earned runs that he would have if he pitched for nine innings straight in a game.
The method of calculating ERA is a sort of extrapolation based on the career performance of a pitcher. While the average ERA of pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB) tends to be around 4.5, the best pitchers have an ERA ranging between 2.5 and 3. You can evaluate the ERA of any pitcher on your own, with knowledge of certain parameters that include his earned runs and the total number of innings pitched by him. Let us have a look at formulas used to calculate ERA in baseball and softball.
How to Calculate ERA in Baseball?
Calculating ERA in baseball is quite simple. Just get hold of the number of total earned runs of a pitcher and the total number of innings for which he has pitched, and use the following formula for calculation of ERA.
Formula for ERA Calculation in Baseball = [(Earned Runs) x 9] / (Innings Pitched)
To put it simply just divide the earned runs by the total number of innings pitched and multiple the result by 9 to get the ERA. There is one rule that must be remembered regarding fractional number of innings pitched, which need to be rounded up with a value of 0.333 per out. If a pitcher has number of pitched innings to be 12.1 (twelve innings and one out), then convert it to 12.33. If the number of innings pitched is 12.2 (twelve innings and two out), then convert it to 12.666 before diving the earned runs with it. Remember to consider earned runs only and do not confuse it with total runs.
How to Calculate ERA in Softball?
In softball, the calculation remains almost same, with the only difference being, that you multiply by 7 instead of 9. The formula used to calculate ERA in softball is as follows:
Formula for ERA Calculation in Softball = [(Earned Runs) x 7] / Innings Pitched
All that you have to do is plug in the numbers, after rounding up the number of innings pitched and then calculate. Lower the value of ERA, better is effectiveness of pitching and more higher rated is the player. Next time, you will be better informed to understand and appreciate baseball records.
Hope these tips on how to calculate ERA were simple enough to understand. The degree of mathematics involved is elementary and the calculation can be performed in a matter of seconds. Knowing the ERA of a pitcher, you can objectively compare his performance with other pitchers. With the knowledge of ERA, choosing pitchers for your fantasy baseball will certainly be simpler.
As you know, statistics matter a lot in baseball and the numbers need to be crunched out for every player as per his performance in past games. The baseball hall of fame listed players are known for their impeccable batting averages or ERAs. There is a dedicated body of statisticians who devote their time to calculation of game statistics which also provides selectors with objective parameters for selection of their future squads. You may find this statistic quoted on Baseball cards. Let me first explain what exactly is meant by an ERA and then elucidate how to calculate earned run average in baseball and softball.
What is ERA?
An ERA is a number that sums up a pitcher's performance based on his past performance. An Earned Runs Average (ERA) is a measure of how many runs a pitcher gives up over a game of nine innings on average. It is the earned runs that he would have if he pitched for nine innings straight in a game.
The method of calculating ERA is a sort of extrapolation based on the career performance of a pitcher. While the average ERA of pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB) tends to be around 4.5, the best pitchers have an ERA ranging between 2.5 and 3. You can evaluate the ERA of any pitcher on your own, with knowledge of certain parameters that include his earned runs and the total number of innings pitched by him. Let us have a look at formulas used to calculate ERA in baseball and softball.
How to Calculate ERA in Baseball?
Calculating ERA in baseball is quite simple. Just get hold of the number of total earned runs of a pitcher and the total number of innings for which he has pitched, and use the following formula for calculation of ERA.
Formula for ERA Calculation in Baseball = [(Earned Runs) x 9] / (Innings Pitched)
To put it simply just divide the earned runs by the total number of innings pitched and multiple the result by 9 to get the ERA. There is one rule that must be remembered regarding fractional number of innings pitched, which need to be rounded up with a value of 0.333 per out. If a pitcher has number of pitched innings to be 12.1 (twelve innings and one out), then convert it to 12.33. If the number of innings pitched is 12.2 (twelve innings and two out), then convert it to 12.666 before diving the earned runs with it. Remember to consider earned runs only and do not confuse it with total runs.
How to Calculate ERA in Softball?
In softball, the calculation remains almost same, with the only difference being, that you multiply by 7 instead of 9. The formula used to calculate ERA in softball is as follows:
Formula for ERA Calculation in Softball = [(Earned Runs) x 7] / Innings Pitched
All that you have to do is plug in the numbers, after rounding up the number of innings pitched and then calculate. Lower the value of ERA, better is effectiveness of pitching and more higher rated is the player. Next time, you will be better informed to understand and appreciate baseball records.
Hope these tips on how to calculate ERA were simple enough to understand. The degree of mathematics involved is elementary and the calculation can be performed in a matter of seconds. Knowing the ERA of a pitcher, you can objectively compare his performance with other pitchers. With the knowledge of ERA, choosing pitchers for your fantasy baseball will certainly be simpler.
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