Quote:
Originally Posted by G1911
How can you say ERA+ is only an okay indicator, while simultaneously saying you do not know what it is? It seems the latter is a pre-requisite to any valid judgement.
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That's a fair criticism.
So I went and looked it up. I may have known it once but forgotten?
Anyway, it still seems just OK. Comparing ERA to the league average isn't a bad start, but omits a lot of detail in how the game is played. Especially being tied to the park factor.
I suspect many excellent pitchers are actually better than ERA+ would indicate. But I'd have to spend ours looking at how often teams facing a great pitcher made sure to have their best batters in the game compared to how many chalked it up as a loss and gave some players a rest day. (Along with how many gave star players a day off when facing a number 5 starter, not to mention left/right platooning)
And it really doesn't account for the quality of the team backing them up.