Starting Pitchers Tables Guide

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Table Name

Full Name

Explanation

Rank

Position Rank

Pitcher's rank by Win Shares Quotient (see below).

Name

Pitcher Name

Bolded name indicates membership in the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

HOF

Hall of Fame

BBW indicates pitcher was elected by the Baseball Writers Association of America.

Vet indicates pitcher was elected by the Veterans Committee.

Other indicates pitcher was elected as a manager, executive or other role.

Ban indicates pitcher who should be in the Hall of Fame, but is excluded for cause

detrimental to baseball.

MVP

Most Valuable Player

Rank in league's MVP voting. Shaded area indicates award was not given that season.

Cy Young Award

Rank in league's Cy Young Award voting. Shaded area indicates award was not given that

season.

All-Star

All-Star game status for specified pitcher. "A" indicates starter. "a" indicates spot on

All-Star roster. "A-inj" and "a-inj" indicate All-Star selection, but withdrew due to

injury. "A-out" and "a-out" indicate All-Star selection, but withdrew for reasons other

than injury. "A-rep" and "a-rep" indicate replacement of All-Star player unable to play.

"A*" and "a*" indicate All-Star Game was not played that season due to World War II.

Shaded area indicates All-Star Game was not played that season.

Rookie

Rookie (of the Year)

R indicates rookie status. R-number indicates rank in league's Rookie of the Year voting.

Number only indicates rank in league's Rookie of the Year voting, the votes made in error

as the pitcher no longer had rookie status.

Team

Team(s) pitcher pitched for as a starting pitcher in specified league during specified

season.

Stdg

Standing

Team standing(s) for team(s) pitched for. Bold indicates winner of final post-season

championship series (World Series since 1903). Italics indicates loser of final post-

season championship series. Both indicate tie of final post-season championship series.

Throws

Pitching side. R - Right, L - Left, U - Unknown.

Age

Pitcher's age

Pitcher's age as of June 30 for that season. Blank indicates unknown age.

Other Pos

Other Positions

All other positions pitcher qualified for in all leagues during specified season.

Games Started

Games started in specified league during specified season. Minimum qualification for table

is 15 games started or 12 decisions and 100 innings as a starting pitcher. Note that the

alternate requirement allows starting pitchers with sufficient starts and innings, making

a significant contribution to his team's season but just below the 15 start threshold,

to appear on the table. Over one hundred thirty pitchers, primarily from the 19th Century,

have been added to the tables through 2008 under this provision.

Complete Games

Complete games pitched in specified league during specified season.

Sho

Shutouts

Shutouts pitched in specified league during specified season.

Wins

Wins earned as a starting pitcher in specified league during specified season.

Losses

Losses earned as a starting pitcher in specified league during specified season.

W/S%

Win/Start Percentage

Wins as a starting pitcher divided by games started. This statistic substitutes for the

traditional win/loss percentage. While W/L% is a valuable measurement, W/S% looks at

winning ability by starting pitchers from a slightly different viewpoint.

Both statistics are limited in measuring a starting pitcher's performance in earning wins

since run support and the bullpen's performance affects his ability to earn wins. The

difference is that No Decisions play a role in W/S%, but not in W/L%. Win/loss percentage

focuses on those decisions earned by a starting pitcher, while W/S% focuses on the ability

to earn the win himself by pitching deeply into the game and minimizing reliance upon the

bullpen. Those starting pitchers with a high W/S% not only pitch more quality innings,

while sometimes still getting high run support, but also reduce their No Decision total.

No Decisions

No Decisions are games started by starting pitchers in which he does not earn a win or a

loss. The formula is games started minus wins minus losses.

Innings

Innings pitched as a starting pitcher in specified league during specified season.

Innings are pro-rated estimates for 1876-1953 and are actual figures for 1954 on.

Hits

Hits given up as a starting pitcher in specified league during specified season.

Hits are pro-rated estimates for 1876-1953 and are actual figures for 1954 on.

Home Runs

Home runs given up as a starting pitcher in specified league during specified season.

Home runs are pro-rated estimates for 1876-1953 and are actual figures for 1954 on.

Runs

Runs given up as a starting pitcher in specified league during specified season.

Runs are pro-rated estimates for 1876-1953 and are actual figures for 1954 on.

Earned Runs

Earned runs given up as a starting pitcher in specified league during specified season.

Earned runs are pro-rated estimates for 1876-1953 and are actual figures for 1954 on.

Strikeouts

Strikeouts made as a starting pitcher in specified league during specified season.

Strikeouts are pro-rated estimates for 1876-1953 and are actual figures for 1954 on.

SO/WH

Strikeouts/(Walks + Hits)

Strikeouts/(hits + walks) made as a starting pitcher in specified league during specified

season. Ratio is based on pro-rated estimates for 1876-1953 and is based on actual figures

for 1954 on.

This ratio is a combination of two ratios, both measuring pitching effectiveness.

Strikeouts per inning measures strikeout effectiveness, a higher figure being more

effective. Walks plus hits per inning (WHIP) measures the ability to give up as few

baserunners as possible, a lower figure being more effective.

Combining these two ratios results in SO/WH, in which a higher figure measures a greater

ability to strike out batters while effectively keeping runners off base. While some

pitchers may strike out many batters per inning, they're not effective in keeping runners

off base. The SO/WH ratio measures the best of both abilities. The A.L. and N.L. SO/WH

leader lists spotlight many of the greatest pitchers in major league history.

ERA

Earned Run Average

Earned run average made as a starting pitcher in specified league during specified season.

Earned run averages are based on pro-rated estimates for 1876-1953 and on actual figures

for 1954 on.

Win Shares

Win Shares earned as a starting pitcher in specified league during specified season. Note

that, unlike the hitting positions, no Win Shares are allocated for hitting or fielding

performance as a starting pitcher.

WS/G

Win Shares per Game

Win Shares earned as a starting pitcher in specified league during specified season

divided by games started as a starting pitcher in specified league during specified

season.

WSQ

Win Shares Quotient

The final calculation used to rate pitchers, the starting pitcher's Win Shares times the

factor of the square root of his Win Shares per game divided by the league average Win

Shares per game (see below). This quotient thus accounts for both total production (Win

Shares) and pro-rated production (Win Shares per game). The square root is used to modify

the Win Shares per game factor, ensuring that Win Shares carries the heavier weight

in the calculation.

League Average Age

Age per game as calculated by weighted average of pitcher's ages times games started

divided by games started.

League Average per 30 Starts

Average of starter game statistics per 30 games started. Win start percentage is calculated

on the sum of all games started and wins.

League Average per 200 Innings

Average of starter pitching results per 200 innings. The SO/WH ratio and ERA are calculated

on the sum of all innings pitched.

League Avg WS/G

Average of Win Shares per game based on the sum of Win Shares.

Average WS/Team

Sum of Win Shares divided by number of teams in league for specified season. Note that due

to the 15 games started/12 decision and 100 innings requirement, this figure does not

represent all of the Win Shares earned by a given team for that position, but rather the

Win Shares earned by those pitchers who qualified for the table.

Sources:

All-Time Major League Handbook

Win Shares Digital Update

baseball-reference.com

ESPN Baseball Encyclopedia