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Ever since we can remember, the go-to run-prevention stat most people use to evaluate pitching performance has been ERA (earned run average).
It’s a simple equation: How many runs does a pitcher allow per each nine innings?
The answer has helped people vote and decide for awards (and make player personnel decisions for trades and free-agent signings, too) for decades.
However, a good (or bad) defense can heavily influence ERA, so analytics people have developed and popularized FIP.
Fielding Independent Pitching, or FIP, removes defense from the equation and focuses on the things a pitcher can control: strikeouts, walks, hits-by-pitches, and home runs.
When it comes to FIP, no one comes close to what Minnesota Twins ace Sonny Gray is doing.
“Qualified MLB pitchers to have both a sub-3.00 ERA and a sub-3.00 FIP during the 2023 regular season: 1. Sonny Gray. That’s it. That’s the list,” Codify Baseball tweeted.
Qualified MLB pitchers to have both a sub-3.00 ERA and a sub-3.00 FIP during the 2023 regular season:
1. Sonny Gray
That’s it. That’s the list. https://t.co/C5Hd5lJI9y
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) September 28, 2023
Because ERA is still widely used to help voters decide important awards, Gray looks likely to lose out on the AL Cy Young this year to Gerrit Cole.
Cole, to be fair, has thrown more innings and has a better ERA.
But Gray being the only qualified pitcher with a sub-3.00 FIP (he is at 2.85, with a 2.80 ERA) is nothing short of amazing.
It tells us that he control walks and home runs while racking up the strikeouts.
He has been a major reason why the Twins are returning to the postseason as AL Central champs, and he will lead their rotation as they try to make a deep run.
The post Sonny Gray Stands Alone With Elite MLB Mark appeared first on The Cold Wire.
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