National League 2008 Pitching PER Analysis (through ALL games of 2008)

Rank PLAYER TEAM Pitching PER Winning Percentage Earned Run Average Opposition On Base Ave Unearned Run Average Walks to Strike Out Ratio
1 C.C. Sabathia MIL 79.91 84.62 1.65 0.256 0.48 0.20
2 Rich Harden CHC 78.59 83.33 1.77 0.250 0.38 0.34
3 Hong-Chih Kuo LAD 78.47 62.50 2.14 0.259 0.23 0.22
4 Brad Lidge PHI 78.27 100.00 1.95 0.293 0.26 0.38
5 Cory Wade LAD 77.78 66.67 2.27 0.246 0.50 0.29
6 Taylor Buchholz COL 77.61 50.00 2.17 0.246 0.95 0.32
7 Matt Capps PIT 77.42 40.00 3.02 0.251 0.34 0.13
8 Mike Adams SDP 77.32 40.00 2.48 0.258 0.00 0.26
9 Joe Nelson FLA 77.16 75.00 2.00 0.289 0.67 0.37
10 Brian Fuentes COL 76.72 16.67 2.73 0.271 0.43 0.27
11 Russ Springer STL 76.23 66.67 2.32 0.278 0.18 0.40
12 Steven Shell WSN 76.16 50.00 2.16 0.272 0.36 0.49
13 Carlos Marmol CHC 76.13 33.33 2.68 0.249 0.41 0.36
14 Johan Santana NYM 75.96 69.57 2.53 0.280 0.31 0.31
15 Chad Qualls ARI 75.93 33.33 2.81 0.271 0.73 0.25
16 Kerry Wood CHC 75.88 55.56 3.26 0.284 0.00 0.21
17 Tim Lincecum SFG 75.57 78.26 2.62 0.285 0.24 0.32
18 Jose Valverde HOU 75.21 66.67 3.38 0.287 0.13 0.28
19 Cole Hamels PHI 74.90 58.33 3.09 0.266 0.44 0.27
20 Danny Haren ARI 74.76 66.67 3.33 0.278 0.25 0.19
21 Jake Peavy SDP 74.70 47.62 2.85 0.287 0.10 0.36
22 Brian Shouse MIL 74.60 83.33 2.81 0.280 0.53 0.42
23 Juan Cruz ARI 74.56 100.00 2.61 0.305 0.35 0.44
24 Jonathan Broxton LAD 74.56 37.50 3.13 0.289 0.65 0.31
25 Ben Sheets MIL 74.56 59.09 3.09 0.278 0.27 0.30
26 Geoff Geary HOU 74.42 40.00 2.53 0.281 0.00 0.62
27 Ryan Madson PHI 74.40 66.67 3.05 0.293 0.11 0.34
28 Ricky Nolasco FLA 74.14 65.22 3.52 0.274 0.21 0.23
29 Derek Lowe LAD 74.11 56.00 3.24 0.275 0.34 0.31
30 Ryan Dempster CHC 73.84 73.91 2.96 0.293 0.30 0.41
*Based on at least 50 innings pitched within league

 PER Analysis of the All-Time Greatest Hitters in MLB History

PER Analysis of the All-Time Greatest Pitchers in MLB History

Revolutionary Baseball Pitching Efficiency Rating
This analysis determines the best pitchers in baseball irrespective of their pitching roles. The construct evaluates the statistics of ERA, Opposition On base Average, and Walks to Strike Out ratio.

Earned Runs Average is widely understood to be one of the most important statistics used to evaluate a pitcher. It shows how many earned runs a pitcher yields for every 9 innings pitched. Alongside the ERA PER Sports includes a statistic called UnERA which measures the number of unearned runs given up by a pitcher per 9 innings. It shows how well a pitcher can pitch around mistakes and therefore partially indicates the mental fabric of the pitcher.

Opposition On Base Average is a very important statistic (almost as important as the ERA) since it indicates the number of base-runners a pitcher allows per inning pitched. This is a more comprehensive measure than Opposition Batting Average since pitchers who are wild and walk or hit a lot of batters will not be accurately captured in the Opposition Batting Average stat.

Walks to Strike-Out Average is a measure of the level of dominance and control exhibited by the pitcher. High Strikeouts reflect pitching dominance and low walk totals speak to impressive control.

This statistic ignores all decision statistics (i.e. winning percentage, save percentage, or hold percentage) since winning percentage for eg. depends a lot on the amount of run support a pitcher receives (which is itself a function of his opposing pitcher on the mound). As such it may not be a true reflection of their pitching performance. Likewise, the save percentage does not take into account the quality of saves by that closer, i.e. giving up only one or zero runs per save opportunity.

In addition, in order to minimize the bias that generally occurs with pitching too few innings, the statistic adjusts for pitchers with more Innings Pitched. This measure is therefore an efficient method of determining the annual Cy Young Award winner.

Interpreting the PER Baseball Score
 Since a value of 100 represents the ceiling on a pitcher's rating (and that for a truly perfect pitcher, i.e. the score for a perfectly pitched game) then the following rating guide applies:
 Between 90 and 100 indicates a truly Legendary Pitcher/Performance
 Between 85 and 90 indicates an Excellent Pitcher
 Between 75 and 85 indicates a Superior Pitcher
 Between 65 and 75 indicates an Average Pitching Performance
 Between 60 and 65 indicates a Below Average Performance
 Below 60 indicates a Poor Pitching Performance

Read more of the PER Hitting Analysis...

Read more of the PER Pitching analysis...