Question re: ERA formula

[#1YankeeLover]

(Number of earned runs x 9) divided by (number of innings pitched)

That's the pitching formula, which makes perfect sense. But what if a guy comes in on his first appearance of the season and gives up five runs without recording an out? Then, technically, he's pitched zero innings while giving up five runs. So the formula would read (5x9)/0, which brings you to 0 and error on the calculator.

What would this guy's ERA be after this appearance?

-#1YankeeLover

[Hobes]

Maybe, technically, it would be infinity. The pattern of giving up runs without getting any outs would lead to an infinite amount of runs. I wonder, has that ever happened in reality?

E.R.A.: Infinity :eek: :scared: :eek:

[penguin4]

Yes, there are cases, even in the baseball encyclopedia, of guys whose whole career was based on one appearance where he didn't get an out. There are different ways they note it. Total Baseball actually uses an infinity sign (the sideways "8"). The yahoo fantasy baseball leagues denote it as "INF" (for infinity). Some other places say "N/A", "undefined", etc etc or even the famed "asterisk*" with a footnote at the bottom. It's all arbitrary on what the editor decides.

[Jersey Yankee]

In that case, WitaSuck = Infinity ad nauseum (nauseous?)