As a baseball purist, I admittedly dont look as deep into the metrics as perhaps I should. I must admit however that the concept of “Game Score” for starting pitchers has struck my fancy in measuring the quality of performance on a particular night for a particular pitcher. If you look at the average Game Score of a particular starter, you get a very good idea of what their body of work looks like over the course of a season. In essence, game score combines durability, control and overall effectiveness to come up with a number to put on a particular outing.
Bill James developed Game Score and the math goes like this: Start with 50. Add one point for each out recorded (so three points for each IP); add two points for each full IP after the fourth; add one point for each strikeout; subtract two points for each hit allowed; subtract four points for each ER allowed; subtract two points for each unearned run allowed; subtract one point for each walk. In essence, Game Score takes the concept of a quality start and expands on it, factoring in control and hittability. The highest Game Score in history went to Kerry Wood who achieved a Game Score of 105 on 5/6/98. He struck out 20, allowing just one hit and didn’t walk a batter.
Game Score allows you to assess a degree of quality on a particular start and extrapolate from there. Now, looking at Phillies minor leaguers….At the AAA level, the highest Game Score achieved this year was Greg Smith, back on April 17th, who achieved a Game Score of 78. The lowest Game Score was “achieved” by Brad Lincoln who received a 17 for a miserable start just a few days ago on 5/28/14. In a system which would categorize a “quality start” at a 50, IronPigs average Game Scores are as follows (Min 4 starts): Pettibone 52, Smith 52, Enright 50; Buchanan 49, O’Sullivan 47n and Lincoln 41. Continue reading Game Score →
