The opposite of the other one. Someone raised the point of which stats are the best and suggested another thread. So if you have ideas on this topic, put them here please, and don't clutter up the other thread.
One for me is traditional ERA. I think it's really helpful. Because it's easy to understand, and we've been using it forever, we all have a pretty good idea of what constitutes a good ERA and a bad one. I like too that it considers poor fielding. Yes, giving up 5 runs is giving up 5 runs, but if 3 of them are unearned, it gives you a decent indication of what part of those 5 runs the pitcher is responsible for.
I especially like ERA for starters; less so for relievers who have smaller sample sizes and who have to deal with inherited runners. FIP is probably a good stat too, but I have no idea how it's calculated and so it's confusing for me. ERA is pretty simple and straightforward.
One for me is traditional ERA. I think it's really helpful. Because it's easy to understand, and we've been using it forever, we all have a pretty good idea of what constitutes a good ERA and a bad one. I like too that it considers poor fielding. Yes, giving up 5 runs is giving up 5 runs, but if 3 of them are unearned, it gives you a decent indication of what part of those 5 runs the pitcher is responsible for.
I especially like ERA for starters; less so for relievers who have smaller sample sizes and who have to deal with inherited runners. FIP is probably a good stat too, but I have no idea how it's calculated and so it's confusing for me. ERA is pretty simple and straightforward.