2009 was a remarkable year for the most elite pitchers in baseball, as four hurlers posted a sub-2.50 ERA. While this fact is incredible enough, so too is the reality that exactly zero pitchers accomplished this feat in the three years previous to ‘09.
From 2000 to 2005, there were 11 instances of a pitcher posting an ERA under 2.50 with a minimum of 150 innings. This irregularity, when compared to the three-year drought from 2006 to 2008, is somewhat puzzling, though essentially meaningless to fantasy owners.
The most useful piece of information is what these pitchers do in the season after they record a sub-2.50 ERA. While this idea was touched on briefly in an earlier article , further analysis is necessary to fully understand it.
What follows is a chart which displays all 11 instances of a sub-2.50 ERA season from 2001 to 2008 (min. 150 IP). The third column reveals the pitcher’s ERA during the season listed in column two. The fourth column uncovers the difference in the pitcher’s ERA in the following season.
| PLAYER | YEAR | ERA | ERA DIFF. |
| Roger Clemens | 2005 | 1.87 | (+0.43) |
| Andy Pettitte | 2005 | 2.39 | (+1.81) |
| Jake Peavy | 2004 | 2.27 | (+0.61) |
| Pedro Martinez | 2003 | 2.22 | (+1.68) |
| Jason Schmidt | 2003 | 2.34 | (+0.86) |
| Kevin Brown | 2003 | 2.39 | (+1.70) |
| Mark Prior | 2003 | 2.43 | (+1.59) |
| Pedro Martinez | 2002 | 2.26 | (-.04) |
| Randy Johnson | 2002 | 2.32 | (+1.94) |
| Randy Johnson | 2001 | 2.49 | (-0.17) |
| Pedro Martinez | 2000 | 1.74 | (+0.65) |
Only two names show up more than once on this chart: Pedro Martinez and Randy Johnson . Not coincidentally, Pedro and the Big Unit were the only pitchers on this list to lower their ERA in the following season at least once. The other seven hurlers saw a significant increase in their succeeding season’s earned run totals.
On average, each pitcher’s ERA increased by 1.01 runs per nine innings in the season following their sub-2.50 campaign.
In addition to this, each pitcher averaged nearly 40 less innings pitched in the following season.
The subsequent question, of course, is which four pitchers compiled a sub-2.50 ERA in 2009? The answer is: Zack Greinke (2.16), Chris Carpenter (2.24), Tim Lincecum (2.48), and Felix Hernandez (2.49).
While this study doesn’t necessarily suggest these Cy Young candidates should be avoided entirely in 2010, recent history indicates a sharp increase in ERA is on the horizon.
In fact, adding the average increase of 1.01 runs per nine innings to their 2009 ERAs yields the following 2010 expected totals: Zack Greinke (3.17), Chris Carpenter (3.25), Tim Lincecum (3.49), and Felix Hernandez (3.50). While these numbers remain respectable at the very least, their current ADPs (with the exception of Carpenter) reveal that fantasy owners aren’t expecting (or aren’t yet aware) of the sub-2.50 ERA curse.
You’ve been warned…
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