: Hi there,
: 
: I'm german and I have been into this MLB stuff since almost one year now.
: There are many problems occuring for me. One of them is the ERA statistic for
: pitchers. What does it say ??

ERA indicates the average number of earned runs attributed to a pitcher per
nine inning game.  Thus, if a pitcher pitched 3 innings and gave up 1 earned
run, his 9 inning equivelent perfomance would be 3 earned runs, thus his ERA
is 3.00.  To compute the ERA you simply take the number of earned runs divided
by the innings pitched and then multiple the result by 9.

	ERA = (ER/IP) * 9

An earned run is run that is given up by the pitcher that is not attributed
to a fielding error.  More specifically, if an error occurs that represented
the third out, all runs scored after the error are considered UNEARNED runs.
Earned runs are also runs scored as a result of players who were left on base
when the pitcher exited the game.  Here are some examples:

	If there are two outs in an inning and there are men on base.  If
	an error occurs that represents the third out, all of the runs after
	this error and NOT counted as earned runs.

	If a pitcher issues some base on balls (walks), and leaves the game
	before the inning is completed, he is responsible for the people who
	were left on base.  If the those runners who were left on base score,
	and the score was not a result of an error, those eraned runs are
	attributed to the pitcher who left the game.

I hope this explains things for you.