So this whole walk versus earned run thing started bugging me during last weekend’s little league game. I was sitting there keeping score like always, pencil scribbling away, when suddenly I had to stop. A kid walked, then later scored, and I froze. Does that mess up the pitcher’s ERA or what? Damn numbers never seem to line up clean.
Digging Out the Old Rulebook
Right after the game, I hustled home and dumped my dusty baseball rulebook on the kitchen table. Crumbs went flying everywhere. Flipped straight to the pitching stats section, squinting at the tiny print. Rule 10.18(a), or whatever number it was buried under. Needed my glasses for this one.
- First thing: Reads “An earned run is a run scored without help from errors or passed balls.” Okay, simple enough on paper.
- Then it dives deeper: Says if a runner gets on base because of a walk, hit-by-pitch, or whatever, and later scores, that run still hangs on the pitcher, earned or not… unless something weird happened afterward.
My eyes almost popped out. So even if the guy gets to first base without hitting the ball, him crossing home later counts as the pitcher’s problem? Had to read that part three times. “So the dang walk itself IS the pitcher’s fault!” I yelled at the page.
The Big “But…”
But hold up. The rulebook had a sneaky little twist. If that runner who walked eventually scores only because of some boneheaded error later in the inning? Ah, now we talk! Suddenly, that run isn’t pinned on the pitcher anymore. It magically turns unearned. Blame shifts to the fielder who botched the play.
I grabbed my scorecard from last Sunday to test this. Kid named Jake walked. Two batters later, Tommy boots an easy grounder, Jake scampers home. Using the rulebook logic, Jake’s run ain’t earned! Marked that sucker with a big ‘U’ for unearned. Felt weird leaving it off the pitcher’s ERA.
- Got it straight now: Walks are always the pitcher’s screw-up. Full stop.
- But: Whether the run is earned comes down to what happens AFTER the walk. Clean plays = earned run. Dumb errors erase it.
Stared at my messy scorecards with new eyes. Those walks matter, but the errors afterward change the story completely. Keep track of the sequence, or the numbers lie. Gotta remember this next time I’m arguing stats with Bob behind the backstop!
