ERA+ (ERA Plus (Adjusted ERA))
ERA+ adjusts a pitcher’s ERA for their ballpark and league, then inverts the scale so that higher is better (opposite of raw ERA). It’s centered at 100 — a 130 ERA+ means the pitcher was 30% better than league average after adjustments.
The inversion trips people up at first. A 2.50 ERA is great and a 5.00 ERA is bad, but ERA+ flips it: 150+ is elite, 100 is average, and 70 is poor. Once you get used to the scale, it makes comparing pitchers across parks and eras much easier.
ERA+ has the same limitation as ERA itself: it includes outcomes the pitcher can’t control (defense, luck on balls in play). FIP and NUT Score address this by focusing on strikeouts, walks, and home runs only. But ERA+ remains the standard for historical pitcher comparisons because FIP data isn’t available for most of baseball history.
What is a good ERA+?
Like ERA+ adjusts ERA for context, NUT Score uses league-specific FIP constants each season to ensure fair comparison. Both solve the same problem — comparing pitchers across different environments.
How NUT Score works →