earned run

In baseball, an earned run is a run scored by the opposing team without help from fielding errors or passed balls, charged directly to the pitcher's record. The earned run average (ERA) is baseball's primary statistic for evaluating pitcher performance—lower is better. A pitcher's ERA doesn't penalize them for defensive mistakes or wild pitches by catchers; only runs scored through honest hits and successful plays count as earned. This distinction matters enormously in evaluating pitcher skill versus team defense quality. Great pitchers maintain sub-3.00 ERAs; Hall of Famers often have ERAs below 3.50 across entire careers. The concept, invented in the 19th century, shaped how baseball evaluates performance.