Pitching Logs
Baseball HQ's pitching logs provide outing-by-outing stat lines for every starting pitcher, including HQ's exclusive Pure Quality Start (PQS) rating system. These are downloadable files that you can use for your own analyses in Excel, Access or similar program.
More Information
SAMPLE PITCHING LOG FILE
(Excerpted from 2002)
NOTE: To try these files out in Excel, RIGHT-CLICK on a link above, select SAVE TARGET AS, and save the file to your computer. Then open the file in Excel as you normally would.
Evaluating and monitoring your pitchers' individual outings during the season is an important roster management exercise. A start-by-start log is critical to revealing trends that cumulative, season-to-date stats often hide.
It is also very important to be able to read each line score accurately, picking out the stats that are meaningful from those that are merely 'noise.' This allows us to gauge the overall effectiveness of that pitcher's day on the mound. HQ's exclusive Pure Quality Starts (PQS) system accomplishes this to perfection.
How is PQS different? The old Quality Start method -- minimum 6 IP, maximum 3 earned runs - is overly simplistic and does not measure any real skill. Bill James' Game Score methodology is better, but is not feasible for quick calculation.
In PQS, we give a starting pitcher credit for exhibiting certain skills in each of his starts. Then by tracking his "PQS Score" over time, we can follow his progress. Here are the criteria...
1. The pitcher must have gone a minimum of 6 innings. This measures stamina. For a 6 IP performance, the pitcher gets 1 point. If he goes less than 5 innings, he automatically gets a total PQS score of zero, no matter what other stats he posted.
2. He must have allowed no more than an equal number of hits to the number of innings pitched. This measures hit prevention and earns him 1 point.
3. His number of strikeouts must be no fewer than two less than his innings pitched (IP minus K must be 2 or less). This measures dominance and earns him 1 point.
4. He must have struck out at least twice as many batters as he walked. This measures command and earns him 1 point.
5. He must have allowed no more than one home run. This measures his ability to keep the ball in the park and earns him 1 point.
At first it may seem like a bit of work, but guaranteed, after a week or so, you'll be able to glance at a pitcher's stat line and immediately determine his PQS score. A perfect PQS score would be 5. Any pitcher who averages 3 or more over the course of the season is probably performing admirably. The nice thing about PQS is it allows you to approach each start as more than an all-or-nothing event.
Note the absence of earned runs. Just as Base Performance Value correlates to ERA and serves as a leading indicator -- without the use of earned runs -- so does PQS. No matter how many runs a pitcher allows, if he scores high on the PQS scale, he has hurled a good game in terms of his base skills. The number of runs allowed -- a function of not only the pitcher's ability but that of his bullpen and defense -- will even out over time.
Other information in these logs:
- Pitch counts
- 5-start rolling trends
- The percentage of Domination (PQS 4-5) and Disaster (PQS 0-1) starts
