[Le Grande Orange]

The subject of pre-1951 ERA titles was examined in an article by Dan Levitt in SABR's The National Pastime No. 25. What follows is a summary of that article.

In 1917 the NL adopted the standard that a pitcher had to have pitched a minimum of 10 complete games in order to qualify as an ERA leader. Before that, the league used a variety of standards: 1912, 15 games pitched; 1913, 5 complete games; 1914-15, 15 games pitched; 1916, 12 games pitched.

The AL adopted the 10 CG standard in 1946. Before then, the league used various criteria. Up until 1919, the AL simply listed the top pitchers by ERA without identifying a standard. In 1919 the AL finally adopted a standard: a minimum of 45 innings pitched. The next year it changed to 10 CGs, but then in 1921 it reverted to 45 IP. The following year it switched back to 10 CGs, where it remained for three seasons. In 1925 it once again reverted back to 45 IP.

The result of such actions was often a difference between the pitchers topping the AL's official list as opposed to how The Sporting News ranked pitchers. The latter invoked either a 100 IP or a 10 CG minimum, depending on the year, in order to determine what it considered the proper ERA leading pitcher if the publication felt the pitcher heading the AL's list wasn't really deserving of the title.

In 1951 the standard was changed to one IP per team game. (The affiliated minor leagues use a lower threshold of 0.8 IP per team game.)