earned run average

American  

[urnd ruhn av-er-ij, av-rij] / ˈɜrnd ˈrʌn ˌæv ər ɪdʒ, ˌæv rɪdʒ /

noun

Baseball.

1. a measure of the effectiveness of a pitcher, calculated by dividing the number of earned runs scored against the pitcher by the number of innings pitched and multiplying the result by nine: ERA

   His earned run average is currently a worrisome 6.21, as he has pitched 42 innings and given up 29 earned runs.

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Etymology

Origin of earned run average

First recorded in 1945–50

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

earned run average

She was 10-3 last year with a 1.49 earned run average and 132 strikeouts in 80 innings.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 22, 2026

With the Giants last season he went 4-11 with a 3.85 earned run average with 137 strikeouts in 152 innings pitched.

From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026

Last year he went 8-7 with a 3.23 earned run average for Baltimore, including a rare shutout.

From New York Times ● Mar. 10, 2023

Ward, a fifth-round pick out of Central Florida in 2018, posted a 2.14 earned run average in 2019 with 157 strikeouts in 126 1/3 innings and was Boston’s Minor League Pitcher of the Year.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 7, 2022

I think I had an earned run average of about one and a half in 1916.

From The Forest Monster of Oz by Evans, Bob