Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
I was looking at the league leaders the other day and noticed something odd. The best ERA in the American League was Johan Santana's 3.03 followed closely by rookie Justin Verlander's 3.05. The NL was led by Rookie Josh Johnson with a 2.90 ERA. Brandon Webb's 2.99 was the only other ERA under three.
There are a number of oddities surrounding this rather mundane seeming numbers.
First, if they hold up they would be among the top twelve highest ERAs for a league leader all-time. There have only been six ERA leaders over 3.00 in baseball history: Here are the highest with this year's leaders included:
| Name | Yr | Lg | ERA | W | L | W PCT | WHIP | IP | Lg ERA | Adj ERA |
| Early Wynn | 1950 | AL | 3.20 | 18 | 8 | .692 | 1.25 | 213.7 | 4.58 | 143 |
| Ted Breitenstein | 1893 | NL | 3.18 | 19 | 24 | .442 | 1.35 | 382.7 | 4.66 | 147 |
| Bill Walker | 1929 | NL | 3.09 | 14 | 7 | .667 | 1.38 | 177.7 | 4.71 | 152 |
| Lefty Grove | 1938 | AL | 3.08 | 14 | 4 | .778 | 1.35 | 163.7 | 4.79 | 156 |
| Freddy Garcia | 2001 | AL | 3.05 | 18 | 6 | .750 | 1.12 | 238.7 | 4.47 | 146 |
| Johan Santana | 2006 | AL | 3.03 | 15 | 5 | .750 | 1.03 | 184.33 | 4.59 | 152 |
| Warren Spahn | 1961 | NL | 3.02 | 21 | 13 | .618 | 1.14 | 262.7 | 4.03 | 134 |
| Rick Sutcliffe | 1982 | AL | 2.96 | 14 | 8 | .636 | 1.26 | 216.0 | 4.07 | 138 |
| Mel Harder | 1933 | AL | 2.95 | 15 | 17 | .469 | 1.27 | 253.0 | 4.28 | 145 |
| Elmer Smith | 1887 | AA | 2.94 | 34 | 17 | .667 | 1.18 | 447.3 | 4.29 | 146 |
| Juan Guzman | 1996 | AL | 2.93 | 11 | 8 | .579 | 1.12 | 187.7 | 5.00 | 171 |
| Josh Johnson | 2006 | NL | 2.90 | 11 | 6 | .647 | 1.27 | 133.7 | 4.50 | 155 |
However, I think it is even more odd that Johnson's 2.90 would be the highest ever for a major-league leader in any two-league season. To translate, it would be the highest except for some guy you never heard of in a season before the AL came to be. Here are the highest major-league leaders including Johnson:
| Name | Yr | ERA | W | L | W PCT | WHIP | IP |
| Ted Breitenstein | 1893 | 3.18 | 19 | 24 | .442 | 1.35 | 382.7 |
| Josh Johnson | 2006 | 2.90 | 11 | 6 | .647 | 1.27 | 133.7 |
| Dan Casey | 1887 | 2.86 | 28 | 13 | .683 | 1.26 | 390.3 |
| Lefty Grove | 1929 | 2.81 | 20 | 6 | .769 | 1.30 | 275.3 |
| Saul Rogovin | 1951 | 2.78 | 12 | 8 | .600 | 1.21 | 216.7 |
| Amos Rusie | 1894 | 2.78 | 36 | 13 | .735 | 1.41 | 444.0 |
| Jimmy Key | 1987 | 2.76 | 17 | 8 | .680 | 1.06 | 261.0 |
| George Zettlein | 1871 | 2.73 | 18 | 9 | .667 | 1.34 | 240.7 |
| Jim Palmer | 1970 | 2.71 | 20 | 10 | .667 | 1.19 | 305.0 |
| J.R. Richard | 1979 | 2.71 | 18 | 13 | .581 | 1.09 | 292.3 |
| Sal Maglie | 1950 | 2.71 | 18 | 4 | .818 | 1.24 | 206.0 |
Johnson also could become the first rookie ERA champ since Mark "The Bird" Fidrych, thirty years ago. He would also be just the fourteenth rookie to lead the majors in ERA. If Johnson and Verlander both win their league's ERA crown, it would be the first time that two rookies won the titles. Here are all the rookie ERA champs:
| Name | Yr | Lg | ERA | W | L | W PCT | WHIP | IP | Lg ERA | Led MLB? |
| Josh Johnson | 2006 | NL | 2.90 | 11 | 6 | .647 | 1.27 | 133.7 | 4.50 | Y |
| Mark Fidrych | 1976 | AL | 2.34 | 19 | 9 | .679 | 1.08 | 250.3 | 3.52 | Y |
| Gary Peters | 1963 | AL | 2.33 | 19 | 8 | .704 | 1.07 | 243.0 | 3.63 | N |
| Hoyt Wilhelm | 1952 | NL | 2.43 | 15 | 3 | .833 | 1.15 | 159.3 | 3.73 | N |
| Chet Nichols | 1951 | NL | 2.88 | 11 | 8 | .579 | 1.35 | 156.0 | 3.96 | N |
| Mike Garcia | 1949 | AL | 2.36 | 14 | 5 | .737 | 1.22 | 175.7 | 4.20 | Y |
| Gene Bearden | 1948 | AL | 2.43 | 20 | 7 | .741 | 1.28 | 229.7 | 4.29 | N |
| Elmer Riddle | 1941 | NL | 2.24 | 19 | 4 | .826 | 1.10 | 216.7 | 3.63 | Y |
| Jim Turner | 1937 | NL | 2.38 | 20 | 11 | .645 | 1.09 | 256.7 | 3.91 | N |
| Cy Blanton | 1935 | NL | 2.58 | 18 | 13 | .581 | 1.08 | 254.3 | 4.02 | Y |
| Wilcy Moore | 1927 | AL | 2.28 | 19 | 7 | .731 | 1.15 | 213.0 | 4.14 | Y |
| Jeff Tesreau | 1912 | NL | 1.96 | 17 | 7 | .708 | 1.16 | 243.0 | 3.40 | N |
| Vean Gregg | 1911 | AL | 1.80 | 23 | 7 | .767 | 1.05 | 244.7 | 3.34 | Y |
| King Cole | 1910 | NL | 1.80 | 20 | 4 | .833 | 1.27 | 239.7 | 3.02 | N |
| Harry Krause | 1909 | AL | 1.39 | 18 | 8 | .692 | 0.94 | 213.0 | 2.47 | N |
| Frank Killen | 1891 | AA | 1.68 | 7 | 4 | .636 | 1.28 | 96.7 | 3.72 | Y |
| Billy Rhines | 1890 | NL | 1.95 | 28 | 17 | .622 | 1.12 | 401.3 | 3.56 | Y |
| Jack Stivetts | 1889 | AA | 2.25 | 12 | 7 | .632 | 1.15 | 191.7 | 3.84 | Y |
| Denny Driscoll | 1882 | AA | 1.21 | 13 | 9 | .591 | 0.87 | 201.0 | 2.68 | Y |
| Tim Keefe | 1880 | NL | 0.86 | 6 | 6 | .500 | 0.84 | 105.0 | 2.38 | Y |
| John Ward | 1878 | NL | 1.51 | 22 | 13 | .629 | 1.02 | 334.0 | 2.30 | Y |
| George Zettlein | 1871 | NA | 2.73 | 18 | 9 | .667 | 1.34 | 240.7 | 4.22 | Y |
Finally, if Santana wins the AL ERA crown, he would be the 41st pitcher to lead his league in ERA more than once. Here are the men with the most ERA crowns:
| Name | # Yrs |
| Lefty Grove | 9 |
| Roger Clemens | 7 |
| Christy Mathewson | 5 |
| Sandy Koufax | 5 |
| Walter Johnson | 5 |
| Pedro Martinez | 5 |
| Randy Johnson | 4 |
| Pete Alexander | 4 |
| Greg Maddux | 4 |
| Dazzy Vance | 3 |
| Jim Palmer | 3 |
| Carl Hubbell | 3 |
| Tom Seaver | 3 |
| Warren Spahn | 3 |
| Tim Keefe | 3 |
Um...huh? What does that mean?
I notice that, on the list of rookie ERA leaders, every pitcher on the list except Wilhelm (converted to relief) and Gary Peters went on to a career that would come as a serious disappointment to Josh J.
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