What are the requirements for a Quality start

[Crystalstorm]

Is a quality start 5 innings pitched with 3 or less earned runs or is it 6 innings pitched with 3 or fewer earned runs given up.

[J35J]

6 IP

[raiders_umpire]

6 innings pitched with 3 earned runs allowed or less

[Ender]

I prefer PQS developed by Baseball HQ. 4-5 points is a dominant start, 2-3 is an ok start, 0-1 is a disaster. What i like about it is it ignores ER's which really don't have a strong correlation with how well you pitched in a single game. Its downside is its obviously not readily available without paying money and coming up with the numbers for yourself can be tedius.

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.

[Lofunzo]

I especially don't like this 1:

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.

There are many "dominant" performances that don't involve many K's. Getting the hitters to get themselves out consistently is a key quality for some pitchers.

[Ender]

I especially don't like this 1:

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.

There are many "dominant" performances that don't involve many K's. Getting the hitters to get themselves out consistently is a key quality for some pitchers.

Luckily those pitchers can score a 4 and still have a dominant start and they are almost 100% heavy groundball pitchers who almost always score the 1 point for HR's allowed. Strike outs most certainly matter, very few pitchers have long sustained high quality careers where they don't strike out more than 6 per 9 IP these days.

[Snakes Gould]

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.

i dont like this one...we all know ER's arent a great way to measure a pitcher's success, but how about bad defense that would allow the opposing team to get hits?

[hot4tx]

1) Do not suck.

2) Do not suck.

3) Do not talk about fight club ...and don't suck either.

[Ender]

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.

i dont like this one...we all know ER's arent a great way to measure a pitcher's success, but how about bad defense that would allow the opposing team to get hits?

Well thats true but I don't think you will find a system detailed enough to take defense out of the equation on an individual game level. Its most certainly not a flawless system but its better than quality starts.

[activechamp2006]

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.

i dont like this one...we all know ER's arent a great way to measure a pitcher's success, but how about bad defense that would allow the opposing team to get hits?

I was thinking the same thing. A lot of times what would be outs for one pitcher may be singles for another just because his defense isnt as good. The fielder may not get an error, only because he wasn't close enough to get to the ball. But it was still a mistake on his part.