Pitching Grades

The numeric pitching grades assigned by APBA are not used for ABA play. Instead, the numeric grade for each pitcher is calculated using the table below.

ERA If APBA Walk Rating is: IP Adjustments Minimum Grade For
Z Blank W 150-199 200 up Wins Saves
0.00 - 1.99 Higher of APBA grade or next line of table 31+ -
2.00 - 2.20 18Z 19 20W - - 30 50+
2.21 - 2.35 17Z 18 19W - - 29 -
2.36 - 2.50 16Z 17 18W - - 28 -
2.51 - 2.70 15Z 16 17W - - 27 -
2.71 - 2.90 14Z 15 16W - - 26 -
2.91 - 3.10 13Z 14 15W - - 25 40-49
3.11 - 3.30 12Z 13 14W - - 24 -
3.31 - 3.50 11Z 12 13W - - 23 -
3.51 - 3.60 10Z 11 12W - - 22 -
3.61 - 3.70 9Z 10 11W - - 21 -
3.71 - 3.80 8Z 9 10W - - 20 30-39
3.81 - 3.90 7Z 8 9W - - 19 -
3.91 - 4.00 6Z 7 8W - - 18 -
4.01 - 4.50 5Z 6 7W - - 17 -
4.51 - 5.00 4Z 5 6W - Add 1 16 -
5.01 - 5.50 3Z 4 5W Add 1 Add 2 15 -
5.51 - 6.00 2Z 3 4W Add 1 Add 2 14 -
6.01 - 6.50 1Z 2 3W Add 1 Add 2 13 -
6.51 - 7.00 1Z 1 2W - - 12 -
7.01 & up 1Z 1 1W - - - -

Instructions For Using Table:

  1. Obtain pitcher's Actual ERA
  2. If the MLB ERA for the corresponding major league season was lower than 3.70, obtain the number of points that it was lower than 3.70 and add that number to the pitcher's ERA
  3. If the MLB ERA for the corresponding major league season was higher than 4.20, obtain the number of points that it was higher than 4.20 and subtract that number from the pitcher's ERA
  4. Use the ERA calculated in Steps 1-3 and the pitcher's Walk Ratio to locate a pitching grade in the table
  5. Use the ERA calculated in Steps 1-3 and the pitcher's Actual IP to determine how many grade points (if any) to add to the pitching grade
  6. If the pitcher won 12 or more or saved 30 or more games, locate the pitching grade in the table corresponding to the appropriate number of wins/saves and the pitcher's Walk rating -- use this as the pitcher's grade only if it is higher than the grade calculcated in Steps 1-5

NOTE: Since the APBA Walk rating is one of the factors used in determining the pitching grades in the above table and since APBA doesn't issue these ratings until mid-January, the commissioner will typically estimate the walk ratings and issue a list of pitching grades in October. When the official APBA ratings are released, the ABA pitching grades will then be adjusted accordingly.