Statisticians needed! What do the stats tell us about foreign pitchers in MLB?

[Cubano100%]

I am trying to compare Cuban players stats against other foreign players.


I am not an Statistician and never took a Statistics class in college. If any one has a background in Statistics, you are more than welcome to provide your input. For instance, how much a large number or small number may affect the results.


For all others Baseball-Fever users, you can also give your opinion about what you think about my findings.

If anyone have to rate the players from these countries with the current information I have provided, which country has done better. If the info provided is not enough, what other info is needed?

Mean: add up all the values in a set of data and then divide that sum by the number of values in the dataset.

Median: the value in the middle.

Standard deviation: the standard deviation is kind of the "mean of the mean," and often can help you find the story behind the data. To understand this concept, it can help to learn about what statisticians call normal distribution of data.

A normal distribution of data means that most of the examples in a set of data are close to the "average," while relatively few examples tend to one extreme or the other.

A large SD tells you that the data are fairly diverse, while a small SD tells you the data are pretty tightly bunched together. If you'll be doing a lot of work with numbers or scientific research, it will be worth your time to learn a bit about the standard deviation.

http://www.robertniles.com/stats/

Since 1993 when the first Cuban baseball player, Rene Arocha, defected, these are the pitchers and their MLB stats for the following countries.

You may want to check my calculations because I may have made mistakes.

Cuban Pitchers

Player ERA

13 players

René Arocha 4.11
Ariel Prieto 4.85
Osvaldo Fernández 4.93
Liván Hernández 4.11
Rolando Arrojo 4.55
Orlando "Duque" Hernández 4.11
Vladimir Núñez 4.83
Michael Tejera 5.14
Adrián Hernández 6.55
Eddie Oropesa 7.34
Danys Báez 3.69
Hansel Izquierdo 4.55
José Contreras 4.28

Total 63.04
Ave ERA or Mean 4.85
Median 4.55
Standard Deviation 1.03


Japanese Pitchers

17 players

Hideo Nomo 4.21
Mac Suzuki 5.72
Hideki Irabu 5.15
Takashi Kashiwada 4.31
Shigetoshi Hasegawa 3.71
Masato Yoshii 4.62
Tomo Ohka 3.95
Masao Kida 5.83
Kazuhiro Sasaki 3.14
Satoru Komiyama 5.61
Takahito Nomura 8.56
Kazuhisa Ishii 4.44
Mike Nakamura 7.51
Shingo Takatsu 3.38
Kazuhito Tadano 4.47
Akinori Otsuka 2.57
Keiichi Yabu 4.5

Total 81.68
Ave ERA or Mean 4.8
Median 4.47
Standard Deviation 1.52



Venezuelan Pitchers

33 players

Omar Daal 4.55
Carlos Pulido 5.98
Juan Castillo 6.94
Felipe Lira 5.32
Dilson Torres 6.09
Ugueth Urbina 3.45
Edwin Hurtado 6.67
Giovanni Carrara 4.7
Alexander Pacheco 11.12
Edgar Ramos 5.14
Jeremi Gonzalez 4.84
Kelvin Escobar 4.38
Oscar Henriquez 6.06
Freddy Garcia 3.93
Beiker Graterol 15.75
Horacio Estrada 7.5
Orber Moreno 4.44
Carlos Hernandez 4.54
Antonio Armas Jr 4.32
Johan Santana 3.31
Ruben Quevedo 6.15
Darwin Cubillan 6.85
William Martinez 3
Victor Zambrano 4.38
Carlos Zambrano 3.26
Carlos Silva 3.84
Alex Herrera 5.11
Francisco Rodriguez 2.44
Wilfredo Ledezma 5.73
Rosman Garcia 5.94
Rafael Betancourt 3.08
Eduardo Villacis 13.5
Gustavo Chacin 3.65

Total 185.96
Ave ERA or Mean 5.64
Median 4.84
Standard Deviation 2.87

Dominican Pitchers
125 players - 3 players that have not stats = 112 players


Domingo Jean 4.46
Pedro Martínez 2.72
Julian Tavárez 4.33
Salomón Torres 4.48
Miguel Jiménez 5.9
Armando Benítez 2.92
Héctor Carrasco 3.94
José Lima 5.21
José Martínez 6.75
José Mercedes 4.75
Luis Andújar 5.98
Ramón Fermín 13.5
Wilson Heredia 3.41
Ramón Morel 4.98
José Parra 6.09
Carlos Pérez 4.44
Alberto Reyes 3.6
Félix Rodríguez 3.51
Carlos Valdez 5
Félix Heredia 4.42
José Paniagua 4.49
Rafael Quirico 37.8
Nerio Rodríguez 6.32
Amaury Telemaco 4.94
Dario Veras 4.67
Esteban Yan 5.12
Antonio Alfonseca 3.95
Carlos Almanzar 4.82
Manny Aybar 5.11
José Cabrera 4.95
Robinson Checo 7.61
Bartolo Colón 3.94
Nelson Cruz 5.04
Roberto Durán 6.58
Fernando Hernández 40.5
Julio Santana 5.26
Ramón Tatis 6.82
Valerio de los Santos 4.54
Lariel González 0
José Jimenez 4.92
Odalis Pérez 4.07
Rafael Roque 5.36
Jesús Sanchez 5.32
Marino Santana 7.94
Juan Peña 0.69
Guillermo Mota 3.61
Damaso Marte 3.2
Willis Roberts 4.64
Luis Vizcaíno 4.36
Hector Almonte 6.27
Francisco Cordero 3.26
Jesús Peña 5.21
Ramón Ortíz 4.72
Héctor Ramírez 5.4
Domingo Guzmán 19.5
Octavio Dotel 3.63
Geraldo Guzmán 5.04
Yovanny Lara 6.25
Lorenzo Barcelo 4.5
Pascual Coco 6.05
Leo Estrella 4.88
Leslie Brea 12.27
Daniel A. Mota 8.44
José Núñez 4.5
Víctor Santos 4.99
Wascar Serrano 6.56
José Acevedo 5.74
Jesús Colomé 4.7
Joaquin Benoit 5.17
Luis Pineda 4.44
Juan Carlos Cruz 4.36
Benito Báez 13.5
Miguel Asencio 5.14
Jorge Sosa 4.41
Rafael Soriano 3.24
Julio Mateo 3.56
Fernando Rodney 4.52
Duaner Sanchez 4.19
Runelvys Hernández 5
Reynaldo García 11.25
Luis de los Santos
Francis Beltrán 5.87
Ricardo Rodríguez 5.18
Franklyn Germán 4.75
Aquilino López 3.72
Claudio Vargas 4.96
José Valverde 2.71
Julio Mañon 4.13
Rodrigo Rosario 1.13
Edwin Almonte 11.12
Juan Domínguez 4.6
Félix Sánchez 10.8
Luis Martínez 9.92
Jorge de Paula 4
Fraklin Graceski
Félix Díaz 6.75
Daniel Cabrera 4.75
Franklin Francisco 3.33
Anastacio Martínez 8.44
Denny Bautista 7.03
Elizardo Ramírez 6.99
Eddy Rodríguez 4.78
Arnie Muñoz 10.05
Bartolomé Fortunato 3.81
Gregori Aquino 5.27
Roberto Novoa 4.8
Merkin Valdez 27
Yhency Brazoban 4.44
Jairo García 9.35
Jorge Vázquez
Franklin Núñez 7.47
Román Colón 5.09
Jerry Gil 0
Pedro Liriano 6.17
José Capellán 5.7
Francisco Cruceta 9.39

Total 711.15
Ave ERA or Mean 6.35
Median 4.97
Standard Deviation 5.5



Puerto Rican Pitchers

24 players

Angel Miranda 4.46
Bobby Munoz 5.17
Jose Alberro 7.41
Rafael Carmona 4.94
Michael James 3.67
Ricardo Jordan 5.25
Roberto Rivera 4.5
Frankie Rodriguez 5.53
Jose Rosado 4.27
Jose Santiago 4.36
Javier Martinez 4.83
Juan Romero 4.35
Javier Vazquez 4.28
Hector Mercado 4.55
Jose Rodriguez 9
Nelson Figueroa 4.65
Ismael Villegas 13.5
Joel Pineiro 4.11
Dicky Gonzalez 5.02
Pedro Feliciano 4.21
Javier Lopez 6.09
Kiko Calero 2.97
Juan Padilla 4.06
Fernando Cabrera 1.75

Total 122.93
Ave ERA or Mean 5.12
Median 4.6
Standard Deviation 2.25

Mexican Pitchers

26 players

Ismael Valdez 4.09
Juan Acevedo 4.33
Cesar Tavo Alvarez 5.4
Andres Berumen 5.66
Esteban Loiza 4.6
Isidro Marquez 6.75
Antonio Osuna 3.68
Francisco Cordova 3.96
Elmer Dessens 4.4
Jose Silva 5.41
Rigoberto Beltran 4.4
Dennis Reyes 4.8
Ricardo Rincon 3.53
Roberto Ramirez 7.69
Miguel del Toro 4.61
David Cortes 4.55
Luis Rivera 1.23
Daniel Garibay 6.03
Rodrigo Lopez 4.56
Oliver Perez 4.26
Victor Alvarez 7.31
Luis Ayala 2.75
Oscar Villareal 3.47
Edgar Gonzalez 8.58
Juan Cerros 4.85
Jorge de la Rosa 5.12


Total 126.02
Ave ERA or Mean 4.85
Median 4.58
Standard Deviation 1.5

[Cubano100%]

The same info sorted for your convinience!

Cuban Pitchers
3.69
4.11
4.11
4.11
4.28
4.55
4.55
4.83
4.85
4.93
5.14
6.55
7.34

Total 63.04
Ave ERA or Mean 4.85
Median 4.55
Standard Deviation 1.03

Japanese Pitchers
2.57
3.14
3.38
3.71
3.95
4.21
4.31
4.44
4.47
4.5
4.62
5.15
5.61
5.72
5.83
7.51
8.56

Total 81.68
Ave ERA or Mean 4.8
Median 4.47
Standard Deviation 1.52

Venezuelan Pitchers
2.44
3
3.08
3.26
3.31
3.45
3.65
3.84
3.93
4.32
4.38
4.38
4.44
4.54
4.55
4.7
4.84
5.11
5.14
5.32
5.73
5.94
5.98
6.06
6.09
6.15
6.67
6.85
6.94
7.5
11.12
13.5
15.75


Total 185.96
Ave ERA or Mean 5.64
Median 4.84
Standard Deviation 2.87

Dominican Pitchers
0
0.69
1.13
2.71
2.72
2.92
3.2
3.24
3.26
3.33
3.41
3.51
3.56
3.6
3.61
3.63
3.72
3.81
3.94
3.94
3.95
4
4.07
4.13
4.19
4.33
4.36
4.36
4.41
4.42
4.44
4.44
4.44
4.46
4.48
4.49
4.5
4.5
4.52
4.54
4.6
4.64
4.67
4.7
4.72
4.75
4.75
4.75
4.78
4.8
4.82
4.88
4.92
4.94
4.95
4.96
4.98
4.99
5
5
5.04
5.04
5.09
5.11
5.12
5.14
5.17
5.18
5.21
5.21
5.26
5.27
5.32
5.36
5.4
5.7
5.74
5.87
5.9
5.98
6.05
6.09
6.17
6.25
6.27
6.32
6.56
6.58
6.75
6.75
6.82
6.99
7.03
7.47
7.61
7.94
8.44
8.44
9.35
9.39
9.92
10.05
10.8
11.12
11.25
12.27
13.5
13.5
19.5
27
37.8
40.5


Total 711.15
Ave ERA or Mean 6.35
Median 4.97
Standard Deviation 5.5


Puerto Rican Pitchers
1.75
2.97
3.67
4.06
4.11
4.21
4.27
4.28
4.35
4.36
4.46
4.5
4.55
4.65
4.83
4.94
5.02
5.17
5.25
5.53
6.09
7.41
9
13.5


Total 122.93
Ave ERA or Mean 5.12
Median 4.6
Standard Deviation 2.25

Mexican Pitchers
1.23
2.75
3.47
3.53
3.68
3.96
4.09
4.26
4.33
4.4
4.4
4.55
4.56
4.6
4.61
4.8
4.85
5.12
5.4
5.41
5.66
6.03
6.75
7.31
7.69
8.58

Total 126.02
Ave ERA or Mean 4.85
Median 4.58
Standard Deviation 1.5

[SABR Matt]

You should probably weight those averages by IP.

a pitcher who posts a 13.50 ERA in 1 inning should not have the same pull on the average as a pitcher like Pedro who throws 2000 innings.

[Cubano100%]

Allright people! I calculated the different countries ERA. I missed a couple Dominican pitchers so I added them to the list. The lowest team ERAs are as follow:

Venezuelan Pitchers

ERA ER IP

Omar Daal 4.55 606 1198.2
Carlos Pulido 5.98 74 111.1
Juan Castillo 6.94 9 11.2
Felipe Lira 5.32 341 577.1
Dilson Torres 6.09 30 44.1
Ugueth Urbina 3.45 267 697.1
Edwin Hurtado 6.67 107 144.1
Giovanni Carrara 4.7 232 444.2
Alexander Pacheco 11.12 7 5.2
Edgar Ramos 5.14 8 14
Jeremi Gonzalez 4.84 278 516.2
Kelvin Escobar 4.38 543 1117
Oscar Henriquez 6.06 35 52
Freddy Garcia 3.93 623 1427.1
Beiker Graterol 15.75 7 4
Horacio Estrada 7.5 30 36
Orber Moreno 4.44 25 50.2
Carlos Hernandez 4.54 86 170.2
Antonio Armas Jr 4.32 320 666.1
Johan Santana 3.31 315 856
Ruben Quevedo 6.15 223 326.1
Darwin Cubillan 6.85 53 69.2
William Martinez 3 1 3
Victor Zambrano 4.38 322 662
Carlos Zambrano 3.26 276 763
Carlos Silva 3.84 240 562.2
Alex Herrera 5.11 7 12.1
Francisco Rodriguez 2.44 66 243
Wilfredo Ledezma 5.73 119 187
Rosman Garcia 5.94 35 53
Rafael Betancourt 3.08 59 172.1
Eduardo Villacis 13.5 5 3.1
Gustavo Chacin 3.65 88 217

Total 185.96 5437 11413.9
Ave ERA 5.64
Team ERA 4.29


Japanese Pitchers

17 players
ERA ER IP
Hideo Nomo 4.21 923 1972
Mac Suzuki 5.72 296 465.2
Hideki Irabu 5.15 294 514
Takashi Kashiwada 4.31 15 31.1
Shigetoshi Hasegawa 3.71 297 720.1
Masato Yoshii 4.62 389 757.1
Tomo Ohka 3.95 371 846
Masao Kida 5.83 62 95.2
Kazuhiro Sasaki 3.14 78 223.1
Satoru Komiyama 5.61 27 43.1
Takahito Nomura 8.56 13 13.2
Kazuhisa Ishii 4.44 278 564
Mike Nakamura 7.51 32 38.1
Shingo Takatsu 3.38 37 98.2
Kazuhito Tadano 4.47 27 54.1
Akinori Otsuka 2.57 40 140
Keiichi Yabu 4.5 29 58

Total 81.68 3208 6632.5
Ave ERA 4.8
Team ERA 4.35

Mexican Pitchers

ERA ER IP

Ismael Valdez 4.09 830 1827.1
Juan Acevedo 4.33 274 570
Cesar Tavo Alvarez 5.4 35 58.1
Andres Berumen 5.66 30 47.2
Esteban Loaiza 4.6 960 1880
Isidro Marquez 6.75 5 6.2
Antonio Osuna 3.68 200 488.2
Francisco Cordova 3.96 332 753.2
Elmer Dessens 4.4 479 979.2
Jose Silva 5.41 257 427.1
Rigoberto Beltran 4.4 52 106.1
Dennis Reyes 4.8 277 519.2
Ricardo Rincon 3.53 171 436.1
Roberto Ramirez 7.69 47 55
Miguel del Toro 4.61 21 41
David Cortes 4.55 30 59.1
Luis Rivera 1.23 1 7.1
Daniel Garibay 6.03 50 74.2
Rodrigo Lopez 4.56 379 748.1
Oliver Perez 4.26 244 515.2
Victor Alvarez 7.31 13 16
Luis Ayala 2.75 71 232.1
Oscar Villareal 3.47 50 129.2
Edgar Gonzalez 8.58 62 65
Juan Cerros 4.85 7 13
Jorge de la Rosa 5.12 37 65


Total 126.02 4914 10117.7
Ave ERA 4.85
Team ERA 4.37


Cuban Pitchers

Player ERA ER IP
13 players
René Arocha 4.11 151 331
Ariel Prieto 4.85 190 352.1
Osvaldo Fernández 4.93 212 387
Liván Hernández 4.11 891 1950.2
Rolando Arrojo 4.55 354 700
Orlando "Duque" Hernández 4.11 459 1004.2
Vladimir Núñez 4.83 219 408.1
Michael Tejera 5.14 136 238.1
Adrián Hernández 6.55 32 44
Eddie Oropesa 7.34 75 92
Danys Báez 3.69 177 431.2
Hansel Izquierdo 4.55 15 29.2
José Contreras 4.28 212 446

Total 63.04 3123 6413.1
Ave ERA 4.85
Team ERA 4.38

Dominican Pitchers

ERA ER IP

Domingo Jean 4.46 20 40.1
Pedro Martínez 2.72 759 2513
Julian Tavárez 4.33 520 1081.1
Salomón Torres 4.48 309 621.1
Miguel Jiménez 5.9 40 61
Armando Benítez 2.92 222 684
Héctor Carrasco 3.94 304 693.2
José Lima 5.21 898 1550.1
José Martínez 6.75 9 12
José Mercedes 4.75 308 583
Luis Andújar 5.98 82 123.1
Ramón Fermín 13.5 2 1.1
Wilson Heredia 3.41 12 31.2
Ramón Morel 4.98 33 59.2
José Parra 6.09 123 181.2
Carlos Pérez 4.44 406 822.2
Alberto Reyes 3.6 138 345.1
Félix Rodríguez 3.51 217 557
Carlos Valdez 5 10 18
Félix Heredia 4.42 225 458.1
José Paniagua 4.49 178 357
Rafael Quirico 37.8 7 1.2
Nerio Rodríguez 6.32 51 72.2
Amaury Telemaco 4.94 308 561
Dario Veras 4.67 32 61.2
Esteban Yan 5.12 374 658
Antonio Alfonseca 3.95 240 547.1
Carlos Almanzar 4.82 128 239
Manny Aybar 5.11 222 391
José Cabrera 4.95 149 271
Robinson Checo 7.61 31 36.2
Bartolo Colón 3.94 797 1819.2
Nelson Cruz 5.04 195 348.1
Roberto Durán 6.58 19 26
Fernando Hernández 40.5 6 1.1
Julio Santana 5.26 275 470.2
Ramón Tatis 6.82 51 67.1
Valerio de los Santos 4.54 125 248
Lariel González 0 0 1
José Jimenez 4.92 285 521.1
Odalis Pérez 4.07 412 911.2
Rafael Roque 5.36 82 137.2
Jesús Sanchez 5.32 310 524.2
Marino Santana 7.94 10 11.1
Juan Peña 0.69 1 13
Guillermo Mota 3.61 186 464.1
Damaso Marte 3.2 108 304
Willis Roberts 4.64 134 259.2
Luis Vizcaíno 4.36 167 344.2
Hector Almonte 6.27 36 51.2
Francisco Cordero 3.26 133 367.1
Jesús Peña 5.21 27 46.2
Ramón Ortíz 4.72 559 1065
Héctor Ramírez 5.4 18 30
Domingo Guzmán 19.5 13 6
Octavio Dotel 3.63 242 600.1
Geraldo Guzmán 5.04 39 69.2
Yovanny Lara 6.25 4 5.2
Lorenzo Barcelo 4.5 33 66
Pascual Coco 6.05 13 19.1
Leo Estrella 4.88 39 72
Leslie Brea 12.27 15 11
Daniel A. Mota 8.44 5 5.1
José Núñez 4.5 30 60
Víctor Santos 4.99 235 423.2
Wascar Serrano 6.56 34 46.2
José Acevedo 5.74 235 368.1
Jesús Colomé 4.7 131 250.2
Joaquin Benoit 5.17 221 384.2
Luis Pineda 4.44 25 50.2
Juan Carlos Cruz 4.36 149 307.2
Benito Báez 13.5 14 9.1
Miguel Asencio 5.14 98 171.2
Jorge Sosa 4.41 226 461.1
Rafael Soriano 3.24 40 111
Julio Mateo 3.56 100 252.2
Fernando Rodney 4.52 46 91.2
Duaner Sanchez 4.19 81 174
Runelvys Hernández 5 181 325.2
Reynaldo García 11.25 25 20
Luis de los Santos
Francis Beltrán 5.87 40 61.1
Ricardo Rodríguez 5.18 119 206.2
Franklyn Germán 4.75 66 125
Aquilino López 3.72 46 111.1
Claudio Vargas 4.96 201 364.2
José Valverde 2.71 44 146.1
Julio Mañon 4.13 13 28.1
Rodrigo Rosario 1.13 1 8
Edwin Almonte 11.12 14 11.1
Juan Domínguez 4.6 56 109.2
Félix Sánchez 10.8 2 1.2
Luis Martínez 9.92 18 16.1
Jorge de Paula 4 12 27
Fraklin Graceski
Félix Díaz 6.75 37 49.1
Daniel Cabrera 4.75 163 309
Franklin Francisco 3.33 19 51.1
Anastacio Martínez 8.44 10 10.2
Denny Bautista 7.03 51 65.1
Elizardo Ramírez 6.99 29 37.1
Eddy Rodríguez 4.78 23 43.1
Arnie Muñoz 10.05 16 14.1
Bartolomé Fortunato 3.81 11 26
Gregori Aquino 5.27 39 66.2
Roberto Novoa 4.8 35 65.2
Merkin Valdez 27 5 1.2
Yhency Brazoban 4.44 52 105.1
Jairo García 9.35 9 8.2
Jorge Vázquez
Franklin Núñez 7.47 13 15.2
Román Colón 5.09 50 88.1
Jerry Gil 0
Pedro Liriano 6.17 16 23.1
José Capellán 5.7
Francisco Cruceta 9.39
Erwin Santana 4.65 69 133.2
Ambiorix Burgos
Ezequiel Astacio 5.67 51 81
Leo Nunez 7.55 45 53.2
Robinson Tejada
Wandy Rodriguez 5.53 79 128.2
Joel Peralta 3.89 15 34.2
Franquelis Osoria 3.94 13 29.2
Eude Brito 3.68 9 22
Edison Volquez 14.21 20 12.2
Francisco Liriano 5.7 15 23.2


Total 711.15 14093 28604.3
Ave ERA 6.35
Team ERA 4.43


Puerto Rican Pitchers

ERA ER IP
Angel Miranda 4.46 180 363.1
Bobby Munoz 5.17 160 278.1
Jose Alberro 7.41 48 58.1
Rafael Carmona 4.94 85 155
Michael James 3.67 128 314
Ricardo Jordan 5.25 41 70.1
Roberto Rivera 4.5 6 12
Frankie Rodriguez 5.53 402 654
Jose Rosado 4.27 342 720.1
Jose Santiago 4.36 145 299
Javier Martinez 4.83 22 41
Juan Romero 4.35 197 407.2
Javier Vazquez 4.28 782 1643
Hector Mercado 4.55 63 124.2
Jose Rodriguez 9 8 8
Nelson Figueroa 4.65 135 261.1
Ismael Villegas 13.5 4 2.2
Joel Pineiro 4.11 379 830.1
Dicky Gonzalez 5.02 37 66.1
Pedro Feliciano 4.21 34 72.2
Javier Lopez 6.09 78 115.1
Kiko Calero 2.97 46 139.1
Juan Padilla 4.06 28 62
Fernando Cabrera 1.75 7 36

Total 122.93 3357 6730.8
Ave ERA 5.12
Team ERA 4.49__________________

[SABR Matt]

Very interesting breakdown...glad to see Japanese pitchers did so well.

[digglahhh]

The Venezuelan pitchers aren't that great as a whole, but they are certainly aided by the weighting of Zambrano and Santana.

In the same spirit, the Dominican's couldn't pull it out, even with Pedro's 2500+ innings of 2.72 ERA pitching.

I think it may be reasonable to put a floor on innings needed to qualify. Maybe a pitcher should have to pitch 100 innings or so. There are a lot of guys on these lists who are really just "failed experiments."