GUIDES · BETSLIP DOCTOR
How does Game Score summarize a start differently from a quality-start label?
A quality start is a binary cutoff: at least six innings and no more than three earned runs. MLB also lists Game Score formulas; its displayed updated Tom Tango version assigns a point total using outs, strikeouts, walks, hits, runs and home runs.
For Bettors and cappers learning to read baseball records · Updated
A quality start is a threshold
MLB defines a quality start as a start of at least six innings with three or fewer earned runs. It gives a yes-or-no label once those two conditions are checked.
The label does not show how many strikeouts or baserunners were in the outing.
Use a named Game Score formula
MLB's glossary lists Bill James's original formula and an updated version by Tom Tango from 2014. The updated Tango formula shown by MLB starts at 40, adds two points per out and one per strikeout, and subtracts points for walks, hits, runs and home runs.
For that version, the deductions are two points per walk, two per hit, three per run, whether earned or unearned, and six additional points per home run. A Game Score is a point total, not a probability or a quality-start label.
Two hypothetical quality starts
Fictional start A: 6 IP, 18 outs, 3 strikeouts, 4 hits, 1 walk, 1 total run (1 earned, 0 unearned) and no home runs. It is a quality start; updated Tango Game Score is 40 + 2×18 + 3 − 2×4 − 2×1 − 3×1 = 66. Fictional start B: 6 IP, 18 outs, 7 strikeouts, 8 hits, 3 walks, 3 total runs (3 earned, 0 unearned) and 1 home run. It is also a quality start; the same version gives 40 + 2×18 + 7 − 2×8 − 2×3 − 3×3 − 6×1 = 46. Both meet the threshold, while their strikeouts and hits-plus-walks differ.
Related questions
Which Game Score version is used in the example?
The updated Tom Tango version displayed in MLB's glossary, not Bill James's original formula.
Does a quality start specify a Game Score?
No. It is a threshold based on innings and earned runs; Game Score uses a separate point formula.