Did Jonah Tong Win The MiLB ERA Title? Officially, It’s Unclear

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Mets RHP Jonah Tong with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (Photo by Christopher Pusatieri/Four Seam Images)

Mets righthander Jonah Tong just finished one of the best seasons by a minor league pitcher of the 21st century. He led the minors in strikeouts (179) while going 10-5, 1.43.

He arguably led the minors in ERA and opponents’ average (.148) while finishing second in WHIP (0.89). But the problem is no one can say for certain whether Tong qualifies as the minors’ ERA champion, because the major league rules that govern statistics don’t cover a situation like this.

When it comes to this, we turn to Rule 9.22b. That rule states:

(b)  The individual pitching champion in a Major League shall be the pitcher with the lowest earned-run average, provided that the pitcher has pitched at least as many innings in league championship games as the number of games scheduled for each Club in his Clubâ€s league that season. The individual pitching champion in a Minor League shall be the pitcher with the lowest earned-run average provided that the pitcher has pitched at least as many innings in league championship season games as 80% of the number of games scheduled for each Club in the pitcherâ€s league.

That appears quite straightforward. But here’s the problem: the rule only applies to how many innings a pitcher throws in a specific league. An MLB official confirmed to Baseball America that Rule 9 does not specify qualification requirements for overall MiLB leaders. Tong began the year in Double-A, then was promoted to Triple-A before being called up to the major leagues.

Tong did not qualify for the Eastern League ERA crown. That league has 140 scheduled games, so a pitcher needs 112 innings to qualify. Tong threw 102 innings in that league before his promotion to Triple-A Syracuse.

Tong threw another 11.2 innings in the International League before he was called up to the majors, so he finished the MiLB season with 113.2 innings.

So arguably, Tong had enough innings. The EL qualifying mark is 112 innings, and he threw 113.2. But an equal argument can be made that he didn’t qualify. The Triple-A leagues play 150 games. So Triple-A pitchers need 120 innings pitched. Held to that standard, Tong doesnâ€t qualify.

So what do you do with players who played across multiple levels with different numbers of scheduled games? The rulebook is silent.

If a player is traded from the American or National League to the other league midseason and fails to qualify for either league, that player can still be the overall MLB leader if they exceed the plate appearance qualifications with their combined statistics. But in that case, all teams play the same number of games, so thereâ€s no adjustment to the plate appearance requirement.

For decades, MiLB leagues played very similar schedules which meant these issues were unlikely to arise. The baseline full-season MiLB schedule was 140 games, although in some seasons some upper-level leagues might play 142 or in some instances 144. With everyone on a very similar schedule, there was very little variance. The difference between Class A qualifiers and Triple-A qualifiers was so small (3.2 innings) as to be barely noticeable. 

Now, thereâ€s a massive difference. Class A teams play 130-game schedules (104 innings to qualify), Double-A plays 140-game schedules (112 innings to qualify) and Triple-A plays 150-game schedules (120 innings to qualify). Similarly, for hitters, the standards are 351 PAs (Class A), 378 PAs (Double-A) and 405 PAs (Triple-A).

The argument could be made that since Tong spent 91% of his MiLB time in Double-A, we should follow Double-A qualification standards. By those standards, Tong is a qualifier for overall MiLB statistics. But the argument could also be made that Triple-A qualification standards should apply.

You could calculate innings pitched requirements by a ratio of time spent in each league. If you apply that standard to Tong, he would need 113 innings, as 90.9% of his MiLB time was spent in Double-A and 9.1% was spent in Triple-A. But even that is cloudy, since Tong has actually spent more than a month of the MiLB season in the major leagues.

Tong’s example is the trickiest one, but it’s not hard to see how this could have arisen elsewhere. Tigers shortstop Kevin McGonigle finished this year with 397 plate appearances, spread across three different leagues. He didnâ€t have enough PAs to qualify for any league, but he had enough PAs to qualify overall by Class A or Double-A standards, but not by Triple-A standards (which require 405 plate appearances). 

With no clear rule, we are left to our own devices. At Baseball America, we will recognize Tong as a qualifier, which means heâ€s the ERA champ.

But Rule 9.22 needs to be updated for the 21st century. Hereâ€s a simple proposal: as long as the current schedule remains intact, the Double-A requirements can serve as the overall qualifier marks.

Double-Aâ€s 140-game schedule is the midpoint of the three different schedules, and itâ€s the closest to whatâ€s been the MiLB traditional schedule (140 games) for decades. Under that format, 112 innings can serve as the MiLB innings qualifier for full season leagues while 378 plate appearances can serve as the PAs qualifier. Itâ€s not perfect, but in a time where numerous players jump from level to level during a season, itâ€s an easily understandable number. And that way, we can avoid these unanswerable questions as far as who led the overall minors in major statistical categories.

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