Hitters have the "Mendoza Line", the term used to indicate when a player is near or below a .200 batting average, named after light-hitting shortstop Mario Mendoza (a career .215 hitter). Mendoza claims that the term was coined by Seattle Mariners teammates Bruce Bochte and Tom Paciorek during the 1979 season when Mendoza's batting average was hovering near the .200 mark all season long (he finished at .198). The term was later picked up on by Hall Of Famer George Brett and then ESPN anchor Chris Berman and it became part of baseball history.
I propose that pitchers should have their own version of the Mendoza Line that revolves around their Earned Run Average. I did a little bit of research and thanks to baseballreference.com, I found that pitcher Les Sweetland, that pitched for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1927-1930 and the Chicago Cubs in 1931, had a career ERA of 6.10 to go along with a career record of 33-58. I don't know if the "Sweetland Line" will catch on in baseball terminology but the Dodgers have a few members of their bullpen that are over the "Sweetland Line."
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