Batting Average: In baseball, the batting average (BA) is defined by the number of hits divided by at bats. It is usually reported to three decimal places and read without the decimal: A player with a batting average of .300 is “batting three-hundred.”
Ted William’s batting average was .406. Average is .260
Yuli Guriel .296

Earned Run Average ERA: Earned run average represents the number of earned runs a pitcher allows per nine innings — with earned runs being any runs that scored without the aid of an error or a passed ball. … The formula for finding ERA is: 9 x earned runs / innings pitched.

The ERA is expressed in a number that expresses how many earned runs a pitcher averages over the course of 9 innings. If he gives up an average of 2 runs per 9 innings, his ERA would be expressed as 2.00. If he averaged 4-and-a-half runs per 9 innings pitched, his ERA would be 4.50. With wins and losses sometimes achieved in dubious ways, fans, media, and people in the business tend to look at ERA first.

It is no coincidence that the best pitchers in the big leagues have the lowest ERA. Simply, the fewer runs you allow, the lower your ERA will be. A pitcher can have a lot of strikeouts, complete games, or whatever it is–and it doesn’t necessarily mean he is very good at limiting teams to a small amount of runs in the long-haul. For pitchers who do that, look for a low ERA. It paints a good overall picture.

Verlander’s ERA is for Career: 3.39, for 2018 season: 2.19