Reply to "Passed Balls"

RPD is right and I hope I don’t step on his toes by expanding his comments but this is always a confusing point for many. The passed ball is not counted as an error and has its own category. Simply called ---- “PASSED BALLS”. The reasoning behind this is the catcher handles the ball many more times than any other player on the field and his miscue should not be ruled and error. While the scorekeeper doesn’t call it an error, the catcher looks at the passed ball as just as bad if not worse than an error.
The passed ball does factor into the earned run/unearned run formula exactly as an error does ---- again as RPD stated. Why so? The passed ball is NOT the fault of the pitcher and a runner that scores as a result of a passed ball (that would NOT have scored without the PB) does not count against the pitcher and that run will be unearned. Not so for the wild pitch. Since the wild pitch IS the fault of the pitcher it DOES count against the pitcher and if a run scores because of a wild pitch that run will be recorded as an earned run. Second base is a lot less complicated.
Fungo