Introduction
What is WHIP in baseball? If you wonder, this article is the right choice. As you see, WHIP is no stranger to baseball fans, but not everyone knows the real meaning behind this erm.
WHIP is one of various technical lingo and jargon, such as double play and home runs in this team sport’s world. Whenever you watch a major league baseball game, you can see this term in boxing scores or hear it in the live commentary.
What Is WHIP In Baseball?
What does whip mean in baseball? WHIP in baseball stands for Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched, a baseball pitching statistic showing the average number of hits per inning and walks a pitcher can give up.
This basic statistic allows you to calculate how many walks and hits a pitcher will give up on average. Also, you may apply this statistic to identify the potential of each pitcher with a baserunner.
Source: Flickr
What’s the WHIP’s Origin in Baseball?
WHIP, originally called IPRAT, represented Innings Pitched Ratio.
“Daniel Okrent, a writer who invented rotisserie league fantasy baseball, coined the term in 1979, initially calling it innings pitched ratio.” (According to MLB)
The application of this term was to score and predict Rotisserie Fantasy Baseball. It became a commonly accepted term for baseball in the 1990s.
What Is the Purpose of WHIP?
Many fans have their eye on WHIP for a good reason. According to the Lahman Baseball Database analysis, WHIP closely links to winning.
Simply put, the team often wins if they have a more favorable WHIP. This is a solid rate statistic for predicting and identifying the final number of allowed runs.
How to Calculate WHIP in Baseball?
You can use two common ways to calculate WHIP in baseball.
Firstly, total the number of walks and hits given up by the pitcher and divide by the rest. In summary, you can use the formula below to figure out WHIP in baseball without difficulty.
The WHIP formula is:
WHIP = (Hits allowed / innings pitched) + (walks allowed / innings pitched)
For instance, if a pitcher gives up 30 hits in 60 innings (or he has 0.50 per inning), the allowed hits will be 0.50 on average.
Let’s say the same pitcher gave up 20 walks in 60 innings; his WHIP can be calculated by dividing the number of walks (20) by the number of innings pitched (60) to get an allowed average of 0.33 walks per inning.
So the WHIP is 0.50 + 0.33 = 0.83
The second method of calculating WHIP is a little more complex, but it is easier to identify the average allowed number of baserunners for a pitcher per inning.
To make this calculation, you must find the number of permitted runners by the pitcher, the number of those stranded or left on base, and the number of pitched innings by the pitcher.
Source: Pixabay
What is a Good WHIP in Baseball and What Makes It?
A common measuring point is 1.00 WHIP (or lower). This equates to an average of 1 walk or hit per inning pitched.
For example, a WHIP greater than 1.25 shows a pitcher allowing more runners to get to first base. A 2.00 WHIP or higher often indicates poor pitching.
You can see the following simple summary below to understand more about what makes a bad or good WHIP baseball.
- It’s rare to have WHIP below 1.00.
- If WHIP ranges from 1.01 to 1.20, it is a good statistic to help your team feel more powerful and confident.
- The WHIP is also fine but not that impressive if it ranges from 1.21 – 1.40.
- When your team reaches the WHIP from 1.41 to 1.60, your team is below average.
- A pitcher is pitching poorly if his WHIP is 1.61 and above.
What Are Associates of WHIP?
ERA and MB/9 are associates of WHIP in baseball.
WHIP is evaluated together with ERA (Earned Run Average). In some situations, good WHIP pitchers also reach good ERA.
As with WHIP, the lower the pitcher’s ERA, the better. Also, the pitchers with the top rank often score better on both ERA and WHIP.
Another associate of WHIP is MB/9, standing for baserunners per nine innings. This is a statistic similar to WHIP. MB/9 counts hits given up by pitchers, but WHIP doesn’t, yet WHIP is more popular than MB/9 WHIP.
Source: Flickr
What Are WHIP’s Limitations in Baseball?
The most noticeable criticism of WHIP is that no matter it is a walk, a home run, a single base hit, only one time on base is counted.
Suppose a pitcher can give up a home run in the game with each inning but get other hitters out; he can nail 1.00 WHIP despite his 9.00 ERA.
What are the Famous Statistics on WHIP?
The highest WHIP of a single season is 0.6176 by Hilton Smith, played in the Negro Leagues team, Kansas City Monarchs, in 1944 at age of 37.
The worst record in the whole career belongs to Phil Niekro, who pitched through his 5,400 innings in the Majors, with 1.268 WHIP.
John McMullin had the worst WHIP of the season with 2.028 points in 1871, when he pitched 249 innings, 430 hits, and allowed 153 runs.
FAQs
Does WHIP in Baseball Correlate To Wins?
No, it’s not. A pitcher’s WHIP correlates well with walks and hits allowed, but what a pitcher does to runners on the potential base can be different from losing and winning.
Is WHIP in Baseball the Same As ERA?
No, it isn’t. The ERA can measure what a pitcher can control. Yet, WHIP considers what may happen when the baseball batter touches the ball. Besides, ERA doesn’t take hits by walks or pitches in baseball into account, but WHIP doesn’t affect strikeouts.
Conclusion
What is WHIP in baseball? With the above shared useful information, Askmebaseball has helped you know the answer. WHIP is a common statistic standing for the number of hits by pitches and walks runners give up.
Besides, this article has also provided a simple formula for calculating the WHIP and determining a good WHIP in baseball. Hopefully, you’ve got interesting knowledge about WHIP when interested in this sport.