Walks plus hits per inning pitched, universally known as WHIP, stands as a foundational sabermetric statistic in baseball, deeply embedded in the analytics of Major League Baseball (MLB).
Originating in 1979 from the mind of Daniel Okrent, the creator of rotisserie league fantasy baseball, WHIP’s relevance has not diminished over time. It remains invaluable in modern baseball analysis, extending far beyond just fantasy sports implications. WHIP is now a standard component of a pitcher’s statistical profile, appearing alongside metrics such as strikeout rate (K/9) and earned run average (ERA). Together, these statistics offer a comprehensive snapshot of a pitcher’s performance throughout a season.
If the concept of WHIP is new to you, there’s no need to worry. This guide will break down the straightforward calculation, explore its significance in evaluating pitchers, and highlight some of the most remarkable WHIP performances in MLB history.
Decoding WHIP: Formula and Calculation
WHIP can be described as a baseball statistician’s ingenious creation, blending three fundamental baseball statistics into a more sophisticated metric for assessing a pitcher’s effectiveness at preventing baserunners.
The three core statistics that constitute WHIP are:
- Walks Allowed (W): The number of times a pitcher allows a batter to reach first base after accumulating four balls during a single plate appearance.
- Hits Allowed (H): The total instances where an opposing batter achieves a hit, encompassing singles, doubles, triples, and home runs.
- Innings Pitched (IP): The cumulative number of outs a pitcher records, where each out is equivalent to one-third of an inning.
To calculate WHIP, the formula is elegantly simple: add the total walks allowed (W) and hits allowed (H), then divide this sum by the total innings pitched (IP).
Before diving deeper, it’s crucial to understand a few key nuances about WHIP calculation:
Firstly, when dealing with partial innings in box scores, remember that “.1 IP” is mathematically equivalent to .3333 of an inning, and “.2 IP” is .6667 of an inning. For instance, if a pitcher pitches 4.2 innings, allowing five hits and two walks (totaling seven for the numerator), their WHIP is calculated as 1.50 (7 divided by 4.6667), not 1.66 (7 divided by 4.2). Accurate conversion of partial innings is vital for precise WHIP calculation.
Secondly, WHIP’s scope is limited strictly to walks and hits. It disregards other ways runners might reach base, such as errors, catcher’s interference, fielder’s choice, passed balls on strike three, or hit by pitch (HBP).
The exclusion of HBPs from WHIP is often debated. While errors are justifiably excluded as they are not attributed to the pitcher’s fault, a hit by pitch is undeniably a result of a pitcher’s errant throw, similar to a walk. The historical reason for this exclusion dates back to when WHIP was conceived. Newspaper box scores at that time did not consistently include HBPs. Consequently, HBPs were not factored into the original WHIP equation and have remained excluded since. (Interestingly, for instance, adding Randy Johnson’s 190 career HBPs to the WHIP calculation would increase his career WHIP from 1.17 to 1.22.)
Lastly, WHIP treats all hits equally, irrespective of their impact or nature. Whether it’s a soft bunt single or a towering grand slam, each hit contributes uniformly to the WHIP calculation.
While every statistic has its limitations when used in isolation, WHIP effectively communicates a pitcher’s ability to control baserunners, which is a critical aspect of pitching performance.
Evaluating WHIP: What Constitutes a Good Score?
Analyzing MLB league-wide WHIP averages from 2011 onwards reveals a consistent range of 1.27 to 1.34. Thus, a WHIP of 1.30 is generally considered to be an average performance for a pitcher.
Using a grading scale analogy, each 0.05 increment away from 1.30 can be seen as a grade shift. A WHIP of 1.25 suggests a slightly above-average performance, comparable to a C+, while a 1.35 WHIP indicates a slightly below-average performance, around a C-.
Extending this scale, an exceptional, A+ grade WHIP falls below 1.00, while a failing grade WHIP is anything exceeding 1.50.
These benchmarks provide a general guide for evaluating full-season WHIP in contemporary MLB. For career WHIP averages, a figure of 1.10 or lower is considered outstanding. However, for individual game starts, a WHIP below 0.50 is typically necessary to garner significant attention and be deemed truly dominant.
Historical Context: MLB’s Lowest WHIP Achievers
As the 2024 season approached, only four pitchers in MLB history had amassed at least 500 innings pitched with a career WHIP under 1.00. This elite group includes modern closers Kenley Jansen (0.96) and Craig Kimbrel (0.99), the often-injured ace Jacob deGrom (0.99), and Hall of Famer Addie Joss, who recorded a 0.97 WHIP during his nine seasons with the Cleveland Naps in the early 1900s.
Expanding the innings pitched threshold to 2,500 innings, only Pedro Martinez (1.05), Clayton Kershaw (1.00), and another Hall of Famer from the early 20th century, Ed Walsh (1.00), maintain a WHIP of 1.05 or less.
When examining single-season WHIP records, the numbers become even more remarkable.
In what many consider his most dominant season, Pedro Martinez achieved an astonishing 0.737 WHIP in 2000, allowing just 128 hits and 32 walks over 217.0 innings pitched. This stands as one of the lowest single-season WHIPs in modern baseball history.
While Kenta Maeda (0.75) and Trevor Bauer (0.79) both achieved sub-0.8 WHIPs in 2020, it’s important to note the context of the shortened, 60-game season due to the pandemic, where each pitcher made only 11 starts.
More representative full-season benchmarks in that elite range include Walter Johnson’s 0.78 WHIP in 1913, Greg Maddux’s 0.81 WHIP in 1995, and Justin Verlander’s 0.80 WHIP in 2019.
Mariano Rivera, arguably the greatest closer of all time, also deserves mention. Excluding his rookie season where he briefly served as a starter, Rivera maintained a 0.972 WHIP across the remaining 18 regular seasons of his career.
In postseason play, Mariano Rivera’s WHIP was even more extraordinary, dropping to an incredible 0.759, achieved by allowing only 86 hits and 21 walks in 141 innings.
WHIP’s Role in Fantasy Baseball
WHIP is a standard statistical category in most season-long fantasy baseball leagues, whether they utilize rotisserie or head-to-head formats. In these leagues, a lower cumulative WHIP from your pitching staff compared to your opponent’s contributes to winning the WHIP category for the week.
While WHIP is not directly scored in Daily Fantasy Sports (DFS) baseball contests, its underlying components are. DFS scoring systems typically award points for outs recorded and deduct points for hits and walks allowed, effectively mirroring the principles of WHIP.
However, it’s crucial to recognize that a pitcher’s WHIP can exhibit considerable volatility from start to start.
For example, Gerrit Cole, who led the majors with a 0.981 WHIP in 2023, also had six starts with a WHIP of 1.50 or higher and six starts below 0.50. One of his higher WHIP starts occurred in a mid-September game against a weaker Pirates team, potentially impacting fantasy playoff matchups.
Despite this start-to-start fluctuation, WHIP is generally considered a more reliable predictor of a pitcher’s future performance than ERA. While ERA and WHIP often correlate, with a pitcher’s best ERA seasons typically aligning with their best WHIP seasons, WHIP provides a clearer indication of a pitcher’s consistency in limiting baserunners.
See also: How Fantasy Baseball Scoring Works
Frequently Asked Questions about WHIP
Is a higher or lower WHIP preferable for pitchers?
Lower. A lower WHIP is always better. In an ideal perfect game, a pitcher would have a WHIP of 0.00, as no hits or walks are allowed.
Between WHIP and ERA, which is more critical?
Ultimately, preventing runs is more crucial than just limiting baserunners. To illustrate, in 2023, Blake Snell won the NL Cy Young Award with a 1.19 WHIP and a 2.25 ERA, while Spencer Strider, despite a lower 1.09 WHIP and leading the majors in wins (20) and strikeouts (281), did not receive any first-place Cy Young votes due to his higher 3.86 ERA. Strider allowed more runs despite being better at keeping runners off base than Snell.
However, WHIP is a stronger indicator of a pitcher’s efficiency and future performance consistency compared to ERA. It offers a more stable measure of a pitcher’s ability to control the game, less influenced by defensive factors than ERA.
What are the primary limitations of WHIP?
One notable limitation is that WHIP treats all hits equally, disregarding the type and severity of the hit. It doesn’t differentiate between a single and a home run, or factor in extra bases allowed. While advanced metrics exist to address the quality of hits allowed, WHIP’s simplicity and ease of calculation remain its strengths. It’s somewhat surprising that metrics readily tracking total bases allowed or extra-base hits against pitchers aren’t as commonly highlighted as slugging percentage is for hitters.
Despite these limitations, the simplicity of WHIP, easily understood and calculated, makes it a valuable and enduring statistic in baseball analysis.
Enhance Your Baseball Insight with Sleeper
In summary, WHIP is a vital statistic in baseball.
While it may not fully encapsulate a pitcher’s overall performance as comprehensively as more advanced metrics like Wins Above Replacement (WAR), expected fielding-independent pitching (xFIP), or expected weighted on-base average (xwOBA), WHIP remains a powerful and accessible “advanced” statistic that provides quick insights into a pitcher’s effectiveness.
Now equipped with a deeper understanding of WHIP, consider engaging further with baseball through fantasy sports. Try Sleeper to enhance your fantasy baseball experience. Sleeper offers a user-friendly platform with comprehensive features, from real-time news and alerts to Sleeper Picks, a DFS contest where you can predict player performance against projected stats.
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