What does 'WHIP' mean in baseball stats?

Walks plus Hits per Inning Pitched. A measure of baserunners allowed by the pitcher due to his own actions ( discounts runners reaching by error).

It is a ratio that measures the effectiveness of a pitcher. WHIP stands for Walks Hits to Innings Pitched. You determine the ratio by adding together Walks and Hits and divide it by Innings Pitched. Should a pitcher give up 6 hits and walk 2 batters over 7 innings pitched that would be a total 8 hits and walks divided by 7 innings which would give the pitcher a WHIP of 1.14 for that game. WHIP has meaning if it is calculated for a single game or an entire season or career for a pitcher. With errors involved a pitcher can have a 0.00 ERA (Earned Run Average) but give up many hits and walks in a game. However, a high WHIP for that game would indicate the pitcher was not effective on that day.

WHIP stands for Walks & Hits per Inning Pitched. It is basically a calculation of how often a pitcher lets a runner on base. The formula to calculate it would be:

WHIP= (Total Walks + Total Hits) / Total Innings Pitched

As an example, if a pitcher allowed 2 walks and 6 hits in 7 innings pitched, the WHIP would be:

(2 + 6) / 7 = 1.14 WHIP

The Atlanta Braves currently have the lowest WHIP in the National League with a 1.05 WHIP.

Baseball Stat Whip

WHIP is determined by doing the calculation: ( Walks + Hits ) / Innings Pitched

As you can see, the initials of the terms in the calculation, give us an acronym of WHIP.

The WHIP stat represents, on average, how many baserunners a pitcher allows per inning. You can tell that the only baserunners that are counted towards a pitcher's WHIP are ones who reached on a base hit or walk. Runners who reach on error are not counted (since it wasn't the pitcher's fault that they reached base).

WHIP can help to determine how good a pitcher is really pitching. If a pitcher has a low ERA but a high WHIP, then that means he hasn't pitched too well. It means he's getting really lucky by allowing baserunners, but preventing them from scoring. It implies that he won't be able to maintain his low ERA -- either his WHIP has to decrease, or his ERA will soon increase.

The lower a player's WHIP, the better. Here's how to judge a player on his WHIP:

< 1.00

Phenomenal, very few starters maintain a WHIP under 1.00 over 30+ starts. The last starter to have a WHIP well below 1.00 was Justin Verlander (with 0.92) in 2011, when he had a historic season (threw a no-hitter and countless near-no-hitters).

1.00-1.20

Very good, only the better starters in the game have a WHIP this low. Starters with a WHIP in this range generally have an ERA under 3.00.

1.20-1.30

Decent, starters with a WHIP in this range generally have an ERA between 3.00 and 4.00.

1.30-1.45

Mediocre, generally produces an ERA between 4.00-5.00.

1.45+

Below average. Starters with a WHIP this high do not perform well; most are demoted to the minor leagues.

Walks & Hits per Inning Pitched

Its a pitching stat that tells you how many base runners a pitcher allows per inning. It does NOT include runners that reach via defensive error.

With this stat, lower is better

Walks and Hits per Innings pitched.

in math terms you calculate it

( walks + hits ) ÷ Innings pitched

Like the ERA stat, the lower it is, the better.

Well, it depends..