What is WHIP in baseball? Explaining one of MLB's key pitching stats.
WHIP – walks plus hits per inning pitched – is one of the most widely-used pitching stats in baseball.
The number measures how many baserunners a pitcher allows on average and is a good indicator of how efficient a pitcher is.
The Major League Baseball average is about 1.30, and the league leaders have been sub-1.00 every year since 2012. Jacob deGrom has the lowest career WHIP of any pitcher with 1,000 innings since 1920.
Here's what to know about the statistic:
What is WHIP in baseball?
"WHIP" stands for walks plus hits per inning pitched, measuring how many walks and hits a pitcher gives up per inning of work – providing an indication how many baserunners a pitcher. The statistic is calculated by adding the number of hits and walks, divided by the number of innings pitched.
A pitcher's WHIP does not include hit batsmen.
Who has lowest career WHIP in MLB history?
Since 1920, minimum 1,000 innings pitched (through 2023)
Jacob deGrom: 0.993
Mariano Rivera: 1.00
Clayton Kershaw: 1.004
Chris Sale: 1.047
Pedro Martinez: 1.054
Trevor Hoffman: 1.058
Max Scherzer: 1.077
Gerrit Cole: 1.087
Stephen Strasburg: 1.096
Juan Marichal: 1.101
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: What is WHIP in baseball? Explaining the MLB pitching statistic.
