Mike Friere - Statistics Part One - So, What is WHIP?

A few years ago, in a different Mack's Mets lifetime for this writer, I produced a series of articles on the dizzying array of statistical categories that exist in MLB.  Keep in mind, these weren't your normal batting average, home runs or earned run average type statistics, which are important but viewed as a bit "old school", if you will.  Instead, I chose to focus on "newer" statistics that may be less popular or understood, but are capable of telling a slightly different version of a specific player's story (Sabermetrics).

There is a contingent of folks who believe in the study of statistics and they will use them as the sole determinant of a player's value.  Many different articles have been written, not to mention several books and a movie or two, on this statistical shift in scouting and evaluation.

With that said, I can almost feel some folks "roll their eyes" as the use of statistics can be viewed as a "negative", usually by baseball "purists" who only need to watch a player to figure out if he/she can play the game, or not.  Some of you may be familiar with the saying "there are lies, damn lies and then there are statistics".  Or, perhaps the saying "you can use statistics to justify anything that you want....it just come down to how you choose to use them".

OK, so I will admit that I fall slightly on the "statistical" side of the issue, but there is value in combining what your eyes tell you and what the statistics tell you, as well.  Both pursuits have had their share of success and/or failures and I am sure this will continue into the future as teams look for a competitive edge.

I plan on revisiting the aforementioned series of articles on the importance of statistics, but I also include why I like or dislike a particular statistic and how it relates to our favorite ball club.  When I look at a team, I like to focus on either "run generation" statistics which usually focus on the batter or "run suppression" statistics which focuses primarily on the pitcher and to a lesser extent, the defense in the field.  If you excel in both areas, it will express itself in a positive "run differential" and that has long term impacts on wins and losses. 

So, let's start with a relative easy one and focus on WHIP, or "Walks plus Hits per Inning Pitched".  This statistic was created by Daniel Okrent in 1979 and it was previously called "innings pitched ratio".  As an aside, this calculation does not include "hit batsman" because Daniel did not have access to that particular statistic in his local newspaper at the time with the way the displayed box scores (I know, what's a newspaper, right?)  So, WHIP would be a key statistic on the "run suppression" side of the ledger and it is largely determined by the pitcher or pitchers in question.

Figuring out the statistic is pretty straight forward, in that you add up the number of hits and walks that a pitcher is responsible for and divide that number by the total number of innings pitched.  It can be used for any sample size, but like most statistics it's reliability gets better with more data.  The result is expressed as a positive ratio or in general terms, "the average number of base runners a pitcher puts on base per inning". 

From Wikipedia, "a WHIP near 1.00 or lower over the course of a season will often rank among the league leaders in Major League Baseball".  It stands to reason that fewer base runners will translate into fewer runs scored and less "damage" if and when a pitcher does make a mistake (a solo home run is easier to overcome then a three run bomb, after all).

So, who had the lowest WHIP's in baseball last year?

Here is a sampling of a few pitchers, both starters (175 IP, or more) and relievers (75 IP, or more);

Corey Kluber (0.87)
Max Scherzer (0.90)
Clayton Kershaw (0.95)

Craig Kimbrel (0.68)
Kenley Jansen (0.75)
Andrew Miller (0.83)

That is quite a group of pitchers and it is no accident that they also sport an excellent WHIP ratio.

How about a few Mets' pitchers?

Noah Syndergaard (1.05) in a very small sample of 30 innings pitched
Addison Reed (1.12) as our best reliever
Jacob deGrom (1.19) as our best starter

Again, not a huge surprise since they had largely successful seasons last year, or over their careers in Noah's case.

How about a few "not so good" WHIP raitos on our 2017 pitching staff?

Stephen Matz (1.53)
Zack Wheeler (1.59)
Matt Harvey (1.69)
Rafael Montero (1.75)

Not to pick on that group directly, but are you surprised that they struggled as a collective in 2017, especially when you see their respective WHIP ratios for that time period?  I am hopeful that most of this was due to injury, fatigue and diminished confidence, with 2018 being a "bounce back year" for them.

***On a side note, nothing drives me crazier as a fan then watching a pitcher labor through a four inning start, while throwing over one hundred pitches and allowing a small village of base runners in the process.   "Just throw strikes" echoes off of the walls of my living room.

In closing, viewing a particular pitcher's WHIP will usually give you a glimpse into how effective they have been and the chances of success in the future.  There are a couple of Indians on the "good list" above, who toiled under the watchful eye of Mickey Callaway last year, so hopefully he recognizes the importance of limiting base runners and how it relates to team success.