The days of batting average, RBIs, wins and ERA telling the whole story ended a while ago. To get the true picture of how baseball players are performing or will perform in the future takes navigating through an alphabet soup of new-age stats and acronyms.
Some of these statistics look back at what players did. Others are tools to predict future performance, allowing both real general managers and fantasy players a chance to identify under– or overvalued players.
Here's a look at some of them, what they measure and why they're important:
WAR: Wins Above Replacement. A single number that tries to encapsulate everything a player does as a hitter, pitcher, fielder and base runner. This allows for comparisons between a slugging first baseman and a slick-fielding shortstop; or five-tool outfielder and elite starting pitcher. The result is how many wins a specific player provided in comparison to a readily available replacement – or a so-called four-A player. Different sites have slightly different calculations but an average starter is worth about two wins, a star around four and an MVP candidate in excess of six.
FIP: Fielding Independent Pitching. Tries to measure the aspects of pitching most in control of the pitcher: walks, strikeouts, hit batsmen and home runs. The stat tries to ignore the impact of fielding and luck and is considered a better predictor of future performance than ERA. Players whose FIP is lower than their ERA are often due for rebound seasons, while those with a higher FIP than ERA might be in for regression. The average FIP is the same as the average ERA, to make for simpler comparisons. There is also a cousin of FIP, called xFIP, which measures fly balls instead of homers and assumes a pitcher gives up home runs on a league average amount of fly balls.
WPA. Win Probability Added. A different measure of wins based on the context of when events happen. It takes a team's chance of winning a game before and after each plate appearance, with each team starting with a 50 per cent chance. The hitter and pitcher each get credit or blame for any change. A homer leading off the game is worth more than one in the eighth inning of a 10-1 game but much less than one in the bottom of the ninth of a 1-1 game. WPA does not measure defence and because it depends on when players get their chances, it is not as predictive of future performance a statistics like WAR or FIP.
BABIP: Batting average on balls in play. With growing evidence that pitchers and hitters have little control over what happens once a ball is put into play, BABIP tries to eliminate the effects of luck and fielding on performance. BABIP is a form of batting average that eliminates home runs and strikeouts, while adding sacrifice flies and bunts. Players with a BABIP much below .300 are likely due for an improvement, while those much higher than .300 can be expected to regress.
BACON: Batting average on contact. Similar to BABIP, BACON also counts home runs as part of the measurement, only excluding strikeouts from the calculation.
Adjusted OPS+: Adjusted on-base plus slugging percentage. Adding on-base and slugging percentage has become an easy tool to better measure the best hitters rather than traditional stats like batting average and RBIs. Adjusted OPS+ also alters the percentage based on how the league as a whole is hitting and a player's home ballpark. This allows for easier comparisons between eras, as well as between hitters who play at hitter-friendly Coors Field compared to cavernous Petco Park.
ERA+: Like Adjusted OPS+, ERA+ accounts for how a pitcher performs compared to the league as a whole and factors in home ballpark, once again making comparisons more accurate.
UZR: Ultimate Zone Rating. Splits the field into 64 zones and compares how well a given fielder turns balls hit into each zone into outs, compared to the league average.
ISO: Isolated Power. Measures extra bases per at-bat, or essentially slugging percentage minus batting average. Shows which players have the most power by taking singles out of slugging percentage.
Pitch f/x: A pitch-tracking system created by Sportvision and used in every stadium that tracks the speed, location and trajectory of every pitch. Sportvision also uses Hit f/x to measure what happens to batted balls and Field f/x to measure how much ground players cover and how difficult plays are in the field.
FAQs
FIP stands for Fielding Independent Pitching. It is a statistic meant to measure a pitcher's effectiveness, taking plays that would involve the defense trying to field the ball out of the equation.
What is the difference between era and FIP in baseball? ›
FIP is similar to ERA, but it focuses solely on the events a pitcher has the most control over -- strikeouts, walks, hit-by-pitches and home runs. It entirely removes results on balls hit into the field of play.
What is the bacon stat in baseball? ›
BACON means batting average on contact and includes home runs. It's not necessarily a better or worse stat, just different.
What is WAR in baseball lingo? ›
WAR, or wins above replacement, is an advanced baseball statistic that attempts to measure the total value provided by a player.
What is considered a good FIP in baseball? ›
a 4.00 FIP would be closer to average. Anything approaching a 5.00 FIP would be considered below league average or, if even higher, poor.
What is the formula for FIP in baseball? ›
Fielding Independent Pitching converts a pitcher's three true outcomes into an earned run average-like number. The formula is (13*HR+3*(HBP+BB)-2*K)/IP, plus a constant (usually around 3.2) to put it on the same scale as earned run average.
Is FIP more important than ERA? ›
This is why Fielding Independent Pitching, or FIP, is a much better measure of a pitcher's true ability than ERA. FIP assumes that once the batter has hit a ball into play, the pitcher no longer has any ability to determine the outcome of the play.
Is FIP accurate? ›
FIP is not perfect and there are certain pitchers who have the skills to allow fewer runs than their FIP suggests, but they are reasonably rare and FIP remains highly accurate and extremely simple at the same time.
What is the relationship between FIP and ERA? ›
While all plate appearances contribute towards ERA, FIP only looks at strikeouts, walks, hit batsmen, and home runs. The latter has actually been found to hold more predictive power when trying to predict future ERA than past ERA itself.
What does 3 fingers mean in baseball? ›
Common Pitch Signs
The catcher puts down: One Finger = Fast Ball. Two Fingers = Curve Ball. Three Fingers = Slider.
Slash bunting ("butcher boy play") is not allowed - immediate dead ball if attempted and/or ball is put into play (fair or foul). Batter is ruled out and is issued a warning. Runners may not advance. Second offense - player will be restricted to the bench and ejected from the game.
What does 375 mean in baseball? ›
375 batting average. this means that for each at bat, the player has a . 375 probability of getting a hit. this player plans to be at bat 5 times in each game he plays.
Why is WAR a flawed stat? ›
No clearly established formula exists for WAR. Sources that provide the statistic calculate it differently. These include Baseball Prospectus, Baseball-Reference, and FanGraphs. All of these sources publish the method they use to calculate WAR, and all use similar basic principles to do so.
What is the WAR metric in baseball? ›
One of the most popular advanced statistics of the Sabermetrics era is Wins Above Replacement (WAR). WAR is a catch-all summary of a player's contributions in all facets of the game, giving an estimated number of wins a player contributes relative to their potential replacement.
What does WHIP mean in baseball? ›
In baseball statistics, walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) is a sabermetric measurement of the number of baserunners a pitcher has allowed per inning pitched. WHIP reflects a pitcher's propensity for allowing batters to reach base, therefore a lower WHIP indicates better performance.
Is a 2 FIP good? ›
For reference, an average FIP is 4.00 with an excellent one being 2.90 and a terrible one being 5.00.
What is the difference between WHIP and FIP? ›
The FIP formula weighs walks, strikeouts, hit batters and home runs allowed while assuming average outcomes for balls in play. WHIP — Walks and hits per inning pitched. A player who walked 10 and allowed five hits in 15 innings would have a 1.00 WHIP.
Is FIP or xFIP better? ›
It's far more useful to look at FIP from a wider viewpoint, often a full season. However, xFIP may provide you with a better perspective, as it takes out the random statistical noise created by a couple of extra fly balls turning into home runs.
What is considered a good WHIP? ›
In general, a good WHIP for a pitcher is around 1.00 or lower. This means that on average, the pitcher allows one base runner or less per inning. The lower the WHIP, the better the pitcher is at keeping opposing batters off the bases and minimizing scoring opportunities for the opposing team.
