ERA – Hardball Retro

WHIP or NO WHIP

David Dagostino — Sat, 21 Mar 2020 08:54:54 +0000

In a day where measuring a pitcher’s ability to induce misses is vital to assembling a rotation, identifying a gauge for the alternative outcome (what happens when they don’t swing and miss) has become just as necessary in order to accurately predict and depict the success of any rotation. It seems quite logical, on the surface that if we can calculate a single number to represent respective outcomes on opposite ends of the spectrum, we have a chance to encapsulate the value of a pitcher in a nice easy package.

One interesting statistic is BABIP- Batting Average on Balls In Play. It describes the percentage of balls hit into the field that become hits. Through evaluation, however, BABIP appears very random from one season to the next. This is a clear indication that too many variables, including luck, are involved when a pitcher has a stellar or a lesser than desirable one. An alternative evaluation method has become more popular and reliable due to this perceived luck… defense-independent statistics. Walks, strikeouts, and home runs allowed can be seen as the best predictor of success of a pitcher.

All of the maneuvering that has stemmed from a quest to replace a cornerstone since 1912. ERA has influenced contract negotiations, CY Young awards and Hall of Fame ballots. Since 1912, along with batting average (BA or AVG) for a hitter, ERA has been the measuring stick by which we determine who’s ace and who is not.

Now we get to our catchy title, usually reserved for a Barista to customer interaction surrounding a frappe chino or got chocolate order- WHIP or No WHIP. In my opinion, WHIP, which stands for Walks plus Hits Per Innings Pitched, is the single most important statistic to determine a pitcher’s effectiveness. This holds true in fantasy and reality. WHIP incorporates the first of the three defense-independent pitching statistics (the walk) and it considers each pitcher-hitter outcome, even those coming after an error erased the third out (when ERA stops tracking runs). Pedro J. Martinez remains the standard bearer for a single season (.737 in 2000) WHIP, while the career record goes to Cleveland flamethrower Addie Joss with a WHIP (.968). In the end, WHIP is an accurate predictor of future success, a determinant of past success, and is much easier to calculate than ERA. As a historical fanatic of baseball, it’s as close as we can get to comparing across generations. I’ll take WHIP every time, in both fantasy baseball and reality..: but in terms of my hot beverage conundrum, it’s even easier. No whip for me- I drink coffee and I take it black.

Expos / Nationals Minor League Career Earned Run Average Leaders

Derek Bain — Thu, 12 Jul 2018 23:27:52 +0000

Expos / Nationals (Minor Leaguers) ERA
Osvaldo Rodriguez 1.68
Tim Young* 1.77
Juan Martinez 1.83
Rusty Kilgo* 1.91
Mike Baldwin* 1.91
Bob Gebhard 2.08
Dave Sommer 2.11
Heath Haynes 2.26
Kirk Bullinger 2.28
Jeff Carter 2.35

Correctly answered by Michael McConchie, Michael Murray, Neil Bush,Tom Siegler, Erin Underwood and Brian Bohem

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Blue Jays Minor League Career Earned Run Average Leaders

Derek Bain — Thu, 12 Jul 2018 00:49:39 +0000

Blue Jays (Minor Leaguers) ERA
Dane Anthony 1.75
Rich Carlucci 2.06
Justin Nicolino* 2.09
Tom Mastny 2.20
Nestor Molina 2.21
Rob Blumberg* 2.22
Kendall Graveman 2.30
Lee Gronkiewicz 2.34
Frank Gailey* 2.34
Noah Syndergaard 2.35

Correctly answered by Rod Humphrey and Doug Snyder Sr.

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Senators II / Rangers Minor League Career Earned Run Average Leaders

Derek Bain — Wed, 11 Jul 2018 00:10:15 +0000

Senators II / Rangers (Minor Leaguers) ERA
Carl Edwards 1.68
Ben Rowen 1.72
Fred Waters* 1.73
Brian Evans 1.74
Jovanny Cedeno 2.06
Mark Brandenburg 2.08
Alex Claudio* 2.08
Gabe Sollecito 2.16
Phil Klein 2.23
Rick Raether 2.24

Correctly answered by Michael McConchie, Erin Underwood, Tom Siegler, Jon Winkler, Michael Danes, Michael Murray and Brian Bohem

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(Devil) Rays Minor League Career Earned Run Average Leaders

Derek Bain — Tue, 10 Jul 2018 12:57:08 +0000

(Devil) Rays (Minor Leaguers) ERA
Kevin Brandt* 2.26
Travis Ott* 2.28
Mike Franco 2.30
Chad Orvella 2.42
Taylor Guerrieri 2.51
Chad Gaudin 2.53
Juan Salas 2.54
Joe Bateman 2.59
David Price* 2.62
Ryan Garton 2.64

Correctly answered by Neil Bush, Mark C. Hagaman, Bryan Swank and Lanny Little

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Cardinals Minor League Career Earned Run Average Leaders

Derek Bain — Mon, 09 Jul 2018 00:09:55 +0000

Cardinals (Minor Leaguers) ERA
Kirk Bullinger 1.52
Craig Grasser 1.59
Clyde Keller 1.60
Steve Jones 1.61
Kyle Grana 1.66
Eric Miller 1.73
Frank Speek 1.76
Pete Mikkelsen 1.91
Luke Weaver 1.99
Javier Avendano 2.01

Correctly answered by Michael Murray, Doug Snyder Sr., Tom Siegler, Rod Humphrey, Matthew Bloss, Jon Winkler, Michael McConchie, Bryan Swank, Michael Danes and Erin Underwood

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Giants Minor League Career Earned Run Average Leaders

Derek Bain — Sat, 07 Jul 2018 23:30:24 +0000

Giants (Minor Leaguers) ERA
Masanori Murakami* 1.72
Ray Miller 1.87
Kurt Mattson 1.91
Jimmy Terrill* 1.97
Steve Reed 2.06
Dan Otero 2.12
Larry Gonsalves 2.17
Steve Callahan 2.19
Madison Bumgarner* 2.22
Miguel Ferrer 2.24

Correctly answered by Michael Murray, Doug Snyder Sr., Rod Humphrey, Jon Winkler and Erin Underwood

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Mariners Minor League Career Earned Run Average Leaders

Derek Bain — Sat, 07 Jul 2018 02:46:12 +0000

Mariners (Minor Leaguers) ERA
Yeuri Gonzalez 1.81
Raul Pedie 1.97
Pedro Vasquez 2.16
Henry Perez* 2.25
Tim Davis* 2.44
Andres Torres 2.45
Emilio Pagan 2.46
Michael Pineda 2.50
Stephen Shackleford 2.54
Carson Smith 2.55

Correctly answered by Rod Humphrey and Bryan Swank

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Padres Minor League Career Earned Run Average Leaders

Derek Bain — Fri, 06 Jul 2018 00:57:50 +0000

Padres (Minor Leaguers) ERA
Kevin Quackenbush 1.53
Kyle McGrath* 1.62
Joey Lucchesi* 1.99
Bruce Bensching 2.12
De Vohn Duncan 2.15
Dale Thayer 2.20
Colby Blueberg 2.22
Brad Brach 2.36
Mat Latos 2.49
Leo Rosales 2.55

Correctly answered by Doug Snyder Sr., Rod Humphrey, Neil Bush, Walt Koscinski, Erin Underwood, Tom Siegler and Matthew Bloss

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Pirates Minor League Career Earned Run Average Leaders

Derek Bain — Wed, 04 Jul 2018 23:30:07 +0000

Pirates (Minor Leaguers) ERA
Richard Acosta 1.25
Tyler Glasnow 2.02
Josh Higgins 2.09
Red Munger 2.13
Luke Hamlin 2.14
Larry Angell 2.17
Sam Street 2.19
Hank Williams 2.21
Montana DuRapau 2.22
Stan Belinda 2.24

Correctly answered by Rod Humphrey, Brian Bohem, Jon Winkler, Doug Snyder Sr., Lanny Little, Matthew Bloss and Bryan Swank

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