Enter walks, hits and innings pitched to get WHIP — how many baserunners a pitcher allows per inning.
WHIP stands for walks plus hits per inning pitched. It is the number of baserunners a pitcher allows, on average, in each inning they throw — counting only the two things the pitcher most directly controls, walks and hits. Lower is better.
WHIP was invented to answer a simple question: how much traffic is this pitcher putting on the bases? A pitcher can have a low ERA and a high WHIP by pitching out of jams, or a high ERA and a low WHIP by giving up a few home runs. Read the two together: ERA tells you how many runs came home, WHIP tells you how many runners were out there.
Because it does not depend on whether a run was "earned", WHIP is less affected by scorekeeping judgment than ERA — a real advantage in youth baseball and softball, where error calls are inconsistent.
WHIP = (Walks + Hits Allowed) ÷ Innings Pitched
Walks (BB) are bases on balls, including intentional walks. Hits allowed (H) are every single, double, triple and home run given up. Hit-by-pitches, errors and fielder's choices are not in the formula even though they put a runner on base — this is the standard definition, and it is worth keeping so your numbers match every league site and app.
Innings pitched use baseball notation: 5.1 is five innings and one out (5⅓), 5.2 is five and two outs (5⅔). Enter it that way and the calculator converts it. Unlike ERA there is no game-length scaling — WHIP is already per inning, so a youth WHIP and an MLB WHIP are on the same scale, even if they are not comparable for other reasons.
WHIP is written to two decimals, for example 1.25.
Your pitcher goes 5.1 innings in a Saturday tournament game and allows 4 hits, 3 walks and 1 hit-by-pitch.
Type 3, 4 and 5.1 into the calculator above and you will get 1.31. If you had read 5.1 as a plain decimal you would have gotten 1.37 — small, but wrong, and the error grows over short outings.
In the 2025 MLB regular season the league-wide WHIP was 1.29 (calculated from official MLB Stats API team totals; 2024 was 1.27). The tiers fans use:
| Level | WHIP | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| MLB, 2025 league average | 1.29 | Ordinary big-league pitcher |
| MLB, good | Under 1.20 | Consistently keeps the bases quiet |
| MLB, excellent | Under 1.10 | Ace territory |
| MLB, elite | Under 1.00 | Fewer than one runner an inning; a handful of pitchers per season |
| Youth (8U–14U) | Varies widely — judge the trend, not the number | Walk rates at younger ages can push WHIP above 2.00 for perfectly normal pitchers |
At younger ages WHIP is mostly a walk counter, because walks are the main way runners reach base until pitchers learn to throw strikes consistently. A 10U WHIP of 2.00 is not alarming; a 13U WHIP of 2.00 probably deserves a conversation about command. Rather than a target, look at whether your pitcher's WHIP is falling as the season goes on, how it compares with last season, and where they sit among pitchers in the same league. A falling WHIP with a flat ERA usually means the defense, not the pitcher, is the problem.
WHIP is arguably the fairest single stat for a young pitcher, because it does not punish them for their defense and it responds directly to the skill they are working on: throwing strikes. Record walks, hits and outs per outing — the printable scorecard captures all three — and check the number every few games.
MyBallPlayer does the math automatically for every game you log, tracks pitch counts alongside, and charts WHIP and ERA across the season so you can see command improving.
Add walks and hits allowed, then divide by innings pitched. Example: 3 walks and 4 hits in 5⅓ innings = 7 ÷ 5.333 = 1.31. Hit-by-pitches and errors are not included.
In MLB the 2025 league average was 1.29; under 1.20 is good, under 1.10 is excellent and under 1.00 is elite. Youth WHIPs are driven mostly by walks, so track the downward trend across a season and compare with the league leaderboard rather than a fixed target.
No. Standard WHIP counts only walks and hits allowed. Hit-by-pitch and batters who reach on errors are not included.
No. WHIP is already per inning, so it needs no game-length scaling. That is one reason it is easier to compare across leagues than ERA.
ERA measures earned runs per game; WHIP measures baserunners per inning. A pitcher can have a good WHIP and a poor ERA (a few big innings) or the reverse (escaping jams). Read them together.
Yes, with the same formula. Because it ignores errors and needs no game-length setting, it is one of the cleanest pitching stats for youth softball.