Baseball is a game of stats. There are stats for every single scenario that you could ever think of. However, if there is one stat that you should be paying attention to, it is WHIP. In the MLB forums you hear a lot of talk about how important the WHIP category is and most gamblers use the WHIP category as an important part of any baseball handicapping or baseball betting strategy.

WHIP is an algebraic expression to show how efficient a pitcher is. 'W' stands for walks, 'H' stands for hits, and 'IP' is innings pitched. The expression for WHIP is (walks + hits)/innings pitched. In other words, if a pitcher gave up four walks and six hits in five innings of work, his WHIP is 2.00. (i.e. (4 + 6)/5 = 2)

WHIP is relative. Bullpen guys are expected to come in and throw strikes, meaning their walks are going to be down. These men generally have more strikeouts as well, which are "free outs" that don't require the bat hitting the ball, cutting down the limit on hits. You'd love to see a closer with a WHIP of 1.00 or fewer.

For starting pitchers though, the game is totally different. Cliff Lee is the master of the WHIP because he rarely walks any batters. His WHIP is 2010 was less than 1.00, and it was remarkably low in the postseason. You just don't find starters that give up few enough hits and walks to keep their WHIP below 1.00 for the entire season.

Anything better than about 1.30 or so is a great WHIP for a starter, and your super studs will have WHIPs in the 1.20s. Don't even bother with anyone who has a WHIP above 1.50, as that generally means that they are walking way too many batters and are gas cans that probably should be in the minors. A lot of fantasy baseball players now utilize the WHIP when drafting pitchers.