From page 287 of "Baseball For Dummies," by Joe Morgan (with Richard Lally):
This stat (WHIP) tells you how many base runners a pitcher surrenders for every inning pitched...A WHIP below 1.50 is outstanding in these heavy-hitting days.
>> This book was published in February of 2005. I'm guessing that most of you reading this are pretty familiar with what constitutes a good WHIP, but indulge me with just a few fish-in-a-barrell stats to point out how way, way off Joe Morgan is.
The major league average WHIP for pitchers so far this year is 1.38. Meaning that the average pitcher is "outstanding" by a comfortable margin.
There are currently 94 starting pitchers eligible for the ERA title who have WHIPs at or below 1.50. That's 85% of all eligible starters.
The following pitchers have WHIPs of below 1.50: Runelvys Hernandez; Carl Pavano; Zach Greinke; Jeff Suppan; Brandon Backe; Victors Zambrano and Santos; Nate Bump; and of course, the incomparable Doug Waechter.
Outstanding.
