what is a good whip in youth baseball what is a good whip in youth baseball

Biggest tip I can give any coach/pitcher at about age 11 and up throw at least one slow one in there with each at-bat. The other teams hitters are baffled, managing only 2 hits, 1 walk, and 1 run in 3 innings. For a description of both, see: https://www.filterjoe.com/2015/11/03/more-fun-is-more-effective-in-youth-baseball/. From the cozy little league 60 foot dimensions we are thrust into 80 feet and 90 feet base paths. Sometimes his windup looks normal. Hi Paul Not really sure how that would translate to a net with a strike zone. The formula is simple enough -- it's the sum of a pitcher's walks and hits, divided by his total innings pitched. Many people also believe it helps increase velocity, especially when the pull down part of the long toss is taken seriously (see video below for how throwers for go to maximum distance, then maintain velocity as they shorten the distance). The definition of WHIP or Walks plus Hits per Inning Pitched is the following per Wikipedia: WHIP = (Walks + Hits)/ (Innings Pitched) Cautionary note: While WHIP is a common statistic in fantasy baseball, it's a rather poor tool for evaluating pitchers as it fails to account for something pitchers have little control over ( BABIP ). However, when you look at the team side with multiple pitchers involved, its a different story. It is variously called a safety curve, a little league curve, a beginners curve, or a football curve. Focus is the Key. Practice Hitting with Tee and Net in Your Back Yard, Axe Bat Review: In the Hands of a 10-year old, Strength and Conditioning Guide for Pre-High School Athletes (Especially Baseball), not recommended for kids below high school age, With pitching lessons that improve mechanics, velocity can increase, curveballs are not a significant risk factor for injury, self-customized version of the Twenty Sixteen theme, Different windup styles that take different amounts of time, Increase velocity (see velocity section above for how to do this), Vary location, focusing first on 3 spots: middle, low and away, and high, Combine the above into pitch sequences and combinations appropriate for young players (i.e. The same ERA (earned run average definition) score standard (4.00 is a good score) applies to the live-ball era. Throughout this progressionand beyond, there are certain principles that always apply. Starting out by learning to concentrate on repeating the throwing motion, by using more core strength, will create a more whip-like in the arm allowing the player to stay strong through the entire motion. Regardless of how long its been around, when you see WHIP somewhere, youll now have an idea if that pitcher is on his way to stardom, or whether hes having a rough year. I put him in lessons and starting throwing with him more starting in january. I wont ever teach him junk until he is at least 15-16. My name is Steven and I love everything sports! I dont know how many people will read this or if it will have much of an impact. Just because there is more than one school of thought on the subject though does not mean that one school has to be right, and the other wrong. A common result is to see the batter lunge forward and try to force the bat down to make contact. Its usually pretty obvious which teams are the strong teams. The acronym "WHIP" refers to the walks and hits per inning pitched that an MLB pitcher records. It means throwing mostly fastballs, learning to locate them, and occasionally mixing in other pitches against the better hitters. So how much velocity should be expected for each age level? What is a Good WHIP in Baseball? How to pitch to win will bedifferent depending on the quality of hitting at a team level and individual level. It represents an equation used to judge a pitcher's ability to prevent baserunners: WHIP = Walks + Hits / Innings Pitched. Locate his pitches? Im a dad with a son who loves baseball. However, MB/9 has virtually no common usage, so it remains a largely unknown and redundant statistic, with WHIP instead in the forefront. Bill Abstein - Big Bill Once again, it's important to compare pitchers on the same team since defensive factors will vary from team to team. What is the Strong and Weak Side in Football? While WHIP is rather well known, it is a statistic that tends to take a backseat to more traditional stats. Velocity will increase from additional strength in legs and in the core. Later during the modern baseball era or the "golden age of baseball" (1920-1960), the standard settled for a score lower or within 3.00 and 4.00. The bottom half of the order wont get hits and the top half will just score 0-2 runs each time around, which is usually acceptable. This may not be apparent at the local rec league level where high velocity strikes overwhelm most batters, but in more competitive all-star and travel ball games, it matters a lot. Parents make a big deal about the kids that are big early, or are coordinated early and project straight lines off this. This is not the case for WHIP, which can fluctuate from year-to-year depending on how well hitters are doing in a given year. Yes. When I was a little kid my dad and I would spend hours throwing the ball around and playing different sports together. The concept of developing Skills that Scale relies on two fundamental and related ideas: 1. The equation, which again is a rather simple one, reads (Hits + Walks)/Innings Pitched. Total Control Sports TCB Hole Ball 5.0 w/ Bag - 12 Pack . Throw inside. In essence, it is the average number of baserunners that the pitcher "loses" to in an inning. There is also a statistic called Baserunners Per Nine Innings (MB/9), which does factor in hit-by-pitches, in addition to hits and walks. From what Ive observed, height/weight of most baseball players is well above the CDC median (partly because most boys playing baseball are within a few months of next age), so observed average velocity on a baseball field will be a little higher than these numbers, and typically 4-6 MPH higher at the AA travel ball level. This is some REALLY GOOD STUFF when it comes to handicapping baseball games because it's a much more telling stat than ERA, which is saying a lot. It should be noted that the player with the highest ball rate also has a below average (good) strikes called rate. If the ball is pitched there, it usually results in whiffs or weak popups that can be caught for an out. The distorted mechanics may not result in the ball going faster despite the greater effort. The resulting number is multiplied by 100 and expressed as a percentage. It is the simplest way to calculate WHIP in a league. If the coach or the pitcher is good enough to spot tendencies in certain players or entire teams, that can be taken advantage of. Whats going on is that theres much more to pitching than throwing hard strikes. WHIP = (200 + 50) / 230 = 1.087. A WHIP over 1.50 is generally considered poor. For those players who play a lot of baseball each year, it will not only help them become better athletes and ball players, it will also reduce chances for injury. Opinions vary between 12 and 14 as the age cutoff for the curveball. The base path distances in itself become such a challenge because almost all of our kids do not grow physically and athletically in the same proportion as the required baseball skills. How do I choose the right type of bat? This is not always true in college sports, as prestige programs typically dominate smaller schools. His W.H.I.P. Although it is not as popular as OPS, WHIP is still used to assess performance. Daniel was looking for a method to assess a pitcher's performance in a fantasy baseball league. But at 18, I think a lot of these superstars may end up small peaked too early and stopped growing early (like girls do). To throw the changeup effectively, its necessary to keep all pitching mechanics as close as possible to fastball mechanics. Reliably being able to pitch to the four corners of the strike zone is the ultimate goal but is difficult for 9- and 10-year-olds. Youll certainly notice when that happens, and then its time to use changeups. Well start working on the locations you mentioned, because throwing hard down the middle just isnt working anymore against the best hitters. Advanced metrics have never been a more integral part of baseball as they are today; everyone is looking for stats that will give them a slight edge in predicting how good a player is. In baseball, the whip is a measure of the momentum of the bases as a function of the rate at which runners are thrown out. Likewise, a pitcher who has a good WHIP but allows a fair amount of home runs can suffer adverse effects because of it. The goal of this website is to provide you with content that will help you get a leg up on the competition, whether thats in the realm of coaching or on the field itself. I ended up getting a bachelors degree in Exercise Science and Ive learned a ton about sports and performance along the way. Michael I agree with everything you say. Some coaches only allow the hardest throwing players to pitch, and too many players tie up their egos with how hard they throw. In the meantime, we have two rec games in between and he wanted to use those to experiment. It is a simple statistic you use to determine how many hits and walks on average a pitcher gives up. My ten year old son is a pitcher who plays on a travel baseball team. To get a clearer picture of . You can tell when they try to overthrow at 100% when their mechanics get distorted. The most straightforward way to disrupt a hitters timing is with the changeup. Great read Joe, thank you. Therefore, a pitchers MB/9 will be very similar to his WHIP, though slightly different in most cases. All he has to do is throw hard strikes. Constructed from responsive, aerospace-grade alloy, the Rawlings 5150 bat is made for optimal performance at the plate. There is a school of thought that a player should work on nothing but throwing hard strikes (and perhaps locating those strikes) until they enter high school. no pressure but also no vagaries due to 9-10 year old batters. Many kids dont get very excited about changeups because theyre in love with velocity or breaking balls. Putting a majority of our focus into the development of these skills will compound their value over time. WHIP stands for walks and hits per inning pitched, and the concept of this statistical measure is reasonably simple: It shows how well a pitcher kept runners off base. From one meaning of the word 'whip', you might think that it refers to the way in which the pitcher throws the ball. WHIP can be used to indicate success because hard-hit balls that result from bad pitches are more likely to be hit, plus walks are the fault of the pitcher. Most of the time, when the turn is correct, the hands and wrists just fall in line. Low and outside pitches result in weak grounders if the batter is able to hit them at all. His W.H.I.P. Most middle-of-the-rotation pitchers will throw around this mark. College pitchers throw in far fewer games, as the NCAA has a limit of 56 games maximum for a team; Major League Baseball teams play 162 games, giving more time for statistics to normalize. Performance & security by Cloudflare. I didnt have a great arm at a young age and I threw fast balls, all 4 seem fastballs for that matter and I struck lots of kids out because I painted the corner. Let's take a look at an example below. Youll only get better at throwing hard if you try to throw hard. Good read and basically just common sense. The statistic shows how well a pitcher has kept runners off the basepaths, one of his main goals. The more competitive the opposition, the more tools are required by pitchers. Another way is to use WHIP= (Walks + Hits) / Plate Appearances. 2. The statistic was initially called Innings Pitched Ratio, or IPRAT, which over time evolved into the term WHIP. The database also shows that of the 116 World Series champions, just nine have posted a WHIP in the bottom half of the league. Indeed, it is about size. In rec league, such pitches can be reserved for the better batters. In our league, the umpires are kids above the age of 12. Pitching is finite when you play 3-6 games in a single weekend. Cole Hamels changeup is so good that even experts cant tell the difference between his fastball and changeup on slow motion video. Cal Abrams - Abie. But, there is a coach addiction to the hard thrower. This site also participates in other affiliate programs and is compensated for referring traffic and business to these companies.. I jotted notes and am going to hang on my sons wall in an easy to read bullet format. If an umpire calls pitches that are 3 inches outside and 2 inches too low as strikes, then all the pitcher has to do is aim for the low, outside corner of the strike zone, and if he misses outside or low by a couple inches it will still be called a strike. Throwing that changeup occasionally also makes the fastball more effective as batters are kept off balance. Rachel Seis Updated: Jan. 05, 2022 Take a crack at these grand-slam recipes inspired by your favorite ballpark snacks and treats. Coaches make too big a deal about velocity and the hard throwers at young ages are almost always wild and throw away games. Few pitchers have such good command by age12. .8 - 1.00 is outstanding. So just keep playing and wait and see how it all unfolds. However, when first facing a team with good hitting, the velocity-only pitcher doesnt know what to do when the other team gets many hits. However, he was so hard to hit, allowing just 6.3 hits per 9 innings pitched, that while his WHIP was usually around the league average, he was regularly in the top-10 in ERA. For pitchers, one of the most discussed stats is WHIP, and it is often one of the first stats baseball fans look at when determining a pitchers abilities. It is therefore tempting to not actively do anything to increase velocity while waiting to grow. would be calculated by: (113 hits + 33 base on balls) divided by (156 innings pitched) = .936. $69.99. Most pitchers when first learning to throw a changeup will automatically move their arm much slower. As you get to the higher levels, all four pitching tools are needed in youth baseball. WHIP was invented by writer Daniel Okrent, who also created rotisserie fantasy baseball in 1979. Pitchers with lower WHIPs are generally the ones that will give up the fewest runs, as they allow the least amount of people on base. Pitching is disrupting timing. Rec at 12 u will see 45 and perhaps 55 at the high end. A good average in baseball is .300 in the MLB, so a good OBP in the MLB would be .360. However, young arms are more susceptible to injury than adults from poorly thrown curveballs. The idea is that throwing nothing but hard fastballs strengthens the arm more than mixing in other pitches. Balanced does not mean throwing many curveballs and changeups. Note: Two years after writing this post, I went to my first 12u travel ball tournament. Baseball Player Nicknames. That is not going to help kids throw faster and may lead to injury as kids attempt to throw harder than theyre able to. Nevertheless, velocity is an important tool, and it becomes more important as kids get older. But does he throw changeups? By high, I mean just above the shoulders, which will be called for a ball. Your email address will not be published. 1.00-1.30 is very good to about average. 50 would be exceptional. The players Hey there! I was shocked really. Keeping the above principles in mind, pitching at the travel ball and all-star level is different. Umpires in our league were instructed to have a liberaloutside corner call, to help keep the game moving along. WHIP is one of my favorite pitching statistics! For example, a boy who is 10 years and 11 months old who looks like he is biologically 13,is 5 8 tall, and weighs 150 lbs would be expected to throw much harder than a boy who just turned 10, is 47, and weights 80 pounds. Hits account for any hit that allows a batter to get to the base safely without force play, error, or fielder's choice. You've always got home-field advantage when whipping up these nachos, pretzels, popcorn, hot dogs, nuts and more, right in your own kitchen. I quit reading after you talked about a youngster throwing change ups and curves. I think youre spot on regarding strike %s at that age and success. I personally prefer a balanced approach so that a player learns to think like a pitcher. Batters who reach on a fielders choice are not counted against a pitchers WHIP in baseball statistics. He noted that kids in the 11 or 12 year range coming to him threw low to mid 50s when they came to him. 17+ Basketball Games for Kids The Ultimate List. Joe thank you for this. There are many advantages to starting with one strike on the batter. Last time I checked its just a game. The top performers all did more than just throw hard strikes. would be calculated by: At Baseball Rebellion, we commonly ignore the hands/wrists in hitting instruction. But what is WHIP, and what is a good WHIP in baseball? Its a great pitch, but theres no point to throwing it to the bottom half of the order if they have less than a 10% chance of reaching first againstfastballs thrown for strikes. As they continue to learn the What Is a Secondary in Football? Break your arms in a downward semi-circular motion. Over the last three years, the average strikeout to walk ratio for a starting pitcher is 2.8, meaning pitchers on average strikeout 2.8 hitters for every one they walk. Above 55% is good, above 50% is okay, 45% is barely acceptable, and below 45% it is generally not a good idea to have the player pitch very much. I dont teach any of my players traditional curveballs and sliders and I thought I steered away from them in the article (perhaps you quit reading before I said no sliders before age 16, and no traditional curveballs before the age of 12 or 14 depending on your opinion). Three Year Olds. The players throwing that hard are usually above average in size. To a large extent, velocity will be related to physical development. It calculates the walks plus hits per plate . As you make contact, your grip will naturally get tighter and your top hand thumb will not allow the bat to get knocked backwards. When pitching, most coaches, including me, will tell you not to throw 100% because that will lead to inaccurate throws and getting tired too quickly. The report said that firearm death rates for children ages 0 to 17 increased 120.8% from 2019 through 2021 and by 231.3% from 2012 through 2021. Going back to our example Nolan Ryan, at the height of his career, 1972 to 1978, he averaged over 300 strikeouts per seasonbut also walked an average of 170 batters per season, leading the league in six of those seven years. Aiming for the low/outside corner is the next step. This site is owned and operated by Coaching Kidz. Have your feet and shoulders in line with your target. Getting visibly frustrated, he began throwing a two seam cut fastball that hit the low outside target. It is an important tool, but I have often seen this tool overemphasized at the youngest levels. The Ultimate Guide, Volleyball Scoring 101: The Ultimate Guide to Keeping Score. He throws pretty hard for his age and at about a 55% clip on strikes. link to Defensive Line Positions in Football [Complete Guide], Can You Slide into First Base?