What Is FIP In Baseball?

FIP, or fielding independent pitching, is a metric used in baseball to measure a pitcher’s effectiveness. FIP takes into account only those events that are within a pitcher’s control, such as strikeouts, walks, and home runs allowed.

Introduction

Fielding Independent Pitching, or FIP, is a baseball metric that estimates what a pitcher’s ERA would look like if the defense behind him played averagely. FIP does not judge a pitcher’s ability to field his position or hold runners on base. It simply looks at the three things a pitcher can control—strikeouts, walks, and home runs allowed—and tries to measure how well he did in those areas.

What is FIP?

FIP stands for Fielding Independent Pitching and is a metric used to evaluate pitchers. It does this by only taking into account those things that a pitcher can control, such as strikeouts, walks, hit by pitches, and home runs allowed. This is in contrast to ERA, which includes everything that happens when a ball is put into play. The thinking behind FIP is that a pitcher’s ERA should eventually revert back to their FIP, making it a better predictor of future performance.

How is FIP Used?

FIP can be used a number of ways, most notably to compare pitchers from different eras. Because FIP is ERA-independent, it’s a good tool for debating the greatness (or lack thereof) of pitchers from different time periods. FIP can also be used to predict future ERA performance, and because it’s park- and defense-independent, it’s a much better predictor than ERA itself. FIP is also useful in that it separates the pitcher’s performance from that of his defense.

What are the Benefits of FIP?

FIP is an important metric for determining a pitcher’s true skill level. By striping away the effects of fielders, FIP allows us to better evaluate a pitcher’s performance. This is especially useful when comparing pitchers with different defensive supporting cast. For example, a pitcher who plays on a team with great defense will likely have a lower ERA than a pitcher on a team with poor defense, even if they are equally skilled. However, their FIPs would be very similar, allowing us to better compare their true abilities.

What are the Limitations of FIP?

While FIP is a useful metric, it does have its limitations. One of the biggest limitations is that it relies on league-average home run rates. This means that if home run rates suddenly go up or down across the league, FIP will be less accurate.

Another limitation of FIP is that it treats all fly balls equally. This is not necessarily a bad thing, but it does mean that FIP doesn’t account for the fact that some fly balls are more likely to be hits than others.

Finally, FIP doesn’t account for base runners. This might not seem like a big deal, but it can actually have a pretty significant impact on a pitcher’s ERA. For example, a pitcher who allows a lot of base runners but doesn’t give up many home runs will likely have a higher ERA than their FIP would suggest.

Conclusion

FIP, or Fielding Independent Pitching, is a baseball statistic that measures what a pitcher’s ERA would be if the defense behind him was league average. FIP is therefore a helpful tool in evaluating pitchers, as it allows us to strip away the effect of a team’s defensive performance and focus solely on the pitcher himself.

While FIP is a useful metric, it is important to remember that it is not perfect. One notable limitation of FIP is that it does not account for the impact of a pitcher’s batted ball mix (e.g. fly balls vs. ground balls). Additionally, FIP does not take into account the impact of catcher framing, which can be significant.

With that said, FIP remains a valuable stat for assessing pitchers, and is especially helpful in evaluating pitchers who have recently switched teams (or leagues).