Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) is a statistic used in baseball analysis that attempts to measure a pitcher’s performance independent of the performance of his defense. It is an ERA-like statistic, which attempts to strip out the impact of the defense and only reflect a pitcher’s performance. FIP has become a popular tool among sabermetricians as a way of analyzing pitching performance, and it has been credited with helping to better understand the importance of a pitcher’s role on a team.
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Despite its popularity, FIP has been criticized by some for being an imperfect measurement of a pitcher’s performance. This article will examine the flaws of FIP and discuss why it should not be used as the sole measure of a pitcher’s performance.
What is FIP?
FIP stands for Fielding Independent Pitching, and it is a statistic used to measure a pitcher’s performance independent of the performance of his defense. It is based on the concept of “expected runs allowed”, which takes into account the number of walks, strikeouts, and home runs a pitcher has allowed. FIP is generally seen as a better measure of a pitcher’s performance than earned run average (ERA) because it attempts to strip out the impact of the defense.
FIP is calculated by taking into account the number of home runs allowed, walks, hit-by-pitches, and strikeouts a pitcher has allowed. It is then divided by the number of innings pitched and multiplied by nine to get the FIP score. The FIP score is then compared to the league average FIP, and the difference between the two is the “FIP differential”. The higher the FIP differential, the better the pitcher’s performance.
Limitations of FIP
Although FIP is generally seen as an improvement over ERA, it has several shortcomings that limit its usefulness.
FIP Does Not Account for Quality of Contact
One of the main criticisms of FIP is that it does not take into account the quality of contact a pitcher has allowed. FIP does not distinguish between a well-hit ball and a weakly hit ball, which means that a pitcher who has allowed a lot of weakly hit balls can have a higher FIP than a pitcher who has allowed mostly well-hit balls. This is because FIP only takes into account the number of home runs, walks, hit-by-pitches, and strikeouts a pitcher has allowed, rather than the quality of contact.
FIP Ignores Outfield Defense
Another limitation of FIP is that it ignores the impact of outfield defense. FIP does not take into account the number of fly balls that have been caught by the outfielders, which means that a pitcher who has been aided by strong outfield defense can have a higher FIP than a pitcher who has been hurt by poor outfield defense. This can be particularly problematic for pitchers who rely heavily on their defense.
FIP Does Not Take Into Account Pitcher’s Ability to Limit Hard Contact
FIP also does not take into account the ability of a pitcher to limit hard contact. Hard contact is often the difference between a ball that is hit for an out and one that is hit for a home run. FIP does not take into account the ability of a pitcher to limit hard contact, which means that a pitcher who is able to minimize hard contact can have a higher FIP than a pitcher who is not able to limit hard contact.
FIP Is Not a Predictor of Future Performance
Finally, FIP is not a very good predictor of future performance. FIP is a backward-looking statistic, which means that it does not take into account any changes that a pitcher may make to his approach or mechanics over time. This means that a pitcher with a high FIP may not necessarily continue to be a poor pitcher, and a pitcher with a low FIP may not necessarily continue to be a good pitcher.
Conclusion
Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) is a statistic used in baseball analysis that attempts to measure a pitcher’s performance independent of the performance of his defense. It is an ERA-like statistic that has become popular among sabermetricians, but it has several shortcomings that limit its usefulness. FIP does not take into account the quality of contact allowed, the impact of outfield defense, or the ability of a pitcher to limit hard contact. Additionally, FIP is not a very good predictor of future performance. For these reasons, FIP should not be used as the sole measure of a pitcher’s performance.