In baseball statistics

Baseball statistics

Statistics play an important role in summarizing baseball performance and evaluating players in the sport.Since the flow of a baseball game has natural breaks to it, and normally players act individually rather than performing in clusters, the sport lends itself to easy record-keeping and statistics...

, strikeout-to-walk ratio (K/BB) is a measure of a pitcher

Pitcher

In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...

's ability to control pitches; calculated as: strikeout

Strikeout

In baseball or softball, a strikeout or strike-out occurs when a batter receives three strikes during his time at bat. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters....

s divided by bases on balls

Base on balls

A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...

. A pitcher that possesses a great K/BB ratio is usually a dominant power pitcher

Power pitcher

In baseball, a power pitcher is a pitcher who relies on the velocity of his pitches, sometimes at the expense of accuracy. Power pitchers usually record a high number of strikeouts and statistics such as strikeouts per 9 innings pitched are common measures of power...

, such as Randy Johnson

Randy Johnson

Randall David Johnson , nicknamed "The Big Unit", is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. During a 22-year career, he pitched for six different teams....

, Pedro Martínez

Pedro Martínez

Pedro Jaime Martínez is a retired Major League Baseball pitcher. He is an eight-time All-Star, three-time Cy Young Award winner, and 2004 World Series champion...

, Curt Schilling

Curt Schilling

Curtis Montague "Curt" Schilling is a former American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He helped lead the Philadelphia Phillies to the World Series in and won World Series championships in with the Arizona Diamondbacks and in and with the Boston Red Sox. Schilling retired with a...

, or Ben Sheets

Ben Sheets

Ben M. Sheets is an American baseball starting pitcher who is currently a free agent. He is a four-time All-Star, but has been hampered with injury problems throughout his career.-Prep and college:...

. However, in 2005, Minnesota Twins

Minnesota Twins

The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...

 starting pitcher

Starting pitcher

In baseball or softball, a starting pitcher is the pitcher who delivers the first pitch to the first batter of a game. A pitcher who enters the game after the first pitch of the game is a relief pitcher....

 Carlos Silva easily led the major leagues in K/BB ratio with 7.89:1, despite only striking out 71 batters over 188⅓ innings pitched; he walked only nine batters.

A hit by pitch

Hit by pitch

In baseball, hit by pitch , or hit batsman , is a batter or his equipment being hit in some part of his body by a pitch from the pitcher.-Official rule:...

 is not counted statistically as a walk and therefore not counted in the strikeout-to-walk ratio. At youth levels where hit by pitches are more common, including hit by pitches may be a more useful statistic. Walks plus hits per inning pitched

Walks plus hits per inning pitched

In baseball statistics, walks plus hits per inning pitched is a sabermetric measurement of the number of baserunners a pitcher has allowed per inning pitched. It is a measure of a pitcher's ability to prevent batters from reaching base...

can also be used to compare pitchers.