MLB advanced stats, explained: What are OPS, WHIP, and more

Let's face it; analytics have taken over the game of baseball. Every general manager, front office executive, and scout is looking for an edge, and advanced metrics give these talent evaluators further insight into a player's performance.

But for fans, some of these advanced stats can be very confusing. WAR? WHIP? BABIP? What the heck does it all mean?

If you're confused by some of the new terminology sweeping through the sport of baseball, you're not alone. But perhaps a little insight into the world of advanced stats will help you decipher the numbers you're seeing running along the bottom of the screen the next time you tune in to watch a ball game.

MLB advanced stats: What is OPS?

Old school baseball fans used to observe a player's batting average. Everyone knew if you had a .300 hitter, you were watching a pretty good ballplayer. But while batting average is still relevant, it's a rather antiquated statistic in today's game. OPS has taken centerstage as the best way to evaluate a hitter's performance.

If you've ever watched the movie Moneyball, you know that one of the most important things in the eyes of then-Oakland A's General Manager Billy Beane was that a player get on base. The more often a player reaches base, the higher probability there is that he'll score a run. And, the more runs you score, the more likely you are to win the game.

So, OPS takes a player's on-base percentage (the frequency in which he reaches base safely) and adds that to the player's slugging percentage (the total number of bases a player records per at-bat). Baseball's all-time leader in OPS is none other than Babe Ruth (1.164 OPS).

MLB advanced stats: What is WAR?

When it comes to WAR in baseball, we're not talking about two teams going to head-to-head, though Yankees and Red Sox fans may disagree. No, WAR is simply an acronymn for Wins Above Replacement.

In essence, WAR measures a player's overall value to the team. It takes into consideration hitting, defense, base running, etc. and puts it into a formula. The number then equates to how many more wins said player is worth than a replacement-level player.

What is a replacement-level player? Think of it a minor-league fill-in or a run of the mill free agent signing. So who's the all-time leader in WAR? You guessed it, Babe Ruth (182.6 WAR). Cy Young is third all-time with 163.6 WAR according to Baseball Reference.

MLB advanced stats: What is WHIP?

Fans used to use ERA (earned run average) as a means to evaluate how well a pitcher was performing. But that metric is rather flawed, especially when it's being used to assess a reliever's performance.

But WHIP is a much more accurate way to give fans an understanding of how good, or how bad, a pitcher is executing. WHIP, just like WAR, is an acronym. In this case, WHIP stands for Walks and Hits per Inning Pitched. It's the sum of a pitcher's walks and hits divided by the innings pitched.

The entire goal of pitcher isn't necessarily to strikeout the opposing batter, though that helps. But rather the pitcher is trying to keep runners off the base paths. Whether it's forcing a ground out, inducing a popup, or racking up punch outs, the pitcher's job is to keep the base paths clear.

The one flaw with WHIP, however, is that it doesn't necessarily calcualte the damage. In other words, a single counts the same as a home run. Both are hits, but one is going to be much more costly to the pitcher than the other. But, a pitcher with a lower WHIP is generally going to have success. Among current pitchers, Jacob deGom owns the lowest WHIP at 0.993.