A walk sends the batter to first on four balls. It does not count as a hit or an at-bat, which is exactly why batting average misses it and on-base percentage does not.

For a hitter, a walk is worth a little less than a single — it advances no one but the runner directly ahead — but it is worth far more than an out, and outs are the resource the offense is spending. A hitter who walks 90 times has effectively added most of a month of extra plate appearances that did not end an inning.

For a pitcher the same event is one of three things he fully controls, alongside strikeouts and home runs allowed. That is the basis of FIP and of pitching NUT: a walk is charged to the pitcher regardless of what the defense does next.

What is a good BB?

Walks are a full input to NUT on both sides. For hitters they raise wOBA; for pitchers they are one of the three outcomes FIP counts, and they push pitching NUT down.

Updated live during the season.

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