Walk-to-strikeout ratio


In baseball statistics, walk-to-strikeout ratio is a measure of a hitter's plate discipline and knowledge of the strike zone. Generally, a hitter with a good walk-to-strikeout ratio must exhibit enough patience at the plate to refrain from swinging at bad pitches and take a base on balls, but he must also have the ability to recognize pitches within the strike zone and avoid striking out. Joe Morgan and Wade Boggs are two examples of hitters with a good walk-to-strikeout ratio. A hit by pitch is not counted statistically as a walk and therefore not counted in the walk-to-strikeout ratio.
The inverse of this, the strikeout-to-walk ratio, is used to compare pitchers.

Leaders

Best single-season walk-to-strikeout ratios from 1913 to 2011:
RankPlayerTeamLGYearBBSOBB/SO
1Joe SewellNYYAL193256318.67
2Joe SewellNYYAL193371417.75
3Joe SewellCLEAL192564416.00
4Joe SewellCLEAL192948412.00
5Charlie HollocherCHCNL192258511.60
6Lou BoudreauCLEAL194898910.89
7Eddie CollinsCWSAL192587810.88
8Joe SewellCLEAL192665610.83
9Eddie CollinsCWSAL192384810.50
10Mickey CochranePHAAL19296988.63
11Joe SewellCLEAL192398128.17
12Tommy HolmesBSNNL19457097.78
13Joe SewellNYYAL19316287.75
14Tris SpeakerCLEAL192097137.46
15Joe SewellCLEAL19275177.29
16Mickey CochranePHAAL19275077.14
17Tris SpeakerCLEAL19186497.11
18Lou BoudreauCLEAL194970107.00
18Tris SpeakerCLEAL192277117.00

In 2018, Jose Ramirez had the best BB/K ratio in the major leagues, at 1.33.