If there was a seminal moment in the movement towards statistical analysis in Major League Baseball, it may very well happen to be the 2001 publication of Voros McCrackens research on Defense Independent Pitching Stats, that they shortened to DIPS. Inside a series of articles over the course of a couple of years, McCracken indicated that Major League
Da'Mon Cromartie-Smith Jersey pitchers were pretty much equal if this came to preventing hits on balls in play. While there
Josh Kline Jersey were huge and sustained differences in walks, strikeouts, and residential runs allowed, exactly the same did not hold true for the rate at which balls were converted in outs whenever a pitcher gave his defense a chance to become involved. Whether it was Pedro Martinez or Aaron Sele, roughly 30% of balls in play selected hits, with minimal variation between pitchers. McCrackens idea was so antithetical to general wisdom about evaluating pitching that the subject was a primary supply of research within the analytical community, but guys like Tom Tippett (now working for the Red Sox) and Keith Woolner (utilized by the Indians) mostly ended up confirming McCrackens original thesis. Despite a conclusion that seemed
Pat Sims Jersey absurd, for the most part, pitchers really didnt have the symptoms of much control of whether balls in play went for hits or outs. Tippett did find a few types of pitchers who could somewhat break the mold, most notably knuckleballers, and additional research demonstrated that the data suggests more that pitchers have little control instead of
Case Keenum Jersey no control over their hit rates on balls in play, but even with a more muted conclusion, in fact most big league
Ryan Succop Jersey pitchers find themselves in the range of a .280 to .320 Batting Average on Balls in Play, or BABIP because it is usually called these days. There are variations in pitchers for the reason that range, but by and large, thats mostly where everyone fits. Everyone, that is, except Chris Young. Read the rest on Just a little Outside.
