Quote:
Originally Posted by jar2574
I don't know how crummy Detroit or San Diego defenses were in 1974, but why wouldn't a pitcher's ERA shoot up if he was traded to a hitter's park(Colorado) or to a team with a bad defense?
If you don't believe that is possible, then in essense, you're saying that you think BABIP is in the pitcher's control. And we're just going in circles at this point.
There are players that exhibit consistent BABIPs, but they are the exception, and the data suggest that we should not interpret that consistency as having been within the pitcher's control, except in rare cases.
Whether Messersmith is one of those cases, I have no idea. But even if he was, his BABIP would probably go up in hitter's parks and in front of bad defenses.
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Well, the Braves in the 70s were a bad defensive ball club in a HR park (why do you think they called that stadium "The Launching Pad"
) And yet while his ERA rose it didnt skyrocket.