Quote:
Originally Posted by Curve Ball Dave
But a good pitcher can control how well a ball is put in play. .
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See that is the point of McCraken's work. That assumption is not a fact. His research found the opposite to be true: that while a pitcher's ability to cause strikeouts or allow home runs remained somewhat constant from season to season, his ability to prevent hits of balls in play did not.
Yes good pitchers have MINOR control over that, but once the ball is in play they have little to no control. They can't account for park factors, defensive alignment, defensive ability and just plain luck, which plays a much greater role in what becomes a hit and what doesn't than a pitcher does.
They have a lot more control over walks and strike outs.
Go through any pitchers career and look at pitchers who have low K/9 stats, their ERA varies greatly from year to year. It is the nature of BAIP.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Curve Ball Dave
Your point about double plays reinforces the notion that what is bad for a hitter is good for a hitter. Double play: Bad for hitter therefore good for a pitcher. In that situation the strike out is bad for the pitcher and "good" (insofar as only one out was recorded) for the hitter.
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To your second point. The pitcher is not going to control if it is going to be a double play or not. So the ball going into play is neither good nor bad for the pitcher. The batter speed, fielder ability, and luck have more to do with if it is a double play or not. Is a bad thing for the hitter because it is now 2 outs, and the result is good for the pitcher, but the ball being put into play isn't good or bad for the pitcher. The reason I put it on the batter, because he has more control on whether it becomes a double play or not than the pitcher does.