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Like BABIP for pitchers, using BABIP for batters removes the results from events the batter has less control over, but introduces luck as a greater component in the resulting stat.
Yes, you can tell if a batter is in a state of improvement or decline by focusing closer on his BABIP, but it can't be used as effectively for pure power hitters since HR's are not part of the equation. If you're asking a slugger to drive in runs, and in doing so, hits more sac flys, those sac flys lower his BABIP. Now, it's likely that a pure slugger will also strike out more, reducing the denominator as well, and certainly much more than his number of sac flys, but all batters strike out.
Also, the very fleet of foot who beat out more infield hits would also likely benefit from using BABIP as a contract negotiation stat. Using this calculation to reflect hitting prowess over and above BA artificially inflates his apparent value. Not saying code exists in the game for this, but maybe the future?
I'm not arguing that adding batter BABIP is bad or wrong, it's probably that there's more for me to chew on with pitcher BABIP. You can get a clearer picture of overall pitching luck and how effective team defense, ballpark factors, and opposition talent level are with this stat.
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