Quote:
Originally Posted by Cinnamon J. Scudworth
Can you explain that a bit more? In real life terms, I don't understand how moving to the bullpen automatically gives a pitcher more control. It seems like it's mostly about giving him fewer chances to issue walks, not about lowering the walk rate (except perhaps as a function of a higher K rate, which would be modeled by stuff).
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You may be familiar with Tom Tango's work, right? Well, I won't cite him specificlly but, of the top of my head, he has a rule-of-thumb that, when a pitcher transitions to the bullpen, his K% improves 17% and his BB% decreases 17%, with the opposite happening when the transition is bullpen to rotation.
The reasons are difficult to prove or disprove, more anedoctal then anything. But, basically, relief pitchers throw more fastballs (higher in-zone%), hitters are less inclined to drive up his pitch count (as they would with a starter, perhaps), and when you focus on your best one or two pitches it's easier to throw strikes.