What does DIPS theory say about a pitcher’s control over balls hit into play?

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Green retro manual baseball scoreboard beyond an empty, neatly mowed baseball field with brown infield dirt and striped grass outfield. — Sabermetrics A scoreboard provides some – but not necessarily the most useful – data on player and team performances in baseball.

Defense Independent Pitching Statistics (DIPS) theory, developed by Voros McCracken, posits that a pitcher has very little control over the outcome of balls hit into the field of play.1

According to this theory, while a pitcher exerts significant influence over events that do not involve the defense—specifically strikeouts, walks, and home runs—the results of balls put into play are largely determined by factors outside the pitcher's control, such as luck or the quality of the defense. Consequently, DIPS suggests that a pitcher's ability to prevent hits on balls in play is relatively consistent across the league, challenging the traditional view that certain pitchers possess a unique skill for suppressing hits once the ball is put in play.1