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Revision as of 01:16, 21 June 2006 by Mack2 (talk | contribs)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)Robert "Vörös" McCracken is a prominent sabermetrician. He is most widely recognized for his pioneering work on Defense Independent Pitching Statistics (DIPS). This recognition eventually earned him a consulting position with the Boston Red Sox. Vörös is a nickname from his Hungarian heritage, meaning "red".
McCracken's findings implied that major league pitchers had relatively little control over the outcome of balls put into play against them. Specifically, McCracken found that the percentage of balls put into play against a particular pitcher that fell for hits did not correlate well across seasons. This implied that elements beyond the pitcher's control, including his defense, ballpark effects, the weather, and most importantly, randomness, had significant effects upon his performance. This theory flew in the face of conventional wisdom, but has been confirmed (at least in its simplest form) by many researchers.