Fielding Independent Pitching (FIP) is a statistic used in baseball to measure a pitchers effectiveness, taking plays that would involve the defense trying to field the ball out of the equation. FIP is similar to Earned Run Average (ERA), but it focuses solely on the events a pitcher has the most control over, such as strikeouts, walks, hit-by-pitches, and home runs. FIP aims to take the "luck" factor out of ERA and focus more on the results a pitcher can control. Balls in play are not part of the FIP equation because a pitcher is believed to have limited control over their outcome. FIP takes a pitcher’s strikeouts, walks, and home runs allowed and translates them into a number scaled to ERA. A good FIP, similar to a good ERA, is usually going to be one that is in the 2s or low 3s. FIP can show which pitchers were most and least effective at the things they controlled over a given time period. It can also provide a clue that there are circumstances beyond a pitcher’s control impacting his performance, such as the quality of his defense, a propensity to allow a high or low rate of a batted-ball type (line drives, ground balls, fly balls), or good/bad luck. FIP is used to evaluate pitchers and can be a better measurement, in general, of pitcher performance.