Batting lineup philosophy

doublenickel · Apr 16, 2014

marriard said:
When that player is the coaches DD or when they are the coaches best friends DD or when her younger sister is a stud player and the coach is looking to make sure that when she is old enough she will play for him or sometimes if they look the part (big, strong, athletic, looks great in practice, whatever).. Or in HS for some teams when the player is a senior.

But I am not cynical at all

Actually there is one other time - when the player has proven in past years that she can be the best hitter on the team and it is early in the season so you haven't had enough time for season stats to be statistically relevant. My DD started this past season 3 of 16... and is 18 of 22 since that time (plus she gets a lot of walks and HBP so her OBP is excellent) - she didn't move from her spot in the lineup because her coaches knew she would turn it around at some point.

Edit: Just saw your last post. The coaches know the girl, they trust her and they may have reason to do so based on past performance as my last point hinted at.

Stats I am using are one game from the end of the regular season. Several hard working girls are being treated pretty poorly and this is just a big example.

doublenickel · Apr 16, 2014

goinglefty said:
When did the season start? How many games into the season are you in? It might be they know how good a hitter she is, she is just starting off slow. But probably not.

26 games into the season

fastpitch · Apr 16, 2014

doublenickel said:
26 games into the season

Well... there you go... thats a pretty good sample size. No one here can really explain this coaches thinking. The good thing about it is just MS ball. That seems like a lot of games for a MS team. How long is your season?

marriard · Apr 17, 2014

CoogansBluff said:
btw, 18-for-22 is awesome. Nothing sweeter in life than DD on a tear.

Enjoying the tear while it lasts... because the 3 for 16 was really painful and it is softball so you know it is going to last only so long. Second season in a row she has done this - terrible for a set of games and then almost impossible to get out for a few weeks and looking like getting a hit every time she steps to the plate with the ball just finding gaps/landing where the fielders are not. Then it all kind of evened out.

CoogansBluff · Apr 17, 2014

marriard said:
Enjoying the tear while it lasts... because the 3 for 16 was really painful and it is softball so you know it is going to last only so long. Second season in a row she has done this - terrible for a set of games and then almost impossible to get out for a few weeks and looking like getting a hit every time she steps to the plate with the ball just finding gaps/landing where the fielders are not. Then it all kind of evened out.

I don't know about you, but the deep slumps - I mean the really long ones - are more than nerve-racking. I know I shouldn't worry about it, but it is what it is. For example, my DD joined a new team this year and went 10-for-18 out of the gate w/ some power. Got moved to #3 for a game, a huge compliment because this is the best team she's played for. Then she went 3-for-17 the next weekend. Not unlucky. Just popup, K, weak grounder, painful to watch. Dropped to near the bottom, and deservedly. Now, she's getting it going again. Three HR in her last 20 at-bats, although still erratic. If it weren't a new team, I wouldn't be as stressed about it. Just that desire for the coaches to be glad they chose her, I guess.

Anyway, sorry to OP for the tangent, but it's therapeutic for me to process that.

CoogansBluff · Apr 17, 2014

Out in Left Field said:
You are using one game of stats?

No. He meant all but one game has been played. As in 25 out of 26 scheduled games have been played.

jenny13 · Apr 17, 2014

It definitely depends on who you're facing but it also depends on the age of the girls. The older they are the more you have to have a strict set of who bats based on your philosophy. If you feel like your team does better with your best batter being first, then start it off that way, if you find that you clump you best hitters together (weather it be contact, speed, power, etc) then keep it that way. When they are younger, I think a coach can get away with switching it up often to see how the girls react. Changing it up kind of gives them something to be excited about each game.

doublenickel · Apr 17, 2014

goinglefty said:
When did the season start? How many games into the season are you in? It might be they know how good a hitter she is, she is just starting off slow. But probably not.

26 games into the season

doublenickel · Apr 17, 2014

Out in Left Field said:
OK. Then it is too late. Why didn't the scorekeeper speak up sooner and just ask the coach the philosophy without naming kids? Didn't the coach ask for or see the stats after every game? If a parent, they may not get an answer, but speculating or doing anything after the season is mostly over is pointless. So something is off here.

PS. The statistical leaders are the leaders and I know I have discussed who those kids are with the scorekeeper. But it is HS. I don't consider MS ball competitive, just developmental.

The coach gets the stats after every game.

Chance42 · Apr 17, 2014

CoogansBluff said:
When she leads the team in OBA and slugging. Which is essentiallybasically never. Although I would caution that the ''average'' (assuming you mean batting average) is often overrated. It's possible (albeit rare) for a .250 hitter to be more valuable than a .400 hitter.

My DD is a prime example of this right now...her overall average is right at .340, which is in the bottom four or so of the 14-player team (16U). However, she bats in the third spot, and leads the team in hits with runners on base. There's something about having ducks on the pond that brings out the hitting in her. We are still working on being more consistent even when there isn't anybody on base, though

Batting lineup philosophy

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