Making hitting lineup

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Aug 16, 2015
129
18
If the first pitch hitters are smacking line drives and hard hit grounders - they aren't hurt by the quality at bat. A first pitch pop-up is, though.

I agree that QAB is an excellent measure of hitting success. The one drawback is that it doesn't measure power hitting. That's where OPS comes in.

A popup is a popup.. hit on the 1st pitch or 10th pitch.
 
Aug 16, 2015
129
18
I would take a 10th pitch popup any day. Though I would take a first pitch double over that...

Let's say there is no one on base.... How does a 10th pitch popup benefit the team over a 1st pitch popup besides maybe wearing down the pitcher a little and letting teammates see her pitches?

I am not trying to say QAB is totally meaningless, but I think it's overvalued.... or maybe it's just the meaning of the stat that needs to be tweaked... I don't think there is a great way to do it though but for instance, if a girl gets in a 0-2 hole, then the pitcher throws 3 awful pitches way out of the zone, then comes back with a meatball down the middle that the batter misses.... it's a 6 pitch AB.. so it counts as a QAB... but was it?
 
Jun 27, 2011
5,089
0
North Carolina
Let's say there is no one on base.... How does a 10th pitch popup benefit the team over a 1st pitch popup besides maybe wearing down the pitcher a little and letting teammates see her pitches?

I am not trying to say QAB is totally meaningless, but I think it's overvalued.... or maybe it's just the meaning of the stat that needs to be tweaked... I don't think there is a great way to do it though but for instance, if a girl gets in a 0-2 hole, then the pitcher throws 3 awful pitches way out of the zone, then comes back with a meatball down the middle that the batter misses.... it's a 6 pitch AB.. so it counts as a QAB... but was it?

The 10-pitch at-bat helps wear down the pitcher. But I agree w/ you totally. It's overrated. DD had an AB this spring in HS ball where she must've fouled back 8 balls before chasing one for a K. Quality? That was her worst at-bat of the year, IMO. If you can't square the ball in that many tries, that's a pretty weak at-bat. Now, of course, if that had been Monica Abbott pitching, i might've felt differently. It wasn't.
 
Oct 30, 2014
292
18
Seattle
Let's say there is no one on base.... How does a 10th pitch popup benefit the team over a 1st pitch popup besides maybe wearing down the pitcher a little and letting teammates see her pitches?

I am not trying to say QAB is totally meaningless, but I think it's overvalued.... or maybe it's just the meaning of the stat that needs to be tweaked... I don't think there is a great way to do it though but for instance, if a girl gets in a 0-2 hole, then the pitcher throws 3 awful pitches way out of the zone, then comes back with a meatball down the middle that the batter misses.... it's a 6 pitch AB.. so it counts as a QAB... but was it?

By wearing down the pitcher and letting her teammate see more pitches... I also think you are putting yourself in a position to be more successful in general if you use more pitches, more likely for the pitcher to make a mistake. Granted, other stats should be showing this if thats the case.

I concede its not the best stat in the world, I'd rather have players on base.
 
Aug 16, 2015
129
18
I do like that QAB gives you credit for a hard hit ball, even if it becomes an out.

Yes, there are some aspects of QAB that are good... and some parts that are arbitrary. Hard Hit Balls are subjective, but a good measure as long as the same person is scoring all the time.
 
Aug 16, 2015
129
18
The 10-pitch at-bat helps wear down the pitcher. But I agree w/ you totally. It's overrated. DD had an AB this spring in HS ball where she must've fouled back 8 balls before chasing one for a K. Quality? That was her worst at-bat of the year, IMO. If you can't square the ball in that many tries, that's a pretty weak at-bat. Now, of course, if that had been Monica Abbott pitching, i might've felt differently. It wasn't.

Exactly. If those 8 fouls were on balls painting the corners, or "pitchers pitches" it's a good thing but if they were all BP fastballs that were not hit it means yet another. The stat treats them the same though.
 
May 17, 2012
2,804
113
Line ups are done on a game by game basis, but we try to reward girls who are working hard and showing progress by moving them up in the lineup when we can.

This is the best practice. In the end if you optimize your line up perfectly you might win one extra game this summer. The sample size is too small and you can't predict future outcomes on past performance. We would all be rich by playing the stock market if that were true.

Is there an optimal way to set your lineup? Yes. Does it have a huge impact. No.

I like to reward hitters who have success by moving them up (and those that don't down). I do maintain some structure, it's not completely random.
 
Jun 27, 2011
5,089
0
North Carolina
Is there an optimal way to set your lineup? Yes. Does it have a huge impact. No.

I agree, as long as you use common sense.

It’s been shown in research using computer simulations that MLB lineups can be done randomly with little change from an optimal lineup. That’s partly because the range in MLB between best and worst hitters is not that huge. In travel softball, the difference between best and worst often is more extreme, so a random lineup probably wouldn’t do so well as an optimal lineup.

But, as I said, just use common sense. As long as your more productive hitters are toward the top, you’ll be fine, IMO.
 

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