How do you define success on the field.

riseball · Jul 16, 2014

I believe the idea that great hitters are successful 3 out of 10 times is one of the biggest sports myths ever perpetuated. The definition of success at the plate or any of the other aspects of the game runs much deeper than batting averages or earned run averages. How do you define success at the plate, in the circle, or elsewhere?

SCDad · Jul 16, 2014

Success is defined by parlaying your DDs talent into Championships. Getting respect for that.

My DD is a character unto herself. On her Championship teams, she is only a BIT player ... In the outfield.

Many have questioned aspects of her game ... The commitment ... A bunch of things. And they are probably right. So it is dismissed.

What is not questioned, is that four (4) separate times in her career, out of 12 seasons, when ALL the games were played, she walked as the Champion.

It pisses people off. The others are better than mine ... I whole heatedly admit. But they have not lived the championship life like I. Most not even once.

As part of this club ... The key is to accept ... Even relish ... Playing a secondary position. RF maybe, or something other as there are many examples on this board.

For the ones who do not have what I have, INSISTED on being number one on their team. Not us. Give us the best team, and put us one it. We will take the backseat.

That is what makes others so mad. Sure, we probably do not deserve it. But ask the ones who are MAD. Will you take a backseat to win a championship. Surprising (to me) most would not.

One more season to go. Hopefully one for the ages!!!

ASAVipers · Jul 16, 2014

Success in my opinion is at the beginning of each season taking an "HONEST" look at your roster and setting goals accordingly, whether that's ASA Gold/PGF level team or a .500 B level team. Obviously you want improvement through out the season, the amount you can expect varies from a lot at 8u-10u and maybe small refined steps at 16u-18u. Errors,Bad AB's,mental lapses will happen on all teams, once again will very depending on the team. At the end of the day if everyone is giving solid effort, progressing and you come close to your said goals I would say the team has been successful.

SoAZDad · Jul 16, 2014

riseball said:
I believe the idea that great hitters are successful 3 out of 10 times is one of the biggest sports myths ever perpetuated. The definition of success at the plate or any of the other aspects of the game runs much deeper than batting averages or earned run averages. How do you define success at the plate, in the circle, or elsewhere?

RB,

A lot of my definition is subjective (which I totally hate because I like tangible, measurable stuff). But I think success on the field is progress over the last several tournaments or maybe even a whole season. We see what we see and measure what we can, and we assess the progress. If the progress is pretty good, I call it success. Now you're gonna ask my definition of "pretty good." I'm waiting for it...

bucket pinata · Jul 16, 2014

At the plate I keep track of quality at bats, assuming we are facing above average pitching. putting the ball in play, making the Defense work, every at bat. Making the pitcher throw as many pitches as possible. Key is just keep banging on the door and wait for the break thru. These are my favorite games. last weekend 12a asa state championship game. 7 inning 0 to 0 score. lost in the tie breaker on a overthrow but a great game very few strikeouts. success in my book. Last year western nationals, in two innings against a flame thrower did not plate a run.but we made her throw 64 pitches, were those batters successful. I say heck ya.

riseball · Jul 16, 2014

Championships and a successful season are a byproduct of the cumulative contributions from the individuals that comprise the team and strategic in nature. What about from a tactical "on field" perspective? How do you define success and motivate individuals to consistently contribute and produce the results required to win the games that results in championships and successful seasons?

For us we focus on quality at bats and execution as dictated by the situation. Which was why I feel that the 70% failure rate at the plate is nonsense. If my lead off hitter works the pitcher deep in the count and then hits a scorcher to 1B who makes a diving play on a line drive, to us that is a very successful AB. She did her job. Conversely if she hits the first pitch for a weak ground ball and beats out the throw, we do not view that as success. She did not do her job. Subsequently based on that criteria we expect by the end of the game to have a very high percentage of successful AB's. The hitter that works the pitcher deep in the count and has a 12 pitch AB resulting in a strikeout is very different from the batter that looks at 3 down the tube. To me the 70% failure thought process is very misguided a fosters an expectation and acceptance of failure.

riseball · Jul 16, 2014

SoAZDad said:
RB,

A lot of my definition is subjective (which I totally hate because I like tangible, measurable stuff). But I think success on the field is progress over the last several tournaments or maybe even a whole season. We see what we see and measure what we can, and we assess the progress. If the progress is pretty good, I call it success. Now you're gonna ask my definition of "pretty good." I'm waiting for it...

Ok. I will bite.

CoogansBluff · Jul 16, 2014

riseball said:
I believe the idea that great hitters are successful 3 out of 10 times is one of the biggest sports myths ever perpetuated. The definition of success at the plate or any of the other aspects of the game runs much deeper than batting averages or earned run averages. How do you define success at the plate, in the circle, or elsewhere?

Not sure how to answer. You begin by saying that success runs much deeper than batting averages, but if you are successful, then you should be able to quantify it in some way. OPS is my favorite offense stat. Then probably slugging pct.

But then again, stats are relative and dependent on the level of competition. Your daughter is a much better pitcher today than she was five years ago, but her college stats are probably not as good as her high school/travel stats. So another way to quantify success on the field is to measure the level of competition against which you are competent. I coached DD's travel teams for four years, and my goal was to go around .500 each season, but to measure success based on the level at which we went .500. Year One was basically entry-level, all-star+ travel ball. Year Four we played entirely A-ball. If you reach a point where ou're willing to travel far and wide and there aren't enough good teams to keep you at .500, I guess you've become pretty successful.

CoogansBluff · Jul 16, 2014

riseball said:
Championships and a successful season are a byproduct of the cumulative contributions from the individuals that comprise the team and strategic in nature. What about from a tactical "on field" perspective? How do you define success and motivate individuals to consistently contribute and produce the results required to win the games that results in championships and successful seasons?

For us we focus on quality at bats and execution as dictated by the situation. Which was why I feel that the 70% failure rate at the plate is nonsense. If my lead off hitter works the pitcher deep in the count and then hits a scorcher to 1B who makes a diving play on a line drive, to us that is a very successful AB. She did her job. Conversely if she hits the first pitch for a weak ground ball and beats out the throw, we do not view that as success. She did not do her job. Subsequently based on that criteria we expect by the end of the game to have a very high percentage of successful AB's. The hitter that works the pitcher deep in the count and has a 12 pitch AB resulting in a strikeout is very different from the batter that looks at 3 down the tube. To me the 70% failure thought process is very misguided a fosters an expectation and acceptance of failure.

Working the pitcher is overrated, IMO. But you've been more consistently front and center to a higher-level of play than I have.

I do value pitch selection very much, though. My daughter went 2-for-10 last week, and one of those hits was a popop that got lost in the sun. Pretty unsuccessful. But I can't remember a bad choice at the plate on whether to swing or take. And there have been times where she's made 3 bad ones in one at-bat. So I while I can't spin 2-for-10 as a successful weekend at the plate, she is being successful in the goal of finding a good pitch to hit. If there were an objective way to define 'bad pitch-selection decision,' that would be a great stat worth keeping.

FP26 · Jul 16, 2014

I look at a game as a series of competitions. Even though softball is a "team" sport, there is much "one on one" competition throughout the game. The pitcher vs. the hitter. The catcher vs. the base runner. Etc. As a coach I attempt to prepare the players to be successful in those individual competitions. Build on that series of individual competitions to become successful as a team. Our goal is to be more successful play to play each week, so that at the end of the summer there is no doubt that the players willing to work have become better than they were to start the year. That's all I can ask for.

At a recent tournament, one of our players was involved in a 15 pitch at bat including 8 consecutive foul balls. Some of them hard line drives just foul to left field. Some of them foul tips that just squeaked by the catcher. Ultimately, the at bat ended in a walk. After the game was over I told that player that this particular at bat was the best at bat our team had the entire weekend. She seemed puzzled stating "it was just a walk". I explained that her tenacity forced the pitcher to work harder. It allowed her to get on base and later scored the tying run. Ultimately we won the game and I believe the credit goes to that one at bat.

How do you define success on the field.

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