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May 20, 2009
19
0
Charlotte, NC
I am a second year head coach, first year at 12U. What stats (offense & defense) do other coaches beyond the standard batting average, on-base. How do you use them to evaluate the team and make changes?
 
Sep 29, 2008
1,401
63
Northeast Ohio
I don't use them much to make specific decisions on a regular bases. I look at them because sometimes they reveal that my perceptions or what I think is happening on the field in reality isn't. For example i may think a hitter needs to stay in a certain spot because of last years history but in reality, statistically over a long strentch of games she isn't performing. On the other hand a player my have a very bad weekend and statistics over a season may let me know that overall they are not doing as bad as I thought. Same with pitching. A player may have a game with 5 walks and I may get a little down on them but when I look at stats I can see that it was an exception. I also occassionally use them when I make a move that a player or parent is having a hard time with. I'll casually make stats available so people can see there was "science" behind my decisions!
 
Jan 15, 2009
585
0
Batting Average, On Base %, Slug % help make batting lineup decisions. Within that I will look at K/PA BB/PA to get an idea of how well the kid tracks the ball and whether they make good decisions at the plate.

lhowser- kid gets 5 walks in a game, instead of getting down on them you should move them to the top of your order. Hitting is about managing failure, no one bats 100%, very good batters fail 50% of the time. If your going to consider a walk some sort of failure your adding to the failure burden for that kid instead of adding to their success rate and giving them something positive to look at. I will say that it does depends on the level your playing at, 10UB where you might get a walk 90% of the time without taking a swing I would definitely look at it different than 16UA where you might have to foul off 5 close pitches to earn a walk. Some of the best at bats I've seen ended in a walk after 10+ pitches. For reference, I give my kids the green light to go after 3-0 pitches (if it's in their favorite zone) so I'm not teaching kids to get a walk, just trying to reinforce positive outcomes.
 
Jan 15, 2009
689
18
Midwest
Stats are also only as "good" as the person doing your book. . .

At 10U I use them to keep track of trying to make sure pitchers are getting enough or too many innings as well as to track everyone else's playing time. I have used batting average, on base, and a few others to move players around in the lineup and to help identify areas we need to work on.
 
Jan 18, 2010
4,284
0
In your face
On-base plus slugging, commonly referred to as OPS. OPS adds the hitter's on base percentage (number of times reached base by any means divided by total plate appearances) to her slugging percentage (total bases divided by at bats).

OPS is also useful when determining a pitcher's level of success. "Opponent On-base Plus Slugging" (OOPS) is becoming a popular way to evaluate a pitcher's actual performance. When analyzing a pitcher's statistics, some useful categories to consider include K/9IP (strikeouts per nine innings), K/BB (strikeouts per walk), HR/9, WHIP (walks plus hits per inning pitched) and OOPS (opponent on-base plus slugging).

Defense-Independent Pitching Statistics, including Defense-Independent ERA (dERA), in an attempt to evaluate a pitcher performance regardless of the strength of the defensive players behind her. defense-independent pitching statistics (DIPS) measure a pitcher's effectiveness based only on plays that do not involve fielders: home runs allowed, strikeouts, hit batters, walks, fly ball percentage, ground ball percentage, and line drive percentage. Those plays are under only the pitcher's control in the sense that fielders (not including the catcher) have no effect on their outcome.

Also important are all of the above statistics in certain in-game situations. For example, a certain hitter's ability to hit left-handed pitchers might incline a coach to provide increased opportunities to face left-handed pitchers. Other hitters may have a history of success against a given pitcher (or vice versa), and the coach may use this information to create a favorable match up.
 
Jan 18, 2010
4,284
0
In your face
May 13, 2008
831
16
Also I think there is a app for stats on the iphone. I'm not a tech guy, still do stats the old fashion way. :)

There is a great app for the iPhone/iTouch called, coincidentally enough, iScore. Super cheap if you already have the hardware. Keeps track of all the stats and you can email them in PDF format.
 
Jan 18, 2010
4,284
0
In your face
There is a great app for the iPhone/iTouch called, coincidentally enough, iScore. Super cheap if you already have the hardware. Keeps track of all the stats and you can email them in PDF format.

Just pulled it up. That looks like a great app. Now if I can get my daughter to show me how it works. :)
 
Jul 16, 2008
1,520
48
Oregon
I use them as above posters have described, but I also use them for the parents. When the mother of Suzie Miscue comes and asks why I moved her daughter from SS to left-out I can actually show her the .300 fielding average, compared to the .900 average of the girl who took Suzie's place.
 

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