Making hitting lineup

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Jul 10, 2014
1,283
0
C-bus Ohio
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.

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.

A perfect Saber lineup in MLB is worth a win or 2 over 162 games, but as noted above the gap between the top and bottom is pretty small, and there are plenty of seasons where 1 or 2 games make a difference.

What I love is when my opponents put their best hitters up top and worst hitters at the bottom. If I can survive the 1st four, my life gets easier. We know that the Saber approach is valid, but how does that apply to us? Spread the outs around. IOW, use the Saber guide as a guide and make sure you don't have 2 or 3 outs in a row in your lineup. Use a better (subjective, yes, but look for the high OBP player) hitter to protect the bottom.
 
Feb 25, 2016
82
0
1. Best eye. That means never taking a called 3rd strike. I don't care if she puts it in play and is thrown out. She'll get the rest of the team some quality looks at pitches.
2. High OBP with no fear of stealing home. She gets on base, she's going to 3rd and possibly home.
3. Next best OBP
4. Hard hitter, but k's a lot. Taking a chance on this one.
5. Ok hitter
6. Ok hitter
7. High OPS. Fielders relax when some of my best hitters come up.
8. High OPS
9. High OPS. I had one team pull the infield in on this one. She's my hardest hitter, but walks more than she hits. If she had made contact, a line drive would've taken off one of their heads.
 
Jun 11, 2013
2,619
113
hs I have to ask what level of ball you are talking about? I can't remember the last time we stole home?

I question having my three best hitters 7-8-9? Most teams figure that out pretty quickly.
 
Jul 10, 2014
1,283
0
C-bus Ohio
1. Best eye. That means never taking a called 3rd strike. I don't care if she puts it in play and is thrown out. She'll get the rest of the team some quality looks at pitches.
2. High OBP with no fear of stealing home. She gets on base, she's going to 3rd and possibly home.
3. Next best OBP
4. Hard hitter, but k's a lot. Taking a chance on this one.
5. Ok hitter
6. Ok hitter
7. High OPS. Fielders relax when some of my best hitters come up.
8. High OPS
9. High OPS. I had one team pull the infield in on this one. She's my hardest hitter, but walks more than she hits. If she had made contact, a line drive would've taken off one of their heads.

hs I have to ask what level of ball you are talking about? I can't remember the last time we stole home?

I question having my three best hitters 7-8-9? Most teams figure that out pretty quickly.

Plus you reduce the number of PA's your best hitters receive, thus limiting their run production.
 

coachjwb

Love this game!
Apr 16, 2014
127
18
Northeast Ohio
Most of the batting orders posted here make sense, but not the ones where the players with the best on base percentages are at the bottom of the order. Just know that over the course of the season, the player at the bottom of the order is going to come to the plate less than the player at the top by approximately the number of games you play ... in other words, if you batted the same batting order all year for 50 games, the 9 hole hitter is going to have give or take 50 less plate appearances than the lead-off hitter. and the 5 hole hitter approximately 25 less times. So you want all of your better hitters in the top part of the line up to get them up more frequently.

As for the OP, I always look at both overall stats, as well as how a player has done the last 2-3 weeks ... both their stats as well as how they've looked up there. There's too much "luck" or variation involved to ever just look at a week or so of stats, but of course you also can't ignore the fact that some players progress and regress over the course of a season.
 
Last edited:
Apr 12, 2016
316
28
Minnesota
We used stats with a look at season long and also a look at the last 5 games or so. However, if Saturday pool games start and #8 is hot with the bat she can expect to move up until she proves otherwise. Our order was fairly fluid.
 
Feb 25, 2016
82
0
Most of the batting orders posted here make sense, but not the ones where the players with the best on base percentages are at the bottom of the order. Just know that over the course of the season, the player at the bottom of the order is going to come to the plate less than the player at the top by approximately the number of games you play ... in other words, if you batted the same batting order all year for 50 games, the 9 hole hitter is going to have give or take 50 less plate appearances than the lead-off hitter. and the 5 hole hitter approximately 25 less times. So you want all of your better hitters in the top part of the line up to get them up more frequently.

As for the OP, I always look at both overall stats, as well as how a player has done the last 2-3 weeks ... both their stats as well as how they've looked up there. There's too much "luck" or variation involved to ever just look at a week or so of stats, but of course you also can't ignore the fact that some players progress and regress over the course of a season.

I noticed that hitters 1-5 get pitched differently than hitters 6-9. #2 got the most difficult pitches. 7-9 would routinely get something fat over the middle. My 7-9 hitters were batting 1-3 in the beginning and struggled
 

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