Barely Any At Bats

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Jun 8, 2016
16,118
113
Also remember reading somewhere that odd numbered batters leadoff mornings that even numbered batters.
Which (I think) makes sense for MLB since the league average for WHIP is usually around 1.3, 1.4
 
Apr 20, 2018
4,581
113
SoCal
Coach: Hello, I am Coach Mike, thanks for coming out today. Really like what I have seen out of Jenny today and I would like to offer her a spot on our team. I think she will fit in nicely. She has a lot of potential.

Parent(s): Thank you Coach Mike for having us out today and the kind words about Jenny. I have a few questions about the team......

Parent, you have no reason to complain unless you have been lied to. ASK QUESTION before signing the check. Lots of questions.
 
Nov 22, 2019
297
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During the fall, my DD would get flexed in bracket play when she pitched. She’s also 1st year 12-u. However, she’d bat in pool games. The line-ups on Sunday were supposed to be based on performance on Saturdays, but even when she hit well a couple of Saturdays, she didn't get in. That said, she never did anything to force herself into the batting line-up.
 
Jul 14, 2018
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Reading through this thread took me back to 12U and how important it all seemed.

Last weekend, our family went for a ride to visit a store about an hour away. While in the car, we all spotted a restaurant that we ate at after a tournament day a few years ago. We all remembered the restaurant and what we had to eat, but none of us could recall what tournament it was or what the outcomes were.

I’ve been on DFP for a few years, and I used to hate reading, “Relax, it’s only 12U.” Now that DD is in 16U, I find myself thinking exactly that


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Oct 11, 2010
8,337
113
Chicago, IL
Just curious, we always hear people advise “talk to the coach.” Has that ever worked? Anyone ever seen a bench player (or their parent) explain all the work they’re putting in and then find themselves in the starting nine?

DD was in the same position as the OP as a first-year 12. She had been an every-inning player the year before, but the coach got starry-eyed about some new players and put DD on the shelf.

Every weekend other parents kept telling me: “you need to talk to the coach!” My reaction was, why? He knows what he’s doing, he’s in the dugout with my daughter every inning, watching the other 10 kids play. What am I going to say to change that?


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I know it did not go well with us. We were not looking for support or complaining but other parents were getting annoyed with my DD's playing time. 1 game the AC pulled the HC Out into the middle of field and started yelling at them. Great confidence boast for DD being forced into game when HC wanted nothing to do with her.
 
May 20, 2016
433
63
One AB over a weekend is kind of silly. Really just bad coaching. Team my DD plays for, which is pretty well known in the NE, has everyone play at least two full games on Saturday at 16U. And pretty much everyone bats for the most part. Any scrimmage everyone bats no exception. To not do that makes no sense. All teams need pitchers, find a new team for the spring. Doubt you'll see any changes if you don't.
 
Oct 3, 2011
3,478
113
Right Here For Now
I believe the baseball nerds have come to the statistical conclusion that batting your best hitter second, followed by your next best hitter first, followed by your next best hitter third, fourth, fifth is actually the best way to go about constructing a lineup. OPS Seems to be the best way now to calculate a Hitters effectiveness.

Also remember reading somewhere that odd numbered batters leadoff mornings that even numbered batters.
Might work for MLB but when was the last time you've seen the second batter, which would technically be the #1 hitter in their thinking, sacrifice bunt to advance the runner to scoring position? Hell, for that matter, when was the last time you've seen a MLB player bunt in general? I'd be much more prone to look at the Japanese professional teams and where they bat their best hitters since they have a tendency to small ball and is a much closer analogy to SB in general than MLB.
 
Oct 26, 2019
1,375
113
Might work for MLB but when was the last time you've seen the second batter, which would technically be the #1 hitter in their thinking, sacrifice bunt to advance the runner to scoring position? Hell, for that matter, when was the last time you've seen a MLB player bunt in general? I'd be much more prone to look at the Japanese professional teams and where they bat their best hitters since they have a tendency to small ball and is a much closer analogy to SB in general than MLB.
Yeah I haven’t looked at that comparison, but I don’t personally see any value in it because I’m not bunting my two hitter when my lead off batter gets on anyway. The team that scores the most runs in any one inning wins a majority of the time so I’m not playing for one run, especially early in the game. In my scenario if my leadoff batter gets on then my best hitter comes up so I’m good with her swinging and not bunting. The two whole hitter will get more at bats throughout the course of the season than everyone except for leadoff batter, but she won’t lead off as many innings as the 1 or 3.
 
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Oct 3, 2011
3,478
113
Right Here For Now
Yeah I haven’t looked at that comparison, but I don’t personally see any value in it because I’m not bunting my two hitter when my lead off batter gets on anyway. The team has scored the most runs in any one inning wins a majority of the time so I’m not playing for one run, especially early in the game. In my scenario if my leadoff batter gets on then my best hitter comes up so I’m good with her swinging and not bunting
And if your lead off doesn't? I'm truly interested in your and @JayW 's thoughts on this. Would you prefer to have your second best OBP player up or your best BA player. The only thing I will mention is that even a good hitter averages .450 at best usually. As you well know that means they strike out roughly 6 out of 10 at bats. Now we're talking 1 out with the statistical probabilty of 2 outs. Also, as you well know, when you are playing high level travel ball (and many college games), the game often times comes down to 1 run. So why not make your line-up for that? I would think (hope) that the top P5/25 college coaches would have looked at this suggested line-up and studied it some. Of course, we're still seeing some pushback on other old school thoughts soooo...
 
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JOHNN

Just a dad of 3 girls
Aug 5, 2019
375
43
South Louisiana
That, and the coach not responding to my question is very frustrating. It wasn't a text with me complaining, I just simply asked what she could do to try to earn more at bats. And no, this isn't the first time she has not responded to a text of mine asking a question. I want to ask her in person, but the lack of communication via text makes her seem very unapproachable.
Havent read all 10 pages yet but have you tried to actually call her instead of texting her? Texting leaves the door open for her to just answer whenever she wants (or doesnt want to in her case).
 

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