rbi's

chinamigarden said:

My issue are the coaches that take the bat out of the batters hands unless there are 2 strikes. Way to many times are kids taught to not swing until its the last resort. I am sure if we did a statistical analysis of walks and hits and averaged the number of rbi per hit with runners in scoring position and walks with runners in scoring position. Hits will win, but you won't get to that if your batters are afraid to swing the bat.

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Not that I don't agree with you, but this is an entirely different issue. A coach who handicaps his weaker hitters with this approach pretty much ensures that they will remain weak hitters. Every pitch should be "Go, Go, Go...No/Go" - the Go zone just varies based on the game situation and pitch count.

FWIW, some inexperienced hitters actually prefer to hit w/ 2 strikes. Initially, my DD was that way because she knew that she had to swing at anything close and had trouble deciding on what was a good pitch to hit earlier in the count. Very few strikeouts, lots of walks, just didn't get many good hitter's pitches to attack that way. Then, she over compensated and would swing at any strike, even 3-0 - few strikeouts, few walks, but still not a whole lot of hitter's pitches unless the P grooved the 0-0 pitch. With time, more experience, and increased confidence, she's got the zone concept down and is prepared to swing at every pitch, but is selectively aggressive and will look for a hitter's pitch until 2 strikes. I wonder if this is a typical progression?