Best Athlete on the field playing other position

Good discussion! I know each team is different and at different levels (TB vs HS) alternate decisions make sense. I just can't understand the rigidity of this coaches "philosophy" for THIS team's situation. The #2 P is good, just not as good as #1. She is a good choice to put in circle during the weaker games without hurting our teams chance of success. What I see that diminishes win probability is putting #1 P on the pine instead of in the lineup. Now if EVERY other player was better than her at a given fieldd position and at bat, sure sit her down. That is not the case. This is a player who aspires to play college but may not be a college pitcher, but I think any team would be happy to have her. By limiting her play time, I think the coach limits her ability to grow as a SOFTBALL player. I think back to when Auburn was in WCWS. Whitney Jordan was SS. She was an all state pitcher in HS. Clearly a great athlete, but I cant help but think she was also playing in field to make that transition in college.

With the Flex/DP Rule, and imo, this doesn't make sense for a good hitter to not hit. WRT pitchers playing other positions, I want the best team on the field. My dd played SS, 1B, CF and RF in high school when she was not pitching.

Both DD's are getting limited time on the field due to their primary positions of Pitcher/Catcher and it most certainly is not due to their lack of athleticism/speed/conditioning/IQ or abilities. Almost feel like they both should just describe themselves as Utility players who, oh by the way can work in the circle or behind the dish when needed. I completely understand trying to protect from injury or not exhausting a kid on a long tourney day but not all the time and at the expense of developing them further at other positions or with base running or hitting. Winning games would be nice too and having a good IF/OF player sit while errors pile up is frustrating and doesn't help the team as a whole get more games in.

Done properly pitching is mentally taxing, and can make the mental transition from the circle to the batters box even harder. I have found that some pitchers just perform better in the circle when they are not hitting. Others the opposite is true. If a pitcher is just as good as a player on the bench it may not make sense to have them hit. Often they need to be much better, not just as good as others to crack the lineup.

There is always the increased risk of injury that needs to be considered. Unfortunately in 2016 Jake plunked Rainey Gaffin of Tennessee with a hard up and in riseball as she was slapping. The pitch fractured Gaffin's arm and ended her career. This was at the SEC tournament and it effectively crippled #1 Tennessee's post season. A week later they got knocked out of their own Regional by an unranked Arizona.

riseball said:

Done properly pitching is mentally taxing, and can make the mental transition from the circle to the batters box even harder. I have found that some pitchers just perform better in the circle when they are not hitting. Others the opposite is true. If a pitcher is just as good as a player on the bench it may not make sense to have them hit. Often they need to be much better, not just as good as others to crack the lineup.

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That's a very interesting point. This is a transition year for my DD, pitching from 5' further back, working on a curve that actually has room to move, etc. I wonder if the mental side of it all might be affecting her hitting, because she has slumped off and on all year. Maybe it's a coincidence but I never even considered it might be connected to the pitching. Hmm