Batting Philosophy

[JayW]

Do you put your best hitters at the top of the lineup (as measured by BA and OBP) to get them more AB’s in the game or do you default to the old standby of putting bunters and slappers at the top? Would your answer change if the best hitters were a P and C (free courtesy runners)?

 

[Lance Steckler]

well, the slappers should have best OBP anyway, else why do it???? Need runners on in front of your XBH hitters.

other option is to have speedy batting in front of both pitcher and catcher to get that speed back on bases in courtesy runner situations. Unless, your P& Catcher are also some of your best base runners.

i could go on forever, but my current team is a nightmare to construct batting order. in summary, somebody has to bat last and current team batting AVG is ~.398 this fall.

 

[Strike2]

That bunter / slapper needs to be effective, or putting them at the top is worthless. For the first two slots, I'm looking for a not-slow kid with a good OBP. Doesn't have to be the best, but I want a pretty good chance of getting at least one of them on base. My "best hitters" are in the 3-4-5 spots. The rest fill out the lineup in descending order of effectiveness, with an eye towards who might be running for the P/C. My fast but not-so-effective bunter / slapper is going to the bottom.

 

[radness]

i batted 2nd or 5th.
Small ball and Power.
Bursting speed
Not a gazelle
Could break 3.0 to first.
Right handed hitter.

 

[radness]

Lineups are interesting because at Friendly's coaches just keep the lineup rotating throughout the day game after game. Good idea, everybody should understand the role of small ball. And everyone needs to know the time when you want them being more selective or need hit-and-runs. Sometimes being selective is more time management then it is effective at scoring runs.

I bring up small ball because somebody who maybe the weakest hitter can still potentially put the ball in play in any situation.

 

[Rolling Hard]

well, the slappers should have best OBP anyway, else why do it???? Need runners on in front of your XBH hitters.

other option is to have speedy batting in front of both pitcher and catcher to get that speed back on bases in courtesy runner situations. Unless, your P& Catcher are also some of your best base runners.

i could go on forever, but my current team is a nightmare to construct batting order. in summary, somebody has to bat last and current team batting AVG is ~.398 this fall.

You need to find tougher competition.

 

[uncdrew]

I'm of the mind that many coaches (especially new ones) make this much harder than it needs to be.

Yes, put best batters at the top of the order. Get them the most ABs. And speed at the top of the order is great when that is paired with a good OBP/BA.

 

[uncdrew]

You need to find tougher competition.

Or a more "honest" game changer operator.

 

[Strike2]

The best "small ball" happens when it's least expected. Never underestimate the "surprise factor" of a batter that nobody expects to bunt misreading overly-complicated coaching signals with two strikes. Games can be blown open in that moment...

 

[Tango]

Our HS team has an average runner that can hit at leadoff (she is a good baserunner). Two can fly and great bunter (lead team in batting average). Question, we have a lot of power hitters but thinking about putting one of our better hitters for average at the 3 hole (she is our ace and we can run for her), Do you think putting the pitcher that can't run up top is a good move since you can run for her?