Coach hates stats

[mroth1987]

Head coach of Gold AS team (10U) refuses to look at stats when considering line up. We have 2 girls that have over our first 10 games now hit ~500 with not a single K. Two other players are hitting below 200 with 5 & 7 Ks in 10 games. Two girls hitting well are 11 - 12 in line up, two struggling are hitting 4 & 6. I conceed that the two girls near bottom have about 5-6 fewer at bats (about 20 vs. 25) so a hit can make a difference, but 10 games is enough of a sample to start to notice.

I asked if he had considered moving 11 and 12 up as they were hitting well and he said, "I don't think they were hitting that well overall."

Scorekeeper is brutally honest with not awarding hit if a defensive out should have been made. Scorebook says player 11 has 2 doubles, 5 singles, 7 BB, reached on an error and 6 outs on hit balls. Player 12 has 6 singles, 6 outs, 6 BB and reached on 2 errors. Any recommendations on how I should approach coach with "real" data as opposed to impressions. I am asst coach, but HC doesn't want input. The players involved are not my DD, but I don't want to poison his attitude toward my DD.

We have been batting around in the two tournaments so far so positions shouldn't have necessarily driven his decisions. I am starting to hear sniping from the parents who are smart enough to notice that a couple of our hitters are frequent outs, often in the same inning.

Good news is that we are the #1 seed out of pool play this weekend and our pitching has been rock solid.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[SoCalDad]

When using bat around stats are not the sole criteria I use in setting the batting order. Rather I set the order to essentially give me two line ups that have an opportunity to generate runs. Below is my approach to a 12 player bat around order. In this weekends tournament my #10 batter had a higher BA than my #4 batter. My #4 though had a significantly higher slugging percentage. You should try to understand the methodology your HC is using to set the lineup so you can understand what, if any, stats could be useful for him.

1. Fast Runner
2. Good Bunter
3. Contact
4. Power
5. Contact
6. Power
7. Weakest Batter
8. Fast Runner
9. Good Bunter
10. Power
11. Contact
12. Power

 

[mad hornet]

When you play 3 or more games in a day it is tough to remember what everyone had done.

I always tabulate and analyze stats and often find I'm surprised to learn that someone did better than I remembered or worse as the case may be. I don't share this info with the team but I will recognize the leaders as a means of motivation.

I will also use it to modify the line-up. Some kids need moved down as motivation to perform better or moved up to show that we noticed their improvement and to reward it. That's just the way I do it.

Now if my #3 is hitting rockets but right at 'em, I'm not moving her down. You still have to mentally replay the game as you go through the book.

 

[SnocatzDad]

When using bat around stats are not the sole criteria I use in setting the batting order. Rather I set the order to essentially give me two line ups that have an opportunity to generate runs. Below is my approach to a 12 player bat around order. In this weekends tournament my #10 batter had a higher BA than my #4 batter. My #4 though had a significantly higher slugging percentage. You should try to understand the methodology your HC is using to set the lineup so you can understand what, if any, stats could be useful for him.

1. Fast Runner
2. Good Bunter
3. Contact
4. Power
5. Contact
6. Power
7. Weakest Batter
8. Fast Runner
9. Good Bunter
10. Power
11. Contact
12. Power

Nothing wrong with the above but I would recommend making sure #11, #12 aren't slow otherwise they will always be in front of your Rabbit at #1 and holding your speed demon back.

 

[SoCalDad]

Nothing wrong with the above but I would recommend making sure #11, #12 aren't slow otherwise they will always be in front of your Rabbit at #1 and holding your speed demon back.

The slow one is #6 (my DD) and she is almost always pulled for a courtesy runner. The speed difference between 11, 12 and 1 is about .2 to .3 when timed between first and second. I had a large number of girls try out for the team and speed was a critical decision maker for me. My team scores a lot of runs by simply out running slow fielding.

 

[SoCalSoftballdad]

Any recommendations on how I should approach coach with "real" data as opposed to impressions. I am asst coach, but HC doesn't want input. .

I think you answered your own question. You approached the Head Coach already and he nicely told you "thanks but no thanks". As an assistant coach you can make recommendations, but ultimately you have to support the decisions of the head coach 100% as part of the team's coaching staff.

 

[sluggers]

We have been batting around in the two tournaments so far so positions shouldn't have necessarily driven his decisions.

Obviously, this coach is clueless. How else can you explain letting every kid bat every inning?