OBP yes, QAB is overrated though. It penalizes players who are aggressive and are first pitch hitters. I teach my kids to be aggressive. Parts of the QAB stat are good, but I don't care if my player sees 6 pitches if they got a hit on the first one
Making hitting lineup
- Thread starter teamM
- Start date
Welcome to Discuss Fastpitch
Your FREE Account is waiting to the Best Softball Community on the Web.
OBP yes, QAB is overrated though. It penalizes players who are aggressive and are first pitch hitters. I teach my kids to be aggressive. Parts of the QAB stat are good, but I don't care if my player sees 6 pitches if they got a hit on the first one
Cannonball
Ex "Expert"
- Feb 25, 2009
- 4,881
- 113
I once went to a basketball clinic to hear an expert coach talk about the Diamond and One Full Court Press. In that same style, I'll give you my softball lineup.
#1 - Typically I put a girl in this spot that has world class speed. She puts the ball on the ground and if that ball actually touches dirt, she is either on 1st or 2nd. She has never been thrown out by a fielder.
#2 - Most teams put a bunter here. Not me. Typically, I put a hitter here that is 2 tenths of a second slower than the leadoff player. If we do this right, she will put the ball on the dirt and one run will score while she ends up a 2nd.
#3 - Ok, so this is where I put a real hitter. Typically, this young lady will hit in the upper .800s with a good mix of home runs.
#4 - This is my "beast player." Typically, she will hit a hundred home runs per year IF teams pitch to her. She walks to the field carrying 3 bats in her bag and a sledge hammer to get loose with.
#5 - Ok, so this girl has real power and can hit for average. She'll hit 50 home runs per year and can, at times, be switched with the "beast" if the "beast" isn't feeling well.
#6 - So, my lineup is starting to get a little weaker here. This young lady will hit .500 and hit 40 few home runs. She has to to protect #4 and #5,
#7 - Carbon Copy of #6. She is #7 in the lineup because she hits more singles than #6.
#8 - My weakest hitter by far. Some might call her normal. She'll hit .400 but nothing fancy. Her 30 home runs are hardly worth mentioning.
#9 - See #2 but this young lady is playing up 2 age groups and so, we put her here so she can develop.
If you think this lineup is crazy, you should have heard the basketball speech. LOL
#1 - Typically I put a girl in this spot that has world class speed. She puts the ball on the ground and if that ball actually touches dirt, she is either on 1st or 2nd. She has never been thrown out by a fielder.
#2 - Most teams put a bunter here. Not me. Typically, I put a hitter here that is 2 tenths of a second slower than the leadoff player. If we do this right, she will put the ball on the dirt and one run will score while she ends up a 2nd.
#3 - Ok, so this is where I put a real hitter. Typically, this young lady will hit in the upper .800s with a good mix of home runs.
#4 - This is my "beast player." Typically, she will hit a hundred home runs per year IF teams pitch to her. She walks to the field carrying 3 bats in her bag and a sledge hammer to get loose with.
#5 - Ok, so this girl has real power and can hit for average. She'll hit 50 home runs per year and can, at times, be switched with the "beast" if the "beast" isn't feeling well.
#6 - So, my lineup is starting to get a little weaker here. This young lady will hit .500 and hit 40 few home runs. She has to to protect #4 and #5,
#7 - Carbon Copy of #6. She is #7 in the lineup because she hits more singles than #6.
#8 - My weakest hitter by far. Some might call her normal. She'll hit .400 but nothing fancy. Her 30 home runs are hardly worth mentioning.
#9 - See #2 but this young lady is playing up 2 age groups and so, we put her here so she can develop.
If you think this lineup is crazy, you should have heard the basketball speech. LOL
I realize you are kidding but seriously if you have this team the order you put them in won't matter...
It's good to know we are on the same page...but my #9 is playing 3 age groups up
If you're 12U and not poppin' 30+ dingers...my team ain't for you!
CP
- May 17, 2016
- 2
- 0
my order of importance is obp, avg, recent games and practice showings,
i believe obp is a bigger stat than avg. you cant score on a hit if no one is on.....
Last edited by a moderator:
Cannonball
Ex "Expert"
- Feb 25, 2009
- 4,881
- 113
Ok, for a serious answer, a lineup is never a stagnant thing. It has to adjust due to a number of things. BA is not a good indicator of who should hit where. As a Coach, you should have an idea of who can handle the pressure of hitting up in the lineup and who can't. You know that hitting is as much mental and physical if not more so and so you know that once in a while, you have to move a player down in the lineup until they gain some confidence back. Good luck in your decision making process.
If the first pitch hitters are smacking line drives and hard hit grounders - they aren't hurt by the quality at bat. A first pitch pop-up is, though.
I agree that QAB is an excellent measure of hitting success. The one drawback is that it doesn't measure power hitting. That's where OPS comes in.
Is there a standard definition?
I don't see much value in that statistic, personally. But many do.
wOBA is my metric of choice (used to be OPS). I set my lineups using:
1. best OBP that is not best wOBA or best SLG
2. best wOBA that is not best SLG
3. best remaining OBP
4. best SLG
5. best remaining SLG
...repeat
This was built based on a Saber article that I cannot find for anything, but I had a guy build me a spreadsheet that automatically creates my lineups based on OBP, SLG, and wOBA per the criteria above. I only use it after we get at least 20 PA's, which is still a ridiculously small sample size, but we have a short season. I update it after every game, so it's fluid. I will also switch players around some based on mentality (had a girl this season who should have been leadoff but hated batting first, so I swapped her for #2 with only a slight reduction in wOBA in that spot).
Best part of using stats and a spreadsheet? You tell the parents that your lineup is 100% based on performance numbers and math, and they rarely argue about it lol!
1. best OBP that is not best wOBA or best SLG
2. best wOBA that is not best SLG
3. best remaining OBP
4. best SLG
5. best remaining SLG
...repeat
This was built based on a Saber article that I cannot find for anything, but I had a guy build me a spreadsheet that automatically creates my lineups based on OBP, SLG, and wOBA per the criteria above. I only use it after we get at least 20 PA's, which is still a ridiculously small sample size, but we have a short season. I update it after every game, so it's fluid. I will also switch players around some based on mentality (had a girl this season who should have been leadoff but hated batting first, so I swapped her for #2 with only a slight reduction in wOBA in that spot).
Best part of using stats and a spreadsheet? You tell the parents that your lineup is 100% based on performance numbers and math, and they rarely argue about it lol!
Similar threads
