Where do you bat your best hitter?

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If the best hitter definition is best all-around hitter, Contact, power, bunting etc. Then its #3 IMO. Leadoff would be best combination of speed, baserunning, eye at the plate and contact, #2 would be best at handling the bat, bunting, comfort level in taking a few pitches and speed. Of course I would also say thats in a perfect world lol, and I know there are many other options and probably not one correct assumption in regards to a line-up.

 

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Generally speaking, 3rd, though it depends some on the other hitters in your lineup and a few other factors. For example if the top 4 are all very good hitters without a lot of differentiation between them, I might drop the best one to 4th especially if she has more power and/or if she is very slow. 5th is definitely too low mainly for the reason Joe quoted about getting an extra at bat. The one way to think about it is ... if there are 2 outs in 7th and the tying run is on 3rd and the winning run is on 2nd, who do you want up? If the #3 batter is actually up, and you wish it was #4, then you probably should switch the order in the future.

 

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One thing that a couple of people have mentioned is bunting. Barring an extreme circumstance, my #3 hitter isn't bunting. Assuming the #3 hole is your best hitter, I think it goes against the book to have her bunting. She is probably going to hit the ball somewhere and stands a decent chance of either getting a hit or at least moving a runner up just hitting away. And if she does bunt, there is always the chance she gets herself to two strikes with foul balls.

If she bunts with first and second and no outs, then the #4 hitter stands a good chance of being walked. I'd rather take my chances with first and second and no outs with 3-4-5 coming to the dish, rather than bases loaded and one out with 5-6-7 coming up.

That does remind me, though. The one time I am more likely to bunt in general is with first and second and no outs instead of just a runner on first and no outs. The bunt with first and second moves two people up, thus doubling the benefit from giving up the out.

 

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I would think hidding players would be difficult. Many off you coaches know who to be cautious with. Many of you have coached for years and you pay attention to others games as well as your own. You go through the years with your teams and compitition and both sides become very familiar with tendencies over the years. That being said it seems most prefer the 3 hole. imho.

jsad I agree that hiding players is difficult. Good teams should know who the best hitters are on the team that they are playing.

Moving players around in the line-up (at least for my purposes) has nothing to do with hiding anyone. It really has more to do with maximizing offensive production. Speed is great everywhere in the line-up why limit it to just the lead-off spot. Again only once will you be sure to have that hitter in the lead off spot. Every other at bat that she has in the game could be with two outs and bases loaded, who knows? This is a game of percentages, I want my best hitter to get as many at bats as possible, after that it really becomes a matter of who is hot and who is not. If I can stack my best 6 or 7 hitters in a row then the pitcher has to get thru them three times. I want to make it as difficult as possible to get thru the best 6 or 7 that I have. Again its about percentages. When you try to "hide" a batter here or there they always seem to be the one up with bases loaded and 2 outs. Its just like on defense, the ball always finds the weakest fielder.

 

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I have to agree with "first blood". Get it early and fast. Lead off has been my best hitter. Especially if she can really make more than just contact. Having her at the plate more times and making more than just single base contact helps get into their heads (especially at younger ages). Also hard to argue with the No. 3 batters and the "chess match" you try to setup. I lean towards first blood especially if it's a pitchers dual and both teams have solid "D". Helps with sustaining confidence and allows you to take controlled riskl

 

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Have to say that I had always believed in the best hitter at 3rd or 4th position until I personally saw the benefit of having a consistent, powerful hitter with decent speed at lead off. In the best case senerio, she hits a double or triple and is immediately a scoring threat...even if she only hits a single, now you have a runner....move her around with #2 lefty, bunting or slapping, then #3 (who should be pretty close to the lead off in ability) and you've scored for sure.

 

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Lead off with the best on base percentage batter.

 

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I bat her first. She has speed and hits for power. She makes the most plate appearances so she has the best chance of getting up again at the end of a tight game. Her high rate of success builds the confidence of the rest of the team. Because she is more than just a single hitter but my best all around hitter if she gets extra bases I have lots of options through 2,3,4 to get that important first run in.

I like batting my best first. Might be because of her diverse skill set. If she had a wicked stick but was slow and not a good runner I would change plans and try to get someone on the bases first.

 

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I'm from Chicago... EARLY AND OFTEN. just like voting... ^_^!

 

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My 2 Cents......

The best hitter seems to be cyclical....on a game to game basis...at least that has been my experience with our players.......we tend to bat bunters and speedsters 1 or 2 and our power hitters 3rd and 4th...but again as JSad commented it depends on who we are playing.....anymore every batter at this level is making the investment to get better and they are all tough outs.

 

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I tend to believe that the best hitter in the line up should be where she would get the most at bats. 1-3. If she had speed, without hesitation she leads off. I also like the idea of her batting 3rd if she has marginal speed for two reasons. #1 the obvious, to have more RBI opportunities, and second is to set the table for the big bopper who may not have a big BA or OBP but with one mighty swing of the bat...... In my dream world everyone in the lineup can hit double their weight, and go yard at anytime with speed to burn. Can I have five more minutes of sleep, Mom...LOL

 

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I place my best hitter at No. 3, but she's also my best bunter and fastest player on the team. She's a bit of a confusing player to have in a good way, b/c she's fast enough and bunts well enough to bat leadoff, has literally NEVER been thrown out stealing... but if she hits a liner drive in the gap, she has a good chance of hitting all four bases. Led the team this Fall in HR's, but runs a 4.3, 40-yd dash. I think I'll keep her at no. 3 this summer and see how that goes.

4.3, 40 yard dash ?. Reggie Bush runs a 4.33, 40 and Dion Sanders in his prime was a 4.2, 40 yard dash.

 

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1. Faster player, best slapper or contact hitter - not in a power sense. This is the player you want to get on. Best base stealer

2. Best bunter - preferably the leadoff gets to at least third with the help of this batter. A good slapper would also suffice. It is a must that this hitter moves the runner.

3. Gets the run home - via sac or hit. You know which I prefer.

4. Power hitter that can further the damage.

5. Similar to 3rd in the lineup. Their job is go get anyone in that is currently on base.

6. 7, 8 and 9h have a similar goal for 1 thru 4.

 

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I place my best hitter at No. 3, but she's also my best bunter and fastest player on the team. She's a bit of a confusing player to have in a good way, b/c she's fast enough and bunts well enough to bat leadoff, has literally NEVER been thrown out stealing... but if she hits a liner drive in the gap, she has a good chance of hitting all four bases. Led the team this Fall in HR's, but runs a 4.3, 40-yd dash. I think I'll keep her at no. 3 this summer and see how that goes.

4.3, 40 yard dash ?. Reggie Bush runs a 4.33, 40 and Dion Sanders in his prime was a 4.2, 40 yard dash.

wonder what Bo Jackson ran the 40 yd dash in? Just adding to the long line of speedsters.

Can't forget David Klingler running from the opposition breaking through the Bengal front line...:lmao::lmao: I know-hi-jacked a thread...;&

 

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thank Google for this one...

When Usain Bolt set the world record in the 100 meters a few months ago, he ran the first 40 yards in 4.22 seconds. The fastest 40-yard start ever recorded in a sanctioned 100-meter dash is Maurice Greene's 4.18 in 1999. Those are fully automatic times, minus reaction time.

http://www.footballsfuture.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=5019820

 

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I was not talking about a world record but I appreciate the record Les, my point was that some 16 year old female softball player is not running a 4.3, 40 and I thought Reggie was a current player we could compare times to.

 

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Fun facts to add to your point.

 

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and a good point Les, thank you !

 

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and a good point Les, thank you !

Yea thanks.....

 

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I follow what Johnnies posted. It is who gets on base, not best hitter. Who has speed. that can make a walk a triple in a few pitches.