Where do you bat your best hitter?

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What do you consider "the best hitter"? The batter with:

Best Avg?
Best OBP %?
Best SLG %?
Any other stat?

My lineup in a utopian world would be:
1. Best OBP
2. Best Avg (or 2nd best OBP)
3. Best SLG
4. 2nd Best SLG

the rest of the lineup is the toughest to figure out IMO.

Len

 

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Good post Len. OBP is overlooked by many coaches. Happened to my dd. As a slapper she was getting on first many times because of walks and errors. She could have a ZERO batting average yet get on base 3 out of 4 times score 3 runs and steal 5 bases and be told your batting average is poor !

 

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Good post Len. OBP is overlooked by many coaches. Happened to my dd. As a slapper she was getting on first many times because of walks and errors. She could have a ZERO batting average yet get on base 3 out of 4 times score 3 runs and steal 5 bases and be told your batting average is poor !

Now I'm no expert, but I would think a slapper's main job is to get on base. Slappers put the ball in play, and utilize their speed to create confusion and hurried throws, or not even a throw at all. Maybe I'm wrong......

 

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I like that slapper at 2 or 3. When I have people on base the slapper can cause chaos. People are running, defense has to make a lot of decisions...it can lead to a crazy throw and a big inning.

 

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a walk is as good as a home run at the 10U level!!! Well not quite, but sounds good anyway. OBP better be your best friend when understanding the entire situation.

 

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Good post Len. OBP is overlooked by many coaches. Happened to my dd. As a slapper she was getting on first many times because of walks and errors. She could have a ZERO batting average yet get on base 3 out of 4 times score 3 runs and steal 5 bases and be told your batting average is poor !

Now I'm no expert, but I would think a slapper's main job is to get on base. Slappers put the ball in play, and utilize their speed to create confusion and hurried throws, or not even a throw at all. Maybe I'm wrong......

OBP depends on the bookeeper. Reaching base via error, uncaught 3rd strike, obstruction, etc. does not impact the OBP in a positive way. However, I think fielding errors generated by slappers should be scored a hit a little easier than "normal" fielding errors. However, if you are calculating OBP as a simple "Times on base / Plate Appearance" then it doesn't matter. That isn't OBP but still a useful stat for slappers, draggers, etc. You have to consitency in the book and calculations.

 

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AOBP is the key stat for Slappers. Part of their game is putting pressure on defenses and generating errors. If your not using AOBP to judge the effectiveness of your short gammers your missing the big picture.

 

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AOBP is the key stat for Slappers. Part of their game is putting pressure on defenses and generating errors. If your not using AOBP to judge the effectiveness of your short gammers your missing the big picture.

What is "A" OBP?

 

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Actual OBP. Since only walks,HBP and hits help OBP. If you have a kid On base 5 out of 10 but her OBP is .280 so you hit her low in the order, depending on the type of team you have it might be a mistake.

All that being said I have not met a good coach yet who wasn't fully aware when they had a kid On base all the time lol.

 

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Implicit in some of the responses is an important point: while we can all agree on what constitutes a power hitter and what constitutes a contact hitter, the question begged by the thread is "what defines 'best'"?. And it's really a tautology because the correct answer to the definition of best depends on first answering the question "best for what purpose"?

So, for me, I want that lead-off to have a combination of decent power, great contact control, and good speed. If my player with the best OPS (on base plus slugging) has decent speed and if there are good candidates for the #3 and #4 spots on the roster, I start the player with the best OPS.

 

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If your stud hitter leadsoff with a double, is sac over to third and now you have your "second or third best" hitter up what as a coach are you going to do? Bunt or swing away, probably depends on the skill level of the pitcher and team your facing.

If your Speedy OB machine gets on and is followed by a good slapper with your best hitter on deck seems like you have more potential for a much bigger inning under that scenario.

That's just IMO, I am not saying anybody is wrong lol, we are dealing in theories and assumptions. We also have not picked a specific age for this debate.

A "best" hitter at 10U and 12U is different type of "best" hitter then at the 18U level again just IMO lol.

My experience with 99% of coaches they use their judgement to set their line-up to be as effective as possible. Really it might be a chicken or the egg debate. But it sure is fun to talk about it in January lol.

Excellent topic Ringer.

 

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The Ringer pulls out a good one every now and then. I guess that this one might balance out his infamous "Question about IFA Payouts" thread.

 

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Hey now, watch that kind of talk. Don't make me bust out a Slammers/Laser's Red thread or a "two hour meeting behind centerfield" thread.

 

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Just do what the MLB does. Seems to work for them. I dont think frank thomas, ablert puholes, babe ruth, ted willams, hank arron, ken griffey jr ever hit #1 too often.

 

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Just do what the MLB does. Seems to work for them. I dont think frank thomas, ablert puholes, babe ruth, ted willams, hank arron, ken griffey jr ever hit #1 too often.

can I get them in my lineup?

 

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Highest OB% first, highest slug average second (usually a slapper or bunt so I can move the runner to third), 3 - 5th will depend on how my big bats are doing that particular day and will align according to who's bat seems to be hot.

 

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Well, even though im still in 12u i know a lot about the game of softball. In my opinion i would say in the front of the box, but that depends on the batters bat speed, and the speed of the pitcher. any slow pitcher get up in the box, if ur best hitter has good bat speed then always hit in the front. If there bat speed is iffy then just gradually have them scoot back in the box depending on the bat speed.

AHH From the mouth of babes. - Does a father proud - although I think she misunderstood the question. Didn't even know she posted. So Proud

 

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^^^That was indeed great. Also a good reminder of why we need to be very specific with our instructions when teaching kids this game. We might think we know what we mean, but they will take us literally. Her interpretation of the question was more correct in a literal sense than the adults' interpretation.

 

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Why I think a slapper with speed should not bat third or fourth! If she gets on base and you have a slow power hitter in front of her she doesn't have a chance to use her speed as a weapon. She bats first and gets on base and then can advance by stealing bases What I think many overlooked is she makes your power hitters better, since the pitcher cannot throw a change up, since these type of runners have a green light on any change up. Now the power hitter gets a diet of fast balls .

 

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3rd