Jackass Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 So i'm in a work softball team and this question came up and now it's really bugging me: We have, say about 5 good hitters out of a lineup of say 14 or so (and yes, our team kinda $ucks). What is the best way to place the 5 good hitters? Is it better to group them together at the top of the lineup thereby increasing chances of a big inning? Space them out some throughout the lineup? or put maybe 3 towards the top and then 2 more in the middle somewhere? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muggsy Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 (edited) 1, 3, 4, 7, 9 also, if you have that many bad hitters, I wouldn't bat 14. go with a 10, maybe 11 man lineup. Edited August 27, 2009 by Muggsy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darin3 Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 So i'm in a work softball team and this question came up and now it's really bugging me: We have, say about 5 good hitters out of a lineup of say 14 or so (and yes, our team kinda $ucks). What is the best way to place the 5 good hitters? Is it better to group them together at the top of the lineup thereby increasing chances of a big inning? Space them out some throughout the lineup? or put maybe 3 towards the top and then 2 more in the middle somewhere? Have had similar troubles with my ... uh .... kickball teams. I'd say put the swiftest people at 1-2 and your 3 best batters next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SheikYerbuti Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Read THIS book and learn that batting order doesn't matter. It's a hoax. They calculated that if Barry Bonds had batted leadoff the year he broke the HR record, the Giants would have won (I think it was) half a dozen more games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Load them all up at the top of the order. That way they get more at bats. It's that simple. They might also get some runs scored in the first inning... another plus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackass Posted August 27, 2009 Author Share Posted August 27, 2009 Read THIS book and learn that batting order doesn't matter. It's a hoax. They calculated that if Barry Bonds had batted leadoff the year he broke the HR record, the Giants would have won (I think it was) half a dozen more games. So it sounds like it does matter. The Giants just got it wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackass Posted August 27, 2009 Author Share Posted August 27, 2009 1, 3, 4, 7, 9 also, if you have that many bad hitters, I wouldn't bat 14. go with a 10, maybe 11 man lineup. I'm thinking something like this might make sense but i'm not sure. Is there a reason for those specific #'s? Believe me, i'd like to exclude some players but that's not really possible. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 if you have 5 good hitters, put them 1 2 3 4 5. if they're all close in terms of power, just put the best hitter first, then second best, etc. if some guys are better at getting on base (with walks or consistent singles) and other guys really rock it, put the on-base guys 1-2 and the power guys 3-4-5. there is a reason this is what they do in baseball and have for, well, forever. spreading out your good hitters just gets them less at-bats and increases the chance that their efforts will be wasted. you score in baseball/softball by clumping hits together, not by spreading them out across your lineup. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furd Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 if you have 5 good hitters, put them 1 2 3 4 5. if they're all close in terms of power, just put the best hitter first, then second best, etc. if some guys are better at getting on base (with walks or consistent singles) and other guys really rock it, put the on-base guys 1-2 and the power guys 3-4-5. there is a reason this is what they do in baseball and have for, well, forever. spreading out your good hitters just gets them less at-bats and increases the chance that their efforts will be wasted. you score in baseball/softball by clumping hits together, not by spreading them out across your lineup. +1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muggsy Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 I'm thinking something like this might make sense but i'm not sure. Is there a reason for those specific #'s? Believe me, i'd like to exclude some players but that's not really possible. If you bat them all in the top 5(especially in a 14 man lineup) you may have a big inning or two but you're wasting about 4 innings a game on 3 & out. Also, by batting them in these spots they remain close enough to each other to help out and you only waste 1 inning with the 10-14 slots. The 1,3,4 also allows for the chance of a big 1st inning. Your best OVERALL batter should be in the 1 hole. And definately DO NOT put your worst overall in the 14 hole, throw him in at 11. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 I always liked to put my bad hitters with speed at the bottom of the line up too. If they get on, at least they won't clog the base paths and might score some runs in front of the best hitters at the top. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jackass Posted August 27, 2009 Author Share Posted August 27, 2009 If you bat them all in the top 5(especially in a 14 man lineup) you may have a big inning or two but you're wasting about 4 innings a game on 3 & out. Also, by batting them in these spots they remain close enough to each other to help out and you only waste 1 inning with the 10-14 slots. The 1,3,4 also allows for the chance of a big 1st inning. Your best OVERALL batter should be in the 1 hole. And definately DO NOT put your worst overall in the 14 hole, throw him in at 11. I don't know if you're right as i'm still thinking this through but your ideas do make sense. I think the thought process is different than baseball because there are some almost sure outs that you don't have in baseball. I should maybe have mentioned this is a co-ed league with at least 4 females in the batting order. Your idea of not putting the worst batter last makes sense, but why do MLB teams bat their pitcher 9th? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chief Dick Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 with at least 4 females in the batting order. I cannot answer until I see pics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muggsy Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 the first thing to do is realize that baseball and softball are totally different. At the level that we are talking about here, baseball is played with athleticism, softball is played with the head. Put your girls at 5, 8, 11, 13 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rovers Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 I cannot answer until I see pics. LMAO.... typical Huddle! I would bat the four women at 8, 9, 11 and 12. Why? If they are slow, no double play ground ball outs. If one of them can run, then the 13 spot is an option. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azazello1313 Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 I think the thought process is different than baseball because there are some almost sure outs that you don't have in baseball. I should maybe have mentioned this is a co-ed league with at least 4 females in the batting order. doesn't matter, principle is the same. you score runs by clumping hits together, not by spreading them out through your lineup. a good hitter with crap around him gets you an LOB and that's it. I'd do some sort of statistical breakdown to prove this is correct, but if you can't already see that intuitively than you probably won't believe the stats anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keggerz Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 define good hitters....spots in a lineup have different "responsibilities" if you will Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keggerz Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 oh and realistically if you have 9 bad hitters out of 14 it really wont matter what you do Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muck Posted August 27, 2009 Share Posted August 27, 2009 Take a typical team ... three guys w/ decent speed, one of whom has a bit of power ("SP1"), one has high OBP ("SO1") and one has neither power nor OBP ("crappy fast guy") ... two other guys who can run a little ("LS1" and "LS2") and have a little bit of pop ... and four guys you'd never want to see trying to steal a base unless the catcher was (literally) asleep ("P1", "P2", "P3" and "P4") but can put some heat on the ball from time to time. 1. SO1 2. LS1 3. SP1 4. P1 5. LS2 6. P2 7. P3 8. P4 9. Crappy fast guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.