I used to create my lineup using batting average stats, common sense, and players' game performances as I remembered them. I was tweaking my batting lineup card from game to game constantly. Sometimes, I stumbled into a good batting order by shuffling and reshuffling players until something worked. As a youth coach, I needed to explain to players and parents my lineup decisions often, and intuitive decisions are hard to support if you are losing.
Around 10 years ago, I started using Game Changer to score my games and to collect stats. Suddenly, the game became so much easier to coach and my intuition was replaced by mathematical probability and basic geometry. I started using advanced stats to create my batting lineup. Stats numbers such as strike out and walk ratios, contact, line drive, and good at bats percentages. etc. added to standard stats such as batting average, on-base percentage, and slugging gives you an unbiased and more complete assessment of a player's performance and most suitable lineup spot.
This is my lineup guidelines:
THE LEADOFF - Contact and Speed.
One of the team’s best contact hitter and fastest player. The goal of any good leadoff hitter is to get on base, however they can. Speed is a must for this position. Do not look for power in the leadoff.
2 SPOT - Contact and Speed.
The second spot player is on-deck at the start of the game and should be a reliable sound contact hitter. Speed is a must as well. They must be a patient, unselfish player willing to advance your leadoff player, as well as make it on-base themselves. A player with a high contact percentage, a low strikeout/walk ratio and a high on base average is great in this position. Aggressive swing players who frequently strike out or are not willing to take a walk are not good in this position.
3 HOLE - Contact and Power.
The third hole should be one of your team’s best contact hitters. You want the third hole to move players around, or drive in the first runs of the game. They should have average speed and good power. If you look at your stats and see a player with a great contact percentage and decent batting average, several extra bases, try batting them third.
CLEANUP - Power
The cleanup position is typically your most powerful hitter. It does not just mean the player that has a lot of homeruns but the player that hits the ball hard all the time. Hard hits typically get through the infield and sometimes can get to an outfield gap or even past an unskilled outfielder. You are looking for high hard hit balls, extra base numbers and RBI production.
5 POSITION - Power
The cleanup and the player batting fifth should be able to switch positions during the season. The fifth player should have higher than average batting power as well. This player should still be able to hit extra bases or hard-hit singles. Check your stat sheet, look for players who are hitting more than singles and have a lower-than-average strikeout to at-bat ratio.
SPOTS 6 & 7 – Average Contact and Speed
Probably, this is where you might reach a hiccup in your lineup based on the kind of players left on your bench. But the six and seven spots are important in your lineup. Think of this part of the lineup as a starting a new batting order with the players left on the bench. Six and seven should be the equivalent of leadoff and second hole. They will be the players with the best combination of contact and speed left on the bench. If you have got players who are about equal in hitting ability, speed should be the deciding factor.
BATTING 8 – Sporadic contact and average power
Based on the level that you are playing, the eight spot is for developing hitters, hitters who strike out frequently or are experiencing a slump. But they have decent power when they make contact.
9 PLAYER – Sporadic contact and average speed
Typically, the nine spot is reserved for the weakest hitter on the team. But I think that the nine hitter is worth extra consideration. The nine spot should go to a player with average speed who have been scattering singles throughout the season, but not to a player who strikes out a lot. This "underrated" player could jumpstart a middle inning for the top of the order.
OTHER TIPS
If you are coaching T-ball, coach pitch, rec ball, or even 10U club, you should give every player a chance to hit in the leadoff and cleanup spots. Hitting in both positions requires a different kind of mindset and you never know who will step up to fill those shoes. This provides players with enough at-bats and gives them an opportunity to learn.
Beyond 10U, the batting lineup should be determined by your player’s unique combination of contact, speed, and power.
When coaching young players, you should avoid sending a negative message to any one player. Based on your opponent and game plan, you should shuffle your 7 to 9-spot hitters frequently.
When batting through the lineup, follow the above guidelines for positions 1 to 7 then rotate players 8 to 12, keeping them even on at-bats.
When playing a less competitive team, consider changing up your lineup to challenge your team and give everyone an opportunity.
We all want to win, but your job as coach is to ensure your players are having fun, developing skills, and gaining confidence.
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