My DD has always hit either 2nd or 3rd except last year when she was on a monster hitting team where she batted 6-7. The team she is playing on this year is not very powerful so she it batting 4th (14U). She is well protected by the 5th hitter who has been crushing the ball. She has always been very patient as a hitter with very few strikeouts and a lot of walks. This weekend she got walked 6 times and one HBP in 19 plate PA's. She was 10-12 in the others against a weak field of teams. Some walks were just terrible pitches but a few had some clear balls, but probably could hit them. She rarely swings and misses so if she swings she will likely put ball in play. Is she better off expanding strike zone with runners on base or just staying patient and waiting for a pitch to drive. I'm afraid she will sacrifice OBP for a few more RBI's but maybe that's OK.
Is OK for cleanup hitter to get a lot of walks
- Thread starter canyonjoe
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- Jun 7, 2013
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Walks are great! There are few downsides to a free pass to first base. I would not recommend expanding the strike zone. This is what a pitcher tries to do and a batter shouldn't. With an expanded strike zone a hitter is bound to make more outs and, probably, the overall production of the team will go down. With a good #5, don't even think of expanding the zone. Scoring runs is as important as knocking them in.
- Sep 29, 2014
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With stats like that (batting .830avg and .895obp) I can assure you any coach will tell you to just keep on doing what you are doing.
I think you can occasional ask a batter to expand their strike zone and that is OK. I think you are almost asking if she should change to a bigger strike which I think would be a mistake. You would eventually need to work on changing it back.
The competition was terrible so I'm not enamored with the stats except to show she doesn't hit seeing eye singles or bunts. Last weekend she really killed it against good pitching with similar stats which was the best weekend she ever had. Early in the year she had a tournament where she was 0-4 with 8 walks. She doesn't mind getting walked, but works very hard on hitting and it's frustrating to not see strikes. I don't think I could get her to swing at balls anyway, but just thought I would ask the experts.
Thanks for reiterating this. I have added emphasis because I am a firm believer in this concept. Walks are a HUGE part of this, and a girl should take them whenever they are offered! Your DD having a solid #5 behind her should gleefully take a BB, every single time!
I even extend this to other areas of the offense. When I first recruit girls to the team, I am a stickler for getting some lightning-fast girls. If they are singles hitters, I am very big on converting them to left-handed hitters to give them the extra couple of steps. I love slappers in my lineup and also love to have right-handed hitters who will drop a quick bunt if they see the corners a bit too far back. Oftentimes this gets parents nervous. They want their kids to swing away and hit doubles and triples and get in on the RBI parade. I have to make the Runs Scored stat somehow as appealing as the RBI stat so folks finally realize that the RBI don't happen unless there are runners on base. I also have to convince them that their fast DDs can get on 1B with a slap or a drag bunt, then they can steal a base to put themselves in scoring position. This also makes the defense nervous and can cause problems with coverages, defenders leaving their positions early to cover bases, etc., and this can open holes for the other girls to hit the ball through as well as cause errors and mental mistakes.
Get on base any way you can! And .... don't ever swing at pitches out of the zone. You're playing right into the pitcher's hands and it is a good way to get put out!
SABR guys claim that to score the most runs you should literally hit your players in order of their OBP, from highest to lowest.
