DD non-traditional leadoff - opinions?

[29dad]

First tournament of the year last weekend (16U) and after four years of batting either third or fourth (mostly third), DD was given the leadoff spot this year. She's a right handed power hitter with average to below average speed but a high batting average. Think Lauren Chamberlain without, um, Miss Chamberlain's talent. On the plus side, she almost never strikes out. On the negative side, she rarely walks. I do see more and more college teams going away from traditional lead-off hitters (i.e. lefties with speed) and turning their number 3 or 4 hitters into leadoff batters. i think Florida State did this in Super Regionals. Any thought on this strategy?? I personally love it. In one game this weekend DD hit the first pitch of the game over the fence and it held up for a 1-0 win, so that was fun. And there is a ton of speed from the 7-8-9 spots (and they are all good hitters) so she really should have plenty of RBI opportunities this year. I don't know. Just wanted to see if anyone wanted to weigh in on this strategy. I'm pretty excited about it but time will tell.

 

[Sweet Lou]

A bit odd putting a girl who rarely walks in the lead off spot but if she's one of the best hitters I see no problem with it since your lead off is going to get the most PAs over the course of a season

 

[CoogansBluff]

Depends on the talents of the rest of the team, but unconventional is fine by me. It's about scoring the most runs.

Consider this question, which will vary depending on your team: What makes you the most happy - seeing the heart of the order coming up the next inning, or the top of the order? If it's the heart of the order, then maybe coach should consider having the heart of the order lead off the game.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

Depends on the talents of the rest of the team, but unconventional is fine by me. It's about scoring the most runs.

Consider this question, which will vary depending on your team: What makes you the most happy - seeing the heart of the order coming up the next inning, or the top of the order? If it's the heart of the order, then maybe coach should consider having the heart of the order lead off the game.

Since games rarely end with all spots coming up to bat the same number of times, a similar way of looking at it is which batters do you want to get the extra PA's in a game? That line of thinking is pushing high OPS batters to the top of the order over just high OBS.

Regarding the OP, we played on a team that batted a very strong hitter lead-off and teams that didn't know her tended to underestimate her power until she hit it over their heads a couple of times. It was a lot of fun to watch.

 

[MsDinosaur]

Yep, 29Dad, mine fits that description too. High BA/OBS/OPS, but speed is...average at best. She rarely strikes out, however, she does quite often get walked. Every now and then a team will experiment with putting her in the lead off slot. It's not the worst thing. She hits a fair amount of doubles and when that happens, it's a nice way to start things off. On the other hand, there's no opportunity to move runners.

I'm not ecstatically happy with her position right now. They're experimenting with batting her around the sixth slot or so, and several times recently the final out of our losing game was made while she was standing in the on deck circle. But I'm not the coaches; it's their call. My job's to drive her there, write the checks and try to keep my fat mouth shut. ;-D

 

[SCDad]

Lead off is the most difficult spot to hit at. To find a player who is comfortable there, and produces consistently is important.

My hitter is a power hitter. Ask her what she wants, and she wants the #4 spot, with ducks on the pond. She does not want the lead off spot.

But for those who aspire to it, and do well at it, great. As you mentioned, many colleges are simply placing their best hitter in the lead.

The speed issue is problematic. You really do not want faster "hitters" hitting behind slower hitters, all else being equal. My DD hates hitting behind slow players.

At the coaches discretion. At the highest levels, slow players do not lead off, for a very good reason.

 

[NEF]

Like the approach, I've seen many games end with the tying/winning runs on base and the #2 hitter making the last out. Ended two tournaments in a row this way.

 

[SCDad]

Like the approach, I've seen many games end with the tying/winning runs on base and the #2 hitter making the last out. Ended two tournaments in a row this way.

Probably travel softball games.

That is my biggest beef with travel softball. They do not play full 7 inning games.

The way traditional softball games are supposed to occur, is usually you get a good opportunity for three times around the order.

This occurance almost never happens in high school, or college softball. ONLY travel.

And to add, high school and college are the game traditionalists, like me, watch. Most of travel, about 95%, is a dog and pony show. Few care, other than scouts. I am not a scout, but a true softball fan.

 

[coachjwb]

Agree with SoCal Dad that there is some good logic to having the best OPS batters at the top of the order ... of course a lot depends on the rest of the team's abilities. And to SCDad's point, this even makes more sense I think in games that are likely to end by time limit. Think about it this way ... in a time limit game, it's quite possible that the top of the order will get up 3 times vs. the bottom of the order getting up 2 times ... you can think of it as just one at bat ... but I prefer to think of it as a 40% difference. In a boys 7 or 9 inning baseball game, the difference is probably more like 5 at bats vs. 4 ... a 25% difference.

As a parent, I think I would be happy with any batting order that gets my DD more at bats, so can't imagine ever complaining about the DD batting leadoff.

 

[SCDad]

Agree with SoCal Dad that there is some good logic to having the best OPS batters at the top of the order ... of course a lot depends on the rest of the team's abilities. And to SCDad's point, this even makes more sense I think in games that are likely to end by time limit. Think about it this way ... in a time limit game, it's quite possible that the top of the order will get up 3 times vs. the bottom of the order getting up 2 times ... you can think of it as just one at bat ... but I prefer to think of it as a 40% difference. In a boys 7 or 9 inning baseball game, the difference is probably more like 5 at bats vs. 4 ... a 25% difference.

As a parent, I think I would be happy with any batting order that gets my DD more at bats, so can't imagine ever complaining about the DD batting leadoff.

I agree with you 100%. But also recognize that travel softball occurs with the sole purpose of getting young ladies in college. A great means to the end. Not knocking it.

But do not watch it either. I watch high school and college softball. The way the game is "supposed" to be played. In this pursuit, I rarely see slow, power hitters, no matter how good their BA is ... leading off.