Baseball Pitching Strategies
How does a manager set his lineup?
I’m fairly new to baseball, so bear with me:
I’ve heard that the leadoff guy is gonna want to drive the pitch count up, and be speedy, that the cleanup guy (4) is there to drive in the guys on base, and the weak hitters are going to either be at or towards the bottom of the lineup (though a second “leadoff” man can be at the bottom of the lineup). Is the lineup at all positional (aside from, well the pitcher)? What are some strategies for setting the lineup? Different philosophies, maybe? Differences for each league?
Every manager has a different philosophy when it comes to lineups. Tony La Russa sparked the infamous trend of batting the pitcher eighth, one of the more creative (but statistically irrelevant) lineup creations. Some AL managers put their worst hitter in the 9 spot to limit his damage on rallies and offensive opportunities, while others use small, speedy guys in that spot to create more on-base opportunities for the #3 hitter. I’ll go down the line and explain:
1. This spot is always occupied by an on-base guy, and if not, it’s someone with at least very good speed.
2. Some managers prefer power in this spot, especially if they have a 9 hitter who’s not worthless. Many NL managers put another on-base guy in this spot, but he is often slower with more RBI potential.
3. This is supposed to be the spot for the hitter with the highest combined pure hitting ability and power, but power is a necessity here so extra base hits can drive in multiple runs.
4. This is another RBI guy, and some managers put their most dangerous hitters here to maximize production with runners on base. It’s rare to see inexperienced players here, and big names that bat in the 4 hole have usually produced consistent numbers for years.
5. This spot has a less dangerous RBI producer or a hitter with more strikeout potential. Good teams usually have very effective 5 hitters.
6. Depending on the depth, the sixth spot is usually a spot that emphasizes a mixture of run prodcution and base-running ability. Unlike the 3, 4, and 5 spots, you start to see more speed return to the lineup here.
7. Decent catchers or young players being broken in often bat here. The idea is to make contact and hope something good happens.
8. In the NL, this spot is for poor hitting catchers or terrible on-base guys. With the pitcher due up, they won’t make much of a difference anyway. The AL is pretty similar.
9. As I mentioned before, either the pitcher, a second leadoff guy, or a worthless hitter will bat here.
Pitching Strategy – What To Throw When Facing RHH w/ Runner on 1st Base (Episode #007)
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