WebBall.com - 9-Man Batting Order

Characteristics of a Good Line-up

For some coaches, building the batting order is intuitive. Other coaches struggle for days and weeks, often dissatisfied until the season is over.

To help you get started, here are some basic attributes to consider when you set your lineup.

BATTING ORDER 9-MAN BALL
Slot	Role	Attributes
1	Leadoff Hitter	Good speed Good eye Good base runner
2	Second Hitter	Unselfish Good contact hitter Good bunter Good eye
3	Best Hitter	Left handed hitter, if possible High average Good speed Makes good contact Power is a plus
4	Power Hitter	Good power Good pitch selection Extra base hits
5	Power	Much like attributes for Power Hitter Drive in runs
6	Contact Hitter	Put the ball in play Doesn't strike out much Good speed Base stealer
7	Contact Hitter	Much like Second Hitter attributes Not as good a hitter
8	Power	Poor contact Some power Not a high average hitter
9	Leadoff	Second lead off man Good eye Base stealer

These are from our own experience and a variety of other traditional sources.

For everybody-bats leagues in which you may have 12-14 on a team, click here.

However...

Before you lock into this way of thinking, in Oct 2010, we conducted a Nose 2 Nose poll on batting ordesr. This new survey has lead us to rethink the conventional approach shown here. That, in turn, lead to a research project and new concepts for developing an effective line-up.

Click here for the this new Line-Up Strategy which is being made available to all paid members of WebBall, including Team Managers and Team Players.

Other considerations:

Try to mix-up right and left-handed hitters. This keeps the pitcher from getting into a rhythm - throwing to the same side of the plate to several hitters in a row.
Mix your speed players in between your slow players. This will keep you from ending up with all slow runners on the bases at one time. (Just don't stick your slowest player in the 8 slot before your two fastest 'lead-off' hitters. In fact, try to follow your slowest baserunner with a good contact hitter to give him a better chance of advancing.)
Place a left-handed hitter behind a base stealer. This blocks the catcher's vision of the runner and creates a hole when the first baseman holds the runners on.