Chapter 7 - The Batting Order

There are several theories about building a batting order. One school of thought believes that the generally accepted pattern is wrong. The theory of this group is that since a team should bring its best hitter to bat as frequently as possible, he should be the lead-off man. If you accept this theory, it would be logical to have your second best hitter bat second, third best hitter bat third, etc.

While this theory has some merit and should be kept in mind when planning your batting order, there are many things in favor of the generally accepted pattern. Take the batting order of the Chicago White Sox in the 1959 World Series as an excellent example of the logic which recommends the accepted pattern. Luis Aparicio, the lead-off man, had by far the best base-stealing record in the big leagues during the season. To have such a man in the lead-off spot gives a big lift to the following hitters. As Casey Stengel puts it: "I played a couple of years at Pittsburgh with Max Carey [one of the best base-runners in the history of the game], and he batted ahead of me. 'I will run on the first or second pitch if I get on base,' he would tell me. 'Oh, take your time,' I would tell him. 'There's no hurry.' Why shouldn't I say it? When Carey is on first base I know the pitcher isn't going to throw any fancy curves and knuckle’s and spitters. I'm going to get that fast ball so the catcher gets a chance to make a good throw in case Carey runs. That's what the White Sox get [with Aparicio on base], and I got to hand it to them; they're smart."

LEAD-OFF MAN. He should be a good judge of the strike zone, a good "waiter" who seldom swings at the first pitch when the bases are empty. Frequently he is small in size and, being "hard to pitch to," often draws bases on balls. Ability to bunt for a base hit and running speed are big assets. Thus you can see why Al Lopez selected Luis Aparicio as his lead-off hitter.

SECOND BATTER. If he is a left-handed hitter, this is a big plus. With the lead-off runner on first base, the first baseman holds him on base (in competition above Little League). This leaves more hitting room for a pull-hitter because, with the first baseman holding the runner at first, the second baseman has to cover most of the territory between first and second. Another asset of a left-handed hitter is that he partially blocks the view of the catcher, who must throw around him for a play at first and to a lesser extent in throwing to second base.
He doesn't need to be a long-ball hitter, but it is highly desirable that he be able to hit-and-run, with good control of the bat. Frequently he is a "choke" hitter, and he should be able to bunt since there are many situations in which the manager will want to use the "hit-and-run" or a bunt to advance the runner on base. Speed also is an asset. You can see Nellie Fox fitting into the pattern. He bats left-handed, chokes up several inches on the bat handle and punches hits through the "hole" between first and second base, has fine control of his bat, bunts well, and is a good runner.

THIRD BATTER. The third batter should be a good hitter, one who hits for extra bases. It is also helpful if he can run well to score on hits by the clean-up hitter. Jim Landis hit well for the White Sox, has excellent running speed, and drove in many important runs in key games. A little more power with the bat would make him an ideal "third hitter."

FOURTH BATTER. The clean-up hitter should hit the long ball and hit well with runners on base. With one or two of the first three hitters on base when he steps into the batter's box, his power can drive them home. Sherman Lollar was the "long ball" threat for Chicago throughout the season, hitting the most home runs and driving in the runners ahead of him as well as could be expected.

FIFTH BATTER. His qualifications are much the same as those of the clean-up man. Ability to hit the long ball should be the first consideration and consistency in hitting second. Ted Kluszewski, who came to the White Sox late in the season, provided the most power on the club, driving in runs with long "sacrifice flies" to the outfield and extra base hits and hitting consistently.

SIXTH BATTER. He is the second lead-off man since he frequently is the lead-off batter in the second, fourth, or fifth innings. It is very helpful if he is a good "clutch" hitter, too, because the batting ability of the hitters ahead of him in the batting order gives him unusual opportunities to drive in runs. Al Smith easily fits this description. He has speed and is a good clutch hitter, driving in runs far more frequently than might be expected from his batting average.
 
SEVENTH BATTER. His qualifications should be much like those of the second batter. Everything else being equal, the faster player should bat second and the slower runner seventh. Against right-handed pitchers, Lopez followed this pattern. Billy Goodman is a left-handed "choke" hitter who has good control of the bat and can hit behind the runner. However, he doesn't run as well as Fox. Against left-handed pitchers, Lopez replaced Goodman in the line-up with Bubba Phillips, who bats right-handed. Phillips runs very well and also has good control of the bat, spraying hits to all fields. This instance shows that it is not always possible to find batters on your squad who fit the classic pattern.

EIGHTH AND NINTH BATTERS. Normally the weakest hitters fill out the line-up, with the pitcher batting last in professional baseball. Not batting every day, he doesn't get a chance to sharpen up his batting eye and improve as much as players who bat regularly.

Many managers check the statistics to determine whether a certain batting order brings up hitters more frequently in certain situations. If a pitcher is a very good bunter, the manager might want to move him into the eighth position when he finds that the eighth-place hitter frequently comes to bat with none or one out and runners on the bases.

When the White Sox faced right-handed pitchers, Jim Rivera was in the line-up. His batting average was low, but his fine running speed and daring on the bases made him a third lead-off man, with the pitcher available to advance him with a bunt when necessary. McAnany, a right-handed hitter with a better average, batted eighth against left-handed pitchers and provided more of the consistency and power desirable in a second third-place hitter.

Lopez switched Kluszewski and Lollar, depending on left- and right-handed pitching, but the general pattern didn't change, and most managers agree that this method of building a batting order gets them the best results.

A word of caution to managers and coaches of junior teams—place the pitcher in the batting order according to ability. He may be one of your top batters. Don't scramble your offensive line-up from game to game. There is real value in letting your players learn what is expected of them in fulfilling definite assignments as batters. In other words, don't confuse them with too much strategy and high-powered thinking. Let them learn the offensive pattern and what batters should do according to their position in the batting order.

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