JCG posted:
Anecdotally I would say it's pretty common. My kid moved from 2nd to 1st in his team's lineup halfway through this season, and I don't think he's swung at a first pitch since. He's doing well but he'd rather bat second.
I really don’t know how prevalent it is, but I think if a coach does it on a “blanket” basis he’s making a mistake. I believe you have to really know your hitters well. the attached comes from 10 years of HSV data. The 1st 3 pages are hitters and the last 2 pitchers.
Knowing that getting behind 0-1 or ahead 1-0 makes a huge difference in the outcome of the AB, I see no sense in risking the AB for any but the very best hitters, and most teams don’t have a lot of them.