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Reply to "Does the contact % of pitches swung at tell us anything?"

I used to track similar stats back when I kept the book for our rec league.  I'm not really a baseball guy (unless my kid is playing ), and certainly not a stats guy, but I did learn enough to score the game and keep the book.

In an effort to try and learn a little more, I would take the book home and then put the game into an app (GameChanger or 6-4-3).   Since those programs allow you to track the pitches, I started also tracking in the book  - numbering the pitches in the box, and using a C, S, or F for strikes (called, swung, or foul).  My son was pitching, so I was also interested in his FPS % (especially at the rec level where most coaches will tell their kids to always take the first pitch!)

Using that information, I was able to start tracking the kids in regards to their ability/willingness to hit the ball, or see who was constantly watching good pitches.  At  the younger ages it can be helpful to know if somebody is hitting the ball and advancing runners versus somebody that is afraid to swing the bat, or maybe just doesn't know what the strike zone is.  I guess it also helped me to know that my kid was good at putting the ball in play - just not so good at actually getting on base!

I think the coaches found it useful as far as setting the line-up and which kids needed more work on batting.

Of course this was youth rec league - I assume at the high school level most kids can hit (unless they are taken strictly for their play at a position, in which case you are just going to hide them in the line-up where they can do the least damage).

I had no idea there was actual statistics for that kind of stuff, but doesn't surprise me since it seems like there is a stat for everything in baseball!

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