Batting Average

A lot has to to with the level of competition that he is facing. Someone who faces much better pitching may have a lower average than the next guy but actually be a better hitter. A lot often has to do with the scorekeeper and how tough they are on scoring hits as opposed to errors. So batting average doesn't necessarily tell you much at the high school level. Of course if a guy hits for a very low average for his high school career it may tell you that he is probably not going to hit at the next level.

Three Bagger has nailed it - competition is the true indicator of a good average. If your school just plays patsys then he better have a great average of around .500ish but if he's playing great teams then his average will be lower.

There is a thread in the hitting forum talking about quality at bats. That is truly what you need to focus on. A 8 pitch strike out is just as good and probably better than a basehit against the school of Blind and Deaf. Going to the plate with a goal in mind is more important than going 5 - 6 against horrilble teams.

Here is the thread

http://hsbaseballweb.com/eve/f...91034941/m/418103253

Enjoy

Composite and alloy bats inflate averages as does hitting against younger (Soph/Jr) pitching. From my perspective; .380 is average and the better hitters are above .400 & flirting with or above .500!

JMO, you can add .150 points in H.S. to your woodbat .300 benchmark and add .100 for College.

I tried to answer the question without all the "yea but's".. and explanations why it doesn't matter.

We are talking HS baseball. Some players play against very weak competition several games a year. And when your talking about a 25 to 30 game schedule it only takes a few big games against those teams to inflate a ba. Other players play in very tough conferences and very tough non conference schedules as well. The levels of play at the hs level are so far apart there is just no way to compare. You might have a kid hitting .375 who can really hit. And another hitting .500 that wouldnt sniff that .375 avg against the pitchers the other kid is facing.

Add in the fact that many averages are inflated due to improper score keeping and it gets even more out of whack. Dont worry about the average. Learn how to hit and continue to learn how to hit. Focus on having quality at bats and help your team win anyway you can.

In 2008, my son had a team in his division whose four starting pitchers are all on D1 teams right now. He played that team three times that season. When talking to college coaches we use that as a reference more than batting average to demonstrate the level of competition that he has already faced.

Our team is AAAA and always at least in District level playoff cometition; the top four guys are in the high .300s to high .400s. You will also find the best hitter on the team may not have the best average (due to hitting in 3 or 4 position)...

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You will also find the best hitter on the team may not have the best average (due to hitting in 3 or 4 position)...

I've seen this statement before and don't really understand it. I agree that 'best average' isn't necessarily the same as 'best hitter' but this statement implies that hitting 3 or 4 hurts your average...Why....Shouldn't pitchers pitch the same to every hitter in the lineup? Nobody wants the 'best hitter' coming up with runners on...

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but this statement implies that hitting 3 or 4 hurts your average...Why....Shouldn't pitchers pitch the same to every hitter in the lineup?

In high school? No, how the pitchers approach hitters (usually determined in the dugout) will vary a LOT depending on who is the hitter. There aren't a lot of nine-hitter-deep high school teams. If a kid is a masher, he is not going to see a lot of good pitches to hit. They will take their chances on the down-order batters.

Very true, Mr. Kramer; our lead-off guy is always the first to say that he wouldn't hit so many over the fence if he were batting fourth...

The better coached teams are not going to let your one or two studs beat them. They are going to force someone else in the line up to prove they can. It is the reason many times you will see some of these kids put up huge numbers as sophs and jrs and not so much once people figure out who they are. They have to grin and bear it. It can be very frustrating. Sometimes you have to move them in the order. And even then after the first inning it does not matter.

Roy Clark, long time Scouting Director for the Braves, said it took him 6 games before he got a chance to see Jason Heyward (Braves 1st rd pick) swing the bat as a senior in high school.

My son actually experienced this after a great sophomore year, in his
junior year about 5 games in he hit a walk off HR to win a game, after that
barely saw another pitch the rest of the year it was very frustrating for him.
At the end of the season he was nominated player of the year for his division.
Nice end to a kind of frustrating year.
I'm sure this happens quite often.

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Originally posted by Coach_May:
many times you will see some of these kids put up huge numbers as sophs and jrs and not so much once people figure out who they are.

My son hasn't had that problem so far. He is so slim and unimposing that pitchers usually underestimate his abilities and figure they can just throw the ball past him...so he gets lots of hits.

Don't worry they will figure it out. lol

When my son was a Jr Coach Fox came to see him play. We only live 45 minutes from UNC's campus. We were playing for for the conference championship. In the first inning our #3 hitter who is quite a hitter reached with 2 outs. My son got up and it went to a 2-0 count and he sat on a curveball and got one he fouled it straight back. It was the last time he got to swing the bat the rest of the night. Four IBB. We won 1-0.

After the game a text "Great job behind the plate and congrats on the win. Sorry I didn't get to see you swing it tonight. Talk to you soon."

It can be frustrating but its part of the game at that level.

The beauty of it - is the challenge.

It makes it even tougher to perform when they are pitching around you.

It makes the margin of error even smaller than it already is. It raises the "challenge bar" - and the challenge is IMO - what it is all about.

My eldest son is a base stealer. When he gets on base now - the pitchers sometimes throw over to first 4 - 5 - 6 - sometimes even 7 or 8 times. I kid you not.

His challenge is to steal the base anyway.

The challenge is the best part of the game - at any level - IMO.

Batting Average is the most overrated thing in the game.

Runs are what count the most and are still the most underrated thing in the game.