Playing Bad Teams

quote:

Originally posted by sluggo:
This has been bothering me for a few days since we played a team in our district that is absolutely the worst. Our coaches do everything they can to make it not so lopsided, which I like, but one thing they did was tell our kids to swing at every pitch. I think that is a bad idea to have players swinging at bad pitches. Shouldn't they be working on discipline at the plate? I know there is nothing I can do about it, but do you agree that this is harmful or not really?

I wouldn't advise it in the first at bat for each player, but after that it's kind of like BP with a not so good Pitcher, swing at what you can hit.

I think these types of games become something other than a true "baseball" game. I remember one much as you describe where our players were eventually asked by our coach to hit from their "other" side. A RH hitter had to bat LH. The boys actually had a great time and the score remained "tolerable" for the other team. It turned out to be a fun afternoon.
Fungo

Respectfully, are you taking the statement "swing at EVERY pitch" too literally?

Maybe just don't be so picky at the plate.

I feel for you though, we've all had games like that. It's no fun, winning or losing 20-0.

As an umpire, I have called numerous games such as this.

I am a firm believer in playing the game out. There are rules to cover lopsided games. The object of baseball is to score more runs than your opponent. Play the game hard until such time as the rules end the game.

(In PA it is 15 runs after 3 innings, 10 runs after 5.)

Too many times in my career I have seen injury come about when players pull up or take it easy, or bat from the other side of the plate, or play positions that they normally dont play. I feel the risk or the fun is just not worth it....

Now, I am not saying you should hit and run, steal or be super agressive on the basepaths, but just play the game.........

Too me, this is an opportunity to play your team members who wouldnt normally get to.....get the score you need, and then substitute.....the game is served, players get game time, coaches get to see next years team in action while garnering real varsity experience....

In many cases, the coaches will come and ask that I call "lots of strikes"..........I understand that thought but cant bring myself to do it. 2 reasons....one I just cant call a ball a strike...personal hangup.....not in my makeup.......and 2 it screws up my zone.......I have worked for years to develop what I call a consistent zone and by wavering I find that its harder to concentrate on my zone in the next game.

Just my .02

Maybe that is a great opportunity to work on being able to hit anything when needed, good or bad. I played ball growing up and was never taught to worry about whether a pitch was good or bad. Just worry about whether I could hit it or not. I consistently had the best batting average on the team from the time I played little league on up through high school.

We have a district game tonight that might be like that. We beat them 16-1 at their home field a couple of weeks ago, but you never know. I can't speak for our coaches, but in these situations the attitude seems to be to win the game and finish it in the 5th if we can (for FL HS it's 10 after 5). Take bad pitches, hit good ones. They do work in some players who get limited playing time, but the emphasis is on getting the win. I like the approach for the reasons that piaa_ump listed.

I do remember a JV game a couple of years ago that would...not...end. Finally, when we were up 20-2 in the 3rd or 4th, with most of the runs on walks and errors, I heard our coach's voice from the dugout: "NO MORE WALKS!! SWING THE BAT!!"

A batter must have discipline at all times!

I've never understood BP sessions, either, where the coaches tell the kids to swing at everything. You practice how you play, and that's NOT something you want a player to practice. It will definitely cross over into game at-bats and wreak havoc, IMO.

When playing a bad team, play your game, get to the mercy point and get on the bus. Be careful not to play down to the other team's level and fall into bad habits.

We are 3-3 and have won 3 of our last 4. We are playing solid fundamental baseball. Our pitching has kept us in games and our defense has been solid. On offense we have been a little inconsistent, struggling to hit the better pitchers we have faced, but we have some kid with some nice numbers. We are running the bases well, advancing runners, and playing team baseball. We have a long way to go, but we are seeing improvement.

I used to play all my bench as soon my team had enough runs ahead. What better time to play the players that usually don't play in a close game.

I am a firm believer in playing these types of games with the same mindset you would play a state championship game with. You should be disciplined at the plate and walk if they dont throw strikes. Of course you get the bench guys in. But you want them to take the same approach as the starters. When you play around and dont approach these games properly you are not better after the game you are worse. Play up to your standards regardless of the level of the opponent.

hey sluggo?

you talking about a 6 year old t-ball game or a D1 baseball game?

What age level are you calling a bad team?

I will take my regular lineup and have a younger player start on the mound. We ended up with three of these games last year and I got an 8th grade pitcher some VERY valuable experience pitching wise.

We think this kid could be very good but he has to start somewhere and get confidence somewhere. If he knows he has the better players behind to catch the ball and get him runs it should help him relax. This kid actually started his first game and you could tell he was nervouse - as well he should be. But as the game went on you could visibly see him gain confidence. Then each game he got more and more confidence. This year we are going to up his difficulty level and have him pitch against tougher teams as a freshman.

Now once I have a comfortable lead I get my other younger players in and let them play full speed because they have earned the right to play that way in practice.

My heart does go out to those kids who are on those bad teams because somewhere, somehow, someone let them down and didn't develop their talent. But I'm not going to let my team suffer just to make them feel good about themselves. I have actually tried to give as many pointers to the other team as best I could without showing up their coaches.

quote:

When you play around and dont approach these games properly you are not better after the game you are worse. Play up to your standards regardless of the level of the opponent.

My thoughts exactly.

HS JV for those who asked. Thanks for all your input. Love you guys!

I just went to a game yesterday where the final score was 32-1. (Not my son's game.) The losing team issued a whopping 20 walks! On the local blogs parents railed against the winner, accusing them of "running up the score". Nothing could have been further from the truth. The winning coach pulled his starter, put in his subs, and stopped running. Still the score mounted.

Why blame the winner? Blame the loser for not doing it's job in fielding a competitive team!

Swing at every pitch? That's not only a recipe for poor (future) execution but also a worse insult than playing out the game.

Well, last night's game was bad, but in a different way. Their pitchers hit 10 of our batters! I lost track of how many they walked. The first pitcher hit 7, and was finally pulled because of walks. Second pitcher hit 3. 2B was lucky - he got hit in the helmet, and only once. And there were no errors. We won 5-1 with only 2 hits. I'd sure rather win by hitting, rather than getting hit!