Substitution Oddity

so the replacement could see the field, I guess...

The replacement is known to be the better fielder. My friend filled me in that the LF's strength and purpose on the team is hitting, but hasn't hit well at all this year. The replacement is known as a great fielder who cant hit.

So which one was your son?

Being a tight game they probably made substitutions to make the defense stronger in the late innings.

A coach could have any of a dozen valid reasons for making this move. Here are a few:
--Maybe the first guy wasn't hustling to back up potential bad throws in the infield.
--Maybe the second guy is better at one aspect of defense--range, glove, arm--that the coach thought might matter in that situation.
--Maybe there's not much difference between the two.
--Maybe the first guy back sassed a coach in the dugout or wasn't sufficiently focused on the game while not hitting.
--Maybe the coach doesn't want the first guy to be content to be just a fielder and wanted to give him more incentive to get his bat going again.
--Maybe the second guy was extremely focused and worked extremely hard in practice and the coach wanted to acknowledge his attitude and effort.
--Maybe the coach just wanted to challenge the first guy to keep him from becoming complacent.
--Maybe the first guy missed some positioning signals.
--Maybe the second guy's terminally ill grandpa showed up for the only inning he would ever see.
--Maybe . . . anything.

There's no way we can tell from our computers what the coach was thinking, but there's lots of things he COULD have been thinking, so it might not be as screwy as it looked. It's just possible the coach knows what he's doing.

quote:

Originally posted by Coach_Dave:
Being a tight game they probably made substitutions to make the defense stronger in the late innings.

Same thought, plus... Maybe the coach wanted to give LF(designated player) a chance to prove himself in the field (since he hasn't been hitting well). When it gets too close, they bring in the better, more proven player. Honestly, LF probably knows the reason. I agree with Swampboy, the coach most likely knows what he is doing.

(I'm assuming that LF didn't make any errors while out there and there were no attitude/dugout issues.)

simply a defensive move to protect the one run lead

Oh that's an easy one.
The starter has an incredibly hot mom.
But, with a close game like that, coach saw the need to put the better fielder into the game for the win.

Next question.

quote:

Originally posted by trojan-skipper:
Oh that's an easy one.
The starter has an incredibly hot mom.
But, with a close game like that, coach saw the need to put the better fielder into the game for the win.

Next question.

Excellent point

I have never heard a coach refer to a player as a "Desigated Player" or a "Designated Fielder" before. Designated Hitter, yes. Charles Finley tried to get a "Designated Runner" instituted by the AL back in the day. But Designated Fielder"?

Maybe I'm missing something by not going out with the coaches after the game. Or maybe it just sounds better than "fielder who can't hit."

quote:

Originally posted by Jimmy03:
"fielder who can't hit."

Hahahaha

Jimmy: it's a softball term.