What stat?

Offense - On base percentage
Defense - Base on balls

I'm no "smartie" but those two are important for me.

I am with Callaway here on offense--OB % is a key element for me

On defense it is errors

I may have to give my own question some more thought. OB% is a big one for me, but I think getting the lead-off man on has to be up there. If we win that stat, our chances of winning the game go way up.

At our school we have a thing called a Freebie Chart that keeps totals for both teams that in a way deals with this.

I can't recall of the top of my head what all is included in this chart but some of it is errors, walks, passed ball/wild pitch, HBP etc. but it's strange how it usually works out.

The differences between the 2 teams scores are normally the difference in the games final score ie if we lost the freebie war by 4 9 times out of 10 we'd loose the game by 4 runs and vice versa.

Defense: Walks, Errors (including mental errors such as missing cut offs etc).
Offense: K's, Baserunning mistakes, failure to execute bunts, moving runners, pop ups.

Translation: Do not walk guys. Make the routine plays. Hit your cut off man do not turn a single into a double a double into a triple. Bunt defense get an out. First and third defense execution.

Put the ball in play. Battle at the plate refuse to K. No baserunning mistakes. Be smart on the bags and look to make something happen. Get the sac down the first time only bunting strikes. Move the runner to scoring posistion with less than two outs. No pop ups. Anyone can catch a pop up. Hit a seed somewhere a hard ground ball a line drive a bomb. NO POP UPS.

When we win this battle we win 100% of the time.

OBP offense / errors and walks defense
I look at a walk as an error. You have to throw strikes if they make you. If they dont we wont. If they do we better.

Coach May

And isnt it funny how you can remember every walk and every error that came in key situations

I also look at "mental errors" as errors as well as "team errors"

Home runs.

quote:

Originally posted by Doc_K_Kid:
At our school we have a thing called a Freebie Chart that keeps totals for both teams that in a way deals with this.

I can't recall of the top of my head what all is included in this chart but some of it is errors, walks, passed ball/wild pitch, HBP etc. but it's strange how it usually works out.

We call this "winning the 90-ft. wars." Win the 90-ft. wars that come up in many ways (add cutting a ball off in the gap to hold the batter at first, blocking a pitch in the dirt, reading a pitch in the dirt as a baserunner, etc..., etc...) in a baseball game and you'll win the game nearly every time.

How true TR. Its hard to forget the things that you know you shouldn't give up. I tip my hat to the kid that hits the outside fb into the rcf gap for a double. But when we walk a kid then he hits the dbl for a run thats what gets your goat. Make the routine plays and dont walk people and you will be in every game regardless of the level of competition you are facing.

We have a stat called HP's or Hustle Points. These are kept for both teams and given for things such as a diving play, turning a double play, throwing a runner out from the outfield; offensively for things such as taking an extra base, taking a base on a pitch in the dirt, amoung others. In 2 years of doing this we have never lost to a team when we had more HP's than they did.

i love that term "90 foot wars". might have to borrow that. we stress that stuff all the time but thats a great term for it. throwing to the right place and keeping the batter/runner on first base is so crucial to avoiding big innings on the high school level. passed balls is another biggie. the opposite offensively - taking aggressive turns looking for the next base, etc. good post justbaseball. alot of good posts on this thread. no scientific, theoretical,meaningless jibberish - just baseball.
steve
http://www.leaguelineup.com/raiderbaseball

I love the term too, raiderbb.

But don't discount my home runs stat.

That's 4 X 90 on one swing of the bat.

Lots of chatter in college baseball about OB% and fielding %.

What makes a difference is errors, you can't win a ball game with them.

So I would say that is the most important game stat.

The automated scorebook for colleges keeps every stat imaginable.

I'd vote for the WHIP as the most important stat offensively (at least from a pitching perspective). I love the idea of tracking 'hustle points', though. Last year, my son's school team had a SS with amazing 'hustle' - his summer team had a SS that played his position. I don't know whose actual stats were better, but I sure know who my son would rather play with.