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QuoteI would like to propose that all of softball pick up the "ball in play" percentage or BIP. Here is a simple explanation, and I must admit that it comes from watching my own daughter play. Often times when we are watching girls play we see that they hit the ball often but they are unfortunate enough to hit at-em balls. For instance, my daughter's first fourteen at bats this past high school season were hard hit balls that just happened to be at someone. Out of those first fourteen at-bats she had one base hit. As you can tell her batting average suffered greatly. So even though she had an eye on the ball and was putting it in play if I were to take that batting avg. to a college coach they would laugh. So if a girl SWINGS and puts the ball in play her BIP would go up. If you notice I said swing, I believe bunts would throw off the BIP avg. simply because most of the time that is a sacrifice. There are a few things to work out I think, but I also think that for those girls that work hard to hone their skills with hitting but are just unfortunate enough to play at-em ball, this will help. This will also help a coach track how the opposition hits. Often time batting avg. isn't a good indicator. Please put your softball minds to work and let me know what you think.
I think this is a great idea. I am a very slow runner so even when I hit I am almost always out at first.
How do you implement something like this into the game?
Sounds like a good idea but getting it to catch on throughout all of softball would be the real challenge.
2:35 pm
I think it's cool, especially for a player like your daughter. However, it still may not accurately
compare her to others. Someone who hits 13 out of 14 balls very weakly for example would
have the same stat as your daughter and, on paper, would look just as good as her.
How is a college coach or any evaluating coach supposed to "use" that number?
While it would help players like your daughter who may need some stat to me more
representative of how they hit, it would also boost those that coaches wouldn't consider
to be all that great. So coaches may have to take it with a grain of salt.
7:27 pm
July 16, 2010
Offline
Like Stacie I'm all in favor of you tracking anything that will help your daughter build confidence or others as well.
As a batting coach though I'm not really in favor of something like that because the biggest problem that I have is dealing with "goalies." What is a "goalie" in the game of softball you ask? Well to me it is a girl who has become so afraid to strike out that she takes late/weak swings just to put the ball in play so mom/dad/coach don't yell at her for missing the ball. I'd much rather my players take aggressive/hard/fast swings and try to split the ball in half and strikeout half of the time than put weak ground balls into play 100% of the time. As you know at the higher levels and in high school ball 10 weak ground balls are going to lead to 10 outs.
In teaching GOALS to players/parents I use the acronym SMART. Specific, Measurable, Attainable (by you), Reach forward, and Time based. The REACH FORWARD is the key one in terms of this thread: Avoiding strikeouts and just putting the ball in play is really the avoidance of something negative and doesn't accomplish anything. (Not the same as 2 strikes, game on the line and players on base so girl is told to choke and poke.)
On my website there is a link for something I call a HITTERPLICATION CHART. It is basically a situational hitting matrix. The idea is that players should have productive at bats and try to accomplish the right thing based on the situation that they are in, not just put the ball in play. For instance, instead of telling a player I don't want her to strike out with runners on 2nd and 3rd with no outs is still just avoiding the negative for her. If I tell her to focus on trying to put the ball in play to the right side is helping her move forward. If it is still a weak ground ball, it becomes a sacrfice and she's done something productive. If she hits it hard because it was an outside pitch, even better now she drives in the run and gets on base. But she progresses forward in understanding the game while she's doing it. In this example I'd want her to learn to avoid that low inside strike that the pitcher will throw on the 0-0 count trying to get her to pull the ball, and wait for the outside pitch the pitcher may throw her next.
I think a good mix of ideas would be analyzing each at bat to see if it was productive. With nobody on and less than 2 strikes for instance what was her batting average? With 2 strikes what was her "put the ball in play %"? With runners on base what was her production in advancing them/producing runs? All kinds of variables that could be configured. Set the plan though with her as to what she should be working, and the calculations are just a way to measure whether or not she's improving or staying the same.
DaltonRuer said:
The idea is that players should have productive at bats and try to accomplish the right thing based on the situation that they are in, not just put the ball in play.
Bingo!
I also liked what Michelle Smith I believe said during the WCWS, if you are going to get out, make sure it is a PRODUCTIVE out. Move a runner, score a runner…make sure you helped your team somehow even if you don't get on.
3:00 am
I'd say on base avg., or % is most important stat
Sac bunt should be automatic. all players need to learn how to bunt and not give two strike attempts so they don't have to bunt. bunting is a job
SAC bunt or fly is not counted on bat avg. as time at bat
slappers get a lot of pitches to get it right counting foul ballls
see the ball better in front of plate, before the ball breaks, bat control is coming
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