Execution
Our program’s offensive strategy hinges on the execution of our game goals for each contest:
- 18/20/22 Quality At-Bats (Varsity/J.V./C)
- Earn 9 “Freebies”
- Win 4 of 7 innings
The Quality At Bat concept will transform the joy of any hitter when he submits to the ideas. Steve Springer, who is now a coach in the Toronto Blue Jay organization, first introduced us to these ideas. Later, Clint Hurdle deepened some of the ideas and teachings during his stints with the Rockies, Rangers, and Pirates. The core principle of the Quality At Bat mindset centers on the idea of giving a player more opportunities to succeed at the plate than just getting a hit. Very simply, a Quality At Bat is achieved when a player hits the ball hard or helps the team win. We must put the focus on batting averages behind us, and open our players up to the freedom the Quality-At-Bat mindset and team-offense focus provides. One of Springer’s catch phrases is, “Bombs, Doubles, RBIs, and want the Fifth At Bat!”
To explain how this Quality At Bat affects the team’s success, our Varsity program is 51-8 over the last four years when we produce 18 QABs in a game. In those eight losses, we lost by a total of 14 runs. Trying to achieve the Quality At Bat goal of 18 per game while working together as an offense will give the team the greatest opportunity to win every game.
A Quality At Bat is defined as:
1. Hit
2. BB/HBP/Catcher's Interference
3. Sac Fly
4. Sac Bunt
5. Advance Lead Runner Via Out or Error
6. Squared Line Drive
7. 7-Pitch AB
8. Putting ball in play with two strikes (JV/C levels only)
Freebies are defined as:
- BB
- HBP
- SB
- E
- 2-Strike Hit
The last freebie, the 2-strike hit, has proven to be the greatest momentum changer an offense has in its arsenal. With the discussion of batting averages and pitch counts earlier in this chapter, one can see how infrequent the 2-strike hit is at the professional level. Recently, a Division I baseball program studied the College World Series to determine what offensive weapon did the most damage to the opposing team. Their conclusion - the 2-strike hit. Innings in which a 2-strike hit occurred saw an inordinate percentage of runs scored and momentum shifts. Focus on the great things that can happen with you in the batter’s box with two strikes.
Notice how many of the Quality At Bats and Freebies are not defined as getting hits. A great baseball offense is marked by the team’s ability to score runs when you’re not hitting.
Our final offensive game goal involves winning innings and winning the pitch count in those innings. The program’s goal is to win four of the seven innings in which we play that day. Very simply, we want to win over 50% of the innings we play. Winning innings with runs helps the team to control the momentum of the game. Even more powerful, however, is winning the pitch count every inning. Our teams will monitor the pitch count as well as the score in each inning as a way to win the game within the game. The team that wins the pitch count consistently will control the momentum of the game and, ultimately, the scoreboard.
The next element of execution involves situational hitting. Nearly every at bat looks different, and each one takes on a life of its own. The strengths and weaknesses of the hitter, base runner, pitcher, and defense, as well as the game situation (inning, score, and count) all must come into consideration when evaluating a given situation. With the same philosophy of simplifying in mind, here is a series of thoughts to consider based on the runner(s) on base and the number of outs.
With a runner on first base and no one out, the goal is to create a scoring opportunity. The team can give up an out (sacrifice bunt, moving the runner with a groundball, etc.), but the runner must be in scoring position at the conclusion of the at bat. With one out and a runner on first base, the offense must try to gain a base without giving up an out. With two outs and a runner on first base, the base runner must find a way to get into score position to create an opportunity to score in that frame. All of this is generalized and does not take into account the hitter at the plate. For example, with two outs and a runner on first, the base runner should be less risky if the nine-hole hitter is up as the lineup is being turned over for the next inning already.
With a runner on second base and no one out, the team can give up an out but the runner must be at third base at the conclusion of the at bat. With one out and a runner on second base, the base runner should find a way to get to third base without giving up an out. With two outs and a runner on second base, the base runner should focus on a good secondary lead to try to score on a base hit. Again, dependent upon the situation, these are simple and general ideas of what a hitter, base runner, and coach can do to work with a runner on second base.
With a runner on third base and less than two outs, the hitter should seek to stay in the middle of the field to drive in the run. With the infield in, again the approach is the middle of the field or getting a pitch to elevate gap-to-gap in the outfield. With the infield back, the approach is still the middle of the field and trying to keep the ball off of the corners which are quicker outs.
With runners on first and third and less than two outs, especially in our program, the player should anticipate executing some sort of set play. The opportunity in this situation is to drive in a run and advance a runner into scoring position without giving up more than one out. It is imperative to stay out of the double play in this situation to maintain momentum. The variety of specialty plays outlined in the playbook will explain how we seek to ensure positive momentum in these situations. With runners on first and third and two outs, the runner at first should try to find a way to get to second base without giving up an out.
Finally, with runners on second and third with less than two outs, the team must score at least one run, but should be anticipating a big inning.
The final part of approach happens at practice an in the pregame environment. To prepare to execute the proper approach, players must put themselves in game situations mentally in the practice and pregame environments. UCLA’s Bat Calisthenics video is just one option for preparation. Our program uses slow motion swings, slow motion and regular swings with Powerballs (soft, weighted balls), and specific batting practice routines to prepare our hitters for potential game situations. As the season goes on, the routines start to imitate the most frequent situations the team is experiencing in game situations. No matter the method, preparing the team to execute in this situations will allow an offense to succeed more frequently.
There are eight potential situations a hitter will encounter with zero, one, or two outs:
- Nobody on
- Runner on 1st
- Runner on 2nd
- Runner on 3rd
- Runner on 1st and 2nd
- Runner on 1st and 3rd
- Runner on 2nd and 3rd
- Bases Loaded
Those eight situations lead us to our Situational Hitting Series – Wave concept. In the book, Baseball as a Road to God, this concept appears:
“When a wave is at its most powerful, it is a solid foundation that can support as many riders as will fit upon it. It can even sweep up more as it runs along. But when the wave passes, nothing but its memory survives…Those moments of sport are like that. When you are in the midst of them, riding the wave, they carry you along and give meaning to life.”
This is like a big offensive inning where the whole team is clicking together. We practice trying to get on the wave together as much as possible in practice, last year practicing this concept daily before batting practice in practice and game days. The momentum of the team working together, helping young players realize that they are playing the game 9 vs. 1 instead of 1 vs. 9 is transformational for a hitter.
Situational Hitter Series/Wave Drill – Coaches will choose a sequence of execution, keeping it fresh daily
Get ‘em on
Nobody on, need a hit
Get ‘em over
Bunt Series
Sacrifice 1B side (Runners on 1B & 2B, obvious bunt, soft bunt, force play to 1B)
Bunt & Run 3B side (Runner at 1B/Runners on 1B & 2B, runners break, force 3B to make a choice, must bunt)
Safety Squeeze 1B side (Runners on 1B & 3B, bunt to 1B side, even a push bunt, score runner, move runner)
Bunt & Run 1B side (Runner at 1B/Runners on 1B & 3B, runner at 1B breaks, bunt to right side, force confusion, must bunt)
Note: We will generally practice with multiple runners instead of a single runner on 1B or 2B only to practice the most stressful component, and provide extra base running reps and complexity.
Hit & Run Series
Hit & Run (Runner at 1B/Runners on 1B & 3B, runner at 1B breaks, thinking right side, see inside track and get through it, must swing, ball in play, stay out of middle to avoid double play which is why runner is moving in first place)
Hit & Run (Runner at 2B/Runners on 1B & 2B, runner(s) break, hitter thinks opposite field but is ready to turn and burn on a pitch on the inside track, must swing, again stay out of the middle to avoid the double play which is why the runners are active)
Note: We practice with multiple runners instead of a single runner on 1B or 2B only to practice the most stressful component, and provide extra base running reps and complexity.
Leadoff 2B
Keep a runner in scoring position moving with back-to-back doubles or a ball on the right side that allows the runner to move up easily.
“Choice” – Bunt to 3B line, groundball to right side, base hit behind runner, matching double – “change places with him”
Get ‘em in
RBI Series
Runner at 3B, Infield in (Ball in the air deep enough for sac fly or through the infield, drive the man in)
Runner at 3B, Infield back (Ball on the ground, ball in air deep enough for sac fly, or base hit, drive man in)
Leadoff 2B (Choice – Bunt to 3B line, groundball to right side, base hit behind runner, matching double – “change places with him”)
Runners on 2B and 3B (RBI time, drive at least one runner in, looking for “crooked number” on scoreboard)
To approach their opportunity at the plate appropriately, players must Have a Plan when he comes to the plate. Have a Plan has many elements that all point to the player’s opportunity to contribute to the team’s offensive success. Baseball is interesting in the combination of individual skills being on display in a team environment. This really comes to life as a baseball team comes together forcing the defense to face a lineup in which all nine players are working together for the good of something bigger than the individual. Don Mattingly once said of Manny Ramirez, “Manny would rather die than go to bat without a plan. He likes to say, ‘I’ll give the pitcher this much of the plate, but if he misses here, he’s mine.’” We are hopeful that our players will go to the plate with that level of planning and confidence.
The first part of the Have a Plan element involves “cutting the plate” and our interpretation of baseball count theory. We believe that swinging at certain pitches in certain locations in certain counts contributes to the player’s short and long-term success.
Before addressing the count theory, players must understand how to “cut the plate.” Cutting the plate refers to looking to swing at a pitch over the middle-in part of the plate or the middle-out part of the plate. Middle-in is one approach to cutting the plate, Middle-out is the other. Because higher-level pitchers (High School Varsity, College, and Professional) are more likely to pitch hitters away, our hitters should tune themselves into cutting the plate middle-out more often than cutting the plate middle-in.
With 0 strikes, our players should swing at a fastball and only a fastball. Period. If our hitters are in a 0-0, 1-0, or 2-0 count, they should sit on a fastball they can drive for a double to the gap or over an outfielder’s head. The only caveat here is if the pitcher has shown the consistent ability and desire to spin a breaking ball for a strike when he has no strikes on the batter. We’d rather let him pitch backwards and passive as it shows we have a mental advantage over that pitcher already. In addition to the mental advantage, a high school pitcher spinning a lot of breaking balls will lose velocity off of his fastball sooner as well.
Note here that we did not say we swing at a fastball in a 3-0 count. We believe, especially at the high school level, in forcing the opposing starting pitcher to throw as many pitches as possible. We’re willing to sacrifice a fastball in a 3-0 count to drive up his pitch count. In addition, high school pitchers who throw the first three balls in a row more often than not allow that man to reach base later in the count anyway. We want our hitters to take 3-0 unless the coach has made the determination with that player to swing away at the right pitch in the right situation.
With 1 strike, our players should still seek to drive a fastball but should also add a hanging offspeed pitch to the potential pitches to drive. A hanging offspeed pitch refers to an offspeed pitch that starts up and stays up. Swinging at an offspeed pitch that starts in the middle or low and breaks down is one to avoid. A player’s ability to recognize and drive these pitches hinge on dedication to the “0-1-2” and offspeed pitch drills (bounce, three-plate, etc.) used to help players drive fastballs as well as offspeed pitches.
Finally, with 2 strikes, players should expand the plate from 18 inches to 24 inches - three inches wider than the plate’s actual measurements. Too often high school hitters take pitches on the edge that could be driven or at minimum fouled off. We want our hitters to expand their strike zones, but do not want them to change their swing or mentality. We want to hit strikes, take balls, and hit the ball with maximum force with two strikes as with any other count. We want to “attack” and not “protect” with two strikes.
To gain further understanding around count theory and the importance of counts as a hitter, take a look at this data from Major League Baseball and the Colorado Rockies in 2012 (Left column is the count, center column is MLB data from 2012, right column is Rockies data from 2011):
0-0 .328 .335
1-0 .341 .344
2-0 .350 .374
0-1 .324 .308
1-1 .327 .329
2-1 .339 .325
3-1 .368 .397
0-2 .166 .141
1-2 .179 .176
2-2 .195 .200
3-2 .233 .205
The most pivotal pitches in baseball are the first pitch of an at bat and the 1-1 count. Start a hitter with a strike and his average is between .308-.324 at the big-league level. Start him with a ball and his average is .341-.344. A significant difference. However, the difference between a strike and a ball at the 1-1 count is monumental. The range of batting averages from 2-1 is .325-.339 while the range for 1-2 is .176-.179. Armed with this information, our hitters should grow in confidence even more as they get ahead in counts, and seek to spoil the pitcher’s day with two-strike hits (the “freebie” section outlines the importance of two-strike hits).