One of my teams was 50-62 and I juggled the batting order a bit, and they have gone 35-13 since. Neither of these line up's was set to "recommendations", but since it made such a huge difference, I was wondering if it's best to just set your batting order to what the game recommends. 

Anyone have some "recommendations" for me???

Thanks in advance for your replies!!!

~Brian~

There are a lot of threads on this, I don't recall any titles off the top of my head but a creative search should be able to find some good discussion.


What I do (which may not be right) is:

1. Highest OBP
2. Highest OPS
3. Highest OPS left
4. Highest BA left
5. HIghest SLG left
6-8.  In order of OBP

The difference between 50-62 and 35-13 is likely either luck or factors outside your line-up.  However, without a doubt, line-up construction can make a difference.  I estimate that you get get ~10% more runs over a season with smart line-up construction and roster management compared to average management..

Imostly agree with TJ on an optimal lineup, but often will adjust for PA, L/R staggering and other factors.

Posted by Trentonjoe on 6/18/2012 3:02:00 PM (view original):
There are a lot of threads on this, I don't recall any titles off the top of my head but a creative search should be able to find some good discussion.


What I do (which may not be right) is:

1. Highest OBP
2. Highest OPS
3. Highest OPS left
4. Highest BA left
5. HIghest SLG left
6-8.  In order of OBP

this is how I manage my lineups as well - Max Bishop is an excellent leadoff hitter :)  

I think 10% more runs over average management is probably an overestimation.  10% over the worst possible lineup I'd buy, but given that most sim lineups are reasonably balanced (not all, but most) I doubt you'd have much more than a 12-15% difference between the best and worst possible lineups, and any idiot who's watched baseball for 20 minutes and knows what numbers are should be able to build a lineup that comes within 5% of the optimal lineup if not closer...  Not that those couple of extra runs a season aren't significant, particularly in a close playoff race, but I really don't think you get 10% above the average lineup with optimal lineup construction...

Appreciate the feedback and being able to take in the plan of attack from others!!!

For what it's worth, this is not the first time something like this has happened to one of my teams. I had a team that was 24-33, and when I juggled the batting order, they went 68-37 from that point on. For better or worse, there must be something to how a batting order is set in this game that affects wins and losses ...

I usually set my line up the following way...

1.) High OBP and high speed/steals
2.) High contact rate. (For hit and run situations. This seems to raise the batting average from RL of my #2 hitters, since the hit and run leaves a hole in the infield.)
3.) Highest remaining batting average/OBP
4.) Highest remaining batting average/RBI's
5.) Most Home Runs/RBI's remaining
6.) Second best "leadoff" hitter
7.) Best remaining contact rate
8.) Whoever is left...

You better make sure your good contact rate #2 guys are fast.  It's the speed of the #2 hitter that keeps you out of DPs, and if he makes a lot of contact he'll have plenty of chances to hit into them.

GREAT point dahsdebater!!! I hadn't considered that until now. THANK YOU!!!

The best I remember of some real life studies of batting orders, is that in the end it doesn't make a whole lot of difference.  Of course, the closer to the top of the lineup, the more PAs that player will get.  Basketcal, I often change my lineups based on how they are doing in the sim.  Once I couldn't get Mark McGwire to hit from the 3rd or 4th spot, so I moved him to leadoff, and boom, off to a championship.  The wis Gods should be respected.  Therefore, BE superstitious and serve chicken to Wade Boggs and never step on the base line.  

btw, for all you OBPers out there, the point of Moneyball (the book) is not that OBP is the king of stats, it that it was under-valued at the time.  Personally I believe that batting average is a more important stat than OBP because you can't drive in a run with a walk unless the bases are loaded (a very small pct of the time) and batting average is actually the largest part of OBP.  Don't get me wrong, I like OBP, and walks, and the by-product which is raising the pitch count and inching toward middle -relief and bash-ball time.

But it turns out Billy Beane isn't the greatest GM in the history of the world.  In Moneyball (the movie), they don't bother to mention the real reason the A's had a good season (Hudson, Zito, Mulder), or that because of Beane's obsession with OBP (Haittesburg), he traded away Carlos Pena, who is still playing yes?

But I digress.  

Harrelson, it's not just moneyball that demonstrates that OBP is the most important offensive stat in baseball.  Bill James and any other statistical baseball expert could tell you that with significant statistical data to back it up.  The one I like to point out on the Orioles website where I routinely discuss this with traditionalists is that since 2000 (which is simply as far back as I cared to bother looking) in the AL (since it's the applicable league, NL is probably similar) the team that has led the AL in OBP has led the league in runs in all but 1 season.  Only a few of those teams have led in either AVG or SLG.  The one team that didn't lead in OBP was a very close 2nd and ran away with the SLG lead.

lineups are overrated. yes there are hundreds of factors that go into creating the perfect lineup but most of them make only a very small difference.
conventional lineup wisdom has been proven wrong. playing for 1 run in the 1st inning, batting one of your weaker hitters 2nd, stacking your power hitters together, speed guys in front of power guys, all wrong.
in the Sim fatigue is always a factor in creating lineups.
the best hitters get pitched around more often. no doubt this increases their OBP. what came first the chicken or the egg? maybe the best hitting teams have the best OBP becasue nobody wants to pitch to them.

I always have a 'go to' lineup. Another words, a lineup when I really need a win or I am playing against a Joss or super dominant pitcher.  The best hitter always hits third(as will almost every lineup) in that lineup with the obp% guys and good average guys, guys with speed at the top of the order (especially if catcher is weak armed.)  But I have a philosophy for juggeling lineups vs. opposing pitchers. I try to find the weakness in opposing starting pitchers by looking at the HR/9, the OAV# and the BB/9#.  These three stats help me set the lineup. The first thing I look at vs. opposing pitchers is their HR/9. That will alow me to place guys with the higher HR/100# at a good spot in the lineup. Pitchers that have a higher OAV# than BB/9 will alow me to put in players with a higher average in a good spot in the lineup. Pitchers with high BB/9# will allow me to place guys with good OBP# at good spots in the lineup.  Also the lefty/righty matchup sometimes can give you an advantage. Putting in a few righties at the end of your lineup vs. a left handed pitcher can give you an edge. Ballparks may have an influence on your lineup as well. 

This all varies with different teams.  You can have a team that has the possibility to make many lineup changes every game or a team with less talent that will allow you less flexability. I think having a good lineup scheme is very helpfull when resting players as well. 

Carlos Pena is hitting .203.