I am relatively new to baseball, having become a fan in only the last few years. I would like to know what the convenstional wisdom is regarding batting order. I would also like to hear some different strategies used in setting the batting order.

Google "batting order" and refer to the Wikipedia entry for the conventional wisdom on how to construct one.

Simply, you want you best on-base percentage guys in the top 2 spots, your best RBI guys in 3-5, and the rest of the order goes from best hitter down to worst. The guys at the top of your lineup will get more at-bats, and are more likely to be leading off innings (they obviously lead off in the first, and with your weakest bats hitting 8th and 9th, they are more likely to lead off a new inning after an out frmo the bottom of the lineup). You normally want fast guys in the top few spots too, as if they do get on to lead off an inning, they can steal a base and your "big bats" that hit 3-5 can drive them in.

I will put the faster guy in my first spot and the guy with better contact and eye hitting second, to help move him over. The best all around hitter will then bat third, followed by my biggest power bat, then my a guy with solid average and power hitting 5th.

I will then place my next best overall hitter 6th, I like sticking a guy with some power 7th, and I like speed out of my 8 hole hitter. If using a DH, I would move my powerguy down to 8th and speed 9th, sticking the remaining guy in at 7th.

Generally, you want guys at the top of your order with a high chance of getting on base.

In HBD, that means guys with very high BE, and likely with high CN and splits. Some owners want a lot of speed at the top of the lineup, too.

Your #3 hitter is usually the best hiter on the team, combining ability to get on base with ability to drive in runs. The guys immediately behind him will also often have a lot of power and the ability to drive runs in.

The bottom of the lineup is what's over. If you have an AL team, you may want to have a guy similar to what you have batting #1 and #2, to give you another "leadoff man" as your team bats around in the later innings.

Read "The Great American Novel" and follow Gil Gamesh's advice.....

Baseball Prospectus concluded in their book "Baseball Between the Numbers" that the best way to construct a lineup is to go in descending order by OBP. I disagree with that conclusion but it seems to be the conventional wisdom for a lot of people.

I like to put my best all around hitter in the #2 spot. I think I read that the #3 hitter has more ABs with 2 out and no one on than any other spot in the lineup. You still want a strong hitter there but not necessarily the best.

Really I don't think there is much to it beyond "best hitters at the top, worst at the bottom" though.

Quote: Originally Posted By prezuiwf on 12/04/2009Baseball Prospectus concluded in their book "Baseball Between the Numbers" that the best way to construct a lineup is to go in descending order by OBP. I disagree with that conclusion but it seems to be the conventional wisdom for a lot of people.

That was a really good book. I didn't attempt to spend too much time trying to really understand the math, but the basic premises and conclusions were interesting enough to open my mind to looking at some of the long-time "conventional wisdom" in a new light.

Quote: Originally Posted By prezuiwf on 12/04/2009Baseball Prospectus concluded in their book "Baseball Between the Numbers" that the best way to construct a lineup is to go in descending order by OBP. I disagree with that conclusion but it seems to be the conventional wisdom for a lot of people.

I'm not sure "get your best hitters the most plate appearances" is anything revolutionary....

Quote: Originally Posted By iain on 12/04/2009

Quote: Originally Posted By prezuiwf on 12/04/2009
Baseball Prospectus concluded in their book "Baseball Between the Numbers" that the best way to construct a lineup is to go in descending order by OBP. I disagree with that conclusion but it seems to be the conventional wisdom for a lot of people.

I'm not sure "get your best hitters the most plate appearances" is anything revolutionary...

That book I mentioned, while a novel, discussed (and implemented with great success!) that very concept decades before BPro even existed. That book is an excellent read...but, for the baseball fan, the last few chapters have some very nice strategic tidbits that are ahead of it's time.....

I have used Frank Gates as a leadoff hitter since taking over the franchise in S10. He has no speed, is a terrible baserunner and his power is in steep decline.

But he's the best leadoff hitter in the world and it's because of his on-base skills. I have found that while Frank will be involved in 30+ double plays a season, if I put speed in the 9 hole and 2 hole, it helps keep that number down.

I go with the OBP theory - best OB player hits leadoff, best contact guy in the 2 hole, best overall hitter in the 3 hole, best power guy in slots 4-7, worst hitter 8th (AL or NL), 2nd leadoff guy in the 9 hole.

Quote: Originally posted by soxfan121 on 12/04/2009I have used Frank Gates as a leadoff hitter since taking over the franchise in S10. He has no speed, is a terrible baserunner and his power is in steep decline.

But he's the best leadoff hitter in the world and it's because of his on-base skills. I have found that while Frank will be involved in 30+ double plays a season, if I put speed in the 9 hole and 2 hole, it helps keep that number down.

I go with the OBP theory - best OB player hits leadoff, best contact guy in the 2 hole, best overall hitter in the 3 hole, best power guy in slots 4-7, worst hitter 8th (AL or NL), 2nd leadoff guy in the 9 hole.

What do you do if your best OBP guy by far also is your best overall hitter? I was playing my best OBP guy at leadoff, but I felt like he was getting too many solo homers.

Put him in the 2 spot.

i love power in the 2 spot (requote away!). i've built a ton of teams in different games (dating back to earl weaver baseball, circa 1988) with a masher in the 2 hole.

I bet you do.