lets say you have a very speedy leadoff guy 85 and up and a 2nd batter with a proclivity for double plays....do you think he would statistically get fewer double plays because of the speed of the leadoff guy assuming he is usually on base.

Don't know Dino. But in the real world, why would anyone bat a guy 2nd who "had a proclivity for double plays"??
You shouldn't.

But, hopefully, in the SIM you SHOULD get less DP's with a very speedy baserunner than a slower one.

I am currently wrestling with this as well - I bat Max Carey and Ben Zobrist 1-2 in some order. Carey can fly and steal bases, so would I rather he get on base and turn the wheels loose, with the threat of more DPs from Zobrist at #2, or have the high OBP slug up top and Carey either moves him along or replaces him at first?

Anyone have any idea how big this effect is in real life? I buy the theory that the speed of the baserunner should have some impact, but how much?

All else being equal - and not including the use of the hit and run which is am entirely separate issue and which you can directly control in the manager settings - how many double plays does a fast runner on first prevent? One in three? One in five? One in 20?

My guess is the effect is small. And I expect the SLB algorithm doesn’t account for it.

playing the double play guy at one should cut him down by 1/4.....but dont want to use a 91 speed guy batting second..
its a quandary.

Why are you "definitive" on the guy you use in the 2 hole.
Can't he bat (say) 3rd and you could bat someone else 2nd? Someone with a low K rate and a high contact rate and some speed would be what I'd look for.

Archived post


Just got a response from the admins. Interesting:

The sim looks at a variety of factors for whether a ground ball can be turned into a DP:
how hard was the ball hit
how fast are the runners on base
how fast is the hitter (including whether from left or right side of the plate)
fielder's range (for the throw)
fielder's range (for the pivot)
game situation (score, inning, outs)

All things equal, RH should hit into more DP than LH.
9/11/2015 2:12 PM

Posted by DoctorKz on 2/5/2020 11:52:00 AM (view original):
Archived post


Just got a response from the admins. Interesting:

The sim looks at a variety of factors for whether a ground ball can be turned into a DP:
how hard was the ball hit
how fast are the runners on base
how fast is the hitter (including whether from left or right side of the plate)
fielder's range (for the throw)
fielder's range (for the pivot)
game situation (score, inning, outs)

All things equal, RH should hit into more DP than LH.
9/11/2015 2:12 PM

very nice of you to bring that up.

Anybody know how important the speed of the baserunner is, relative to the speed of the batter? I'm thinking the speed of the batter should be much more important, since the close play is usually the one at 1B.

I'll probably bat 2001 Ichiro Suzuki and Edgar Martinez at the top of the order on my next Mariners progressive team. Even though conventional wisdom easily says Ichiro is the leadoff hitter, I'm thinking I might lose fewer runners to double plays if Edgar bats leadoff and Ichiro bats second. Wherever Edgar bats in the order, he'll draw around 100 BB and should be prone to being forced out at 2B later. If Ichiro is batting behind him, his speed (and lefty batting) should make it hard to complete a double play.

I don’t know if I’ve ever accounted for speed when considering lineups. It’s not something I feel comes up often enough.

I usually try to have guys with 85 or higher speed ratings as my first and second hitters, provided that they have close to a .400 OBP which more often than not will keep out of dps at the top of the order, and have as many runners on base as I can for my three and for hitters who are often guys who hit doubles with some HR power.

However, if I have a very guy high OBP guy who's not too fast, I tend to hit him leadoff, with a speedy guy with some pop for hitting triples, behind him, which also keeps me out of double plays at the top of the lineup.