Here's a controversial topic for discussion. Everybody thinks a leadoff hitter should be a speedy guy. But a big advantage of speed in the sim is the ability to stay out of double plays. The #1 hitter has the fewest double play situations by far, because he bats with the bases empty in the 1st inning and later he follows the pitcher. So wouldn't it be better to put one of your slower hitters at leadoff so he does less damage?

I have seen a speed team that didn't run(steal settings at zero)(Schwarze will confirm)yet they scored plenty of runs. Most teams employ a decent arm behind the plate. I don't think you are sacrificing much to have a slow footed, high OBP guy at leadoff. I would put a more fleet footed guy in the 2 hole, to cut down on double plays.

I use a guy like Boggs, Fred Carroll, Roy Thomas or Votto at leadoff quite a lot. None are above 75 on the speedo ..

My 2 cents is spend more money on range than on sprinters...

Your leadoff hitter has one role, to get on base...he will likely lead your team in PA, so the number of times on base is paramount...and his little brother, especially a lower PA version, should bat 9th. Yes, I bat the pitcher 8th, with very few exceptions.

under 75 is nothing. I'm talking about the 50 speed guy, maybe even a catcher if he has enough stamina. It's a way of burying their weaknesses and may outweigh the advantages of playing for one run in the first inning.

I'll bat a pitcher 8th based on 2 factors. Is my team at risk of fatigue and therefore needs to transfer PA from a hitter to the pitcher? and more importantly, can the pitcher hit half decent so he's not a liability. An .080 hitter bats 9th every time for me.

I hit Scioscia leadoff once. He led the league in runs scored. He's below 50.

I've used the '70 Yaz as a leadoff hitter before. Seems nuts, but we lost a 7 game world series using him there.

I bat my pitchers lead off. Less PAs I need to pay for!

Depends how much SLG you have at the 2, 3 and 4 spots. The value of a very speedy, decent OBP guy in the 1 spot over a slow, higher-OBP guy in the 1 spot goes up when you don't have a lot of SLG. They need to be able to go 1st --> 3rd and 2nd --> home on more singles on those teams.

With that said, I generally roster a slow low PA but high OBP guy (like Fred Carroll, Bill Joyce or Roy Cullenbine) and bat him 9th, with the pitcher batting 8th. Same argument for fewer DP situations as batting him 1st (though slightly dampened) but then you can put the speedy guy at leadoff anyway.

This works even better if your speedy guy can get some XBH every now and then.