What Level Of Play Should We Optimize Swing Decisions For?
When a player swings the bat ultimately it should because they feel that the swing will result in a better outcome for themselves than taking the pitch. Walks are undervalued by players essentially the act of not making an out is probably the best thing that a hitter can do when they step in the box. So when thinking about different levels of play how often do we consider what the strike zone looks like Now Vs. At Higher Levels Of Competition?
Often times at lower levels of competition player should be encouraged to swing the bat for a few reason: Strike Zones are going to be much larger than they probably ‘officially’ are for players at levels such as College, High School, and potentially lower minor leagues. Meaning that players have more incentive to swing the bat at a larger variety of pitches. Fielders are not going to be as good as they will be at higher levels which again means that baseball that are probably not as well hit can become hits. Pitching also isn’t as good at lower levels meaning that they are not able to pitch to corners as easily, and can leave pitches in the strike zone for hitters to put in play. Many times the incentives to swing the bat out weigh those for hitters to be more passive.
The key is that once a player is drafted and goes into a Development system they are faced with a real issue. At lower minor leagues it seems logical that the strike zone is worse than at higher levels of play, and that at these higher levels of play that the fielders will be better than lower levels. So this creates a real issue for players. Do you continue to swing at pitches that will optimize for the level of play at they are currently at? Or do they focus in and develop a mindset which is more conducive for the highest levels of play. I would assume that players at the highest levels of play are more selective than the players at the lower levels and there for will swing less.
This is a real catch 22. I don’t think that anyone wants to strike out at borderline pitches because they are strikes in AAA and the MLB levels but not at the level they are competing currently in. But is this something that we should want out of our players? If we want them to be ready for competition at the highest levels why would we set them up for a situation where they are swinging or potentially thinking that a pitch was a strike when as they progress it is a ball.
I think this comes down to potentially delaying the gratification for players and coaches over a period of time. I think that if we accept players swinging at these ‘strikes’ that ultimately are not strikes then I think we might be setting them up to struggle as they move through the system. As a player progresses from Advanced A to AA what use to be strikes are now balls and obviously there will a transition period that needs to happen. I just wonder if putting the focus on the ultimate goal of a player should be what we want to accomplish. Delaying when a player is rewarded in terms of their swing decisions might not be a bad idea. As long as they are presented with information quickly so they know which pitches would have called strikes at higher levels of play.
Ultimately I think making players aware of the differences in strike zones that they will encounter especially as they move through a Player Development System can be a good way to help them realize that they might be getting away with some ‘bad’ swings at lower levels that ultimately will result in worse results as they move upward in competition. Setting in place good swing decisions early in a players career may be easier than undoing issues that a player has developed by larger strike zones in lower levels. This is the crux of today’s post. Do you have faith that you can undo years of swing decisions quickly vs. implementing a system that rewards swing decisions at higher levels of play immediately? I think I could be convinced in either direction but at least it should be considered as an alternative.
