Successful Team At-Bats - Keep Playing Baseball

By Ethan Guevin

We are fast approaching the most exciting time of the year – playoffs! Every game seems to carry more importance than the last. In addition to feeling like every game is a must win, college coaches are also out recruiting. You may be feeling a lot of pressure to deliver for your team and to increase your chances of being recruited. While you may be tempted to worry about your personal stats and achievements, KPB is here to remind you that it is a better idea to forget the stats and focus on “team at-bats.”

You may be wondering what we mean by “team at-bats.” Players have successful team at-bats when the outcome increases the team’s chances to win the game. Of course, every time you come to the plate, your job is to help your team score runs. But, since we know that no one has ever hit 1.000 in his career, a batter’s “job” cannot be to get a hit every time, even though a hit is obviously a successful result in any game situation. That means you should not put pressure on yourself to get a hit every time you step up to the plate. Instead, you should focus on doing the “job” the game-situation calls for. Your “job” will change depending on how many outs there are and if there are runners on the bases. Take a look at the situation-specific hitting table below. Depending on the outs and the runners, the table shows you the bare minimum of what you could do in each situation to have a successful team at-bat.

	0 Outs	1 Out	2 Outs
Bases Empty	Get on Base	Get on Base	Get on Base
Runner on 1^st	Advance Runner	Advance Runner	Extend the Inning*
Runners on 1^st + 2^nd	Advance Both Runners	Advance Both Runners	Extend the Inning
Bases Loaded	Score Runner from 3^rd	Score Runner from 3^rd	Extend the inning
Runner on 2^nd	Advance the Runner	Score Runner or get on base	Extend the inning
Runners on 2^nd + 3^rd	Score Runner from 3^rd or get on base	Score Runner from 3^rd or get on base	Extend the inning
Runner on 3^rd	Score Runner or get on base	Score Runner or get on base	Extend the inning

* Extending the inning means getting the next hitter up any way possible (hit, walk, hit by pitch, etc.).

As the table shows, there are a lot of ways to have a successful at-bat without getting a hit. In some cases, you can even make an out and still have a successful team at-bat. For example, if you have a runner on 3^rd with less than two outs, a ground out that scores the run is a huge success. Just think, if you got an RBI every time you had an at bat, you would be a first ballot hall of famer.

Keep in mind that the table shows only the most basic way to have a successful team at-bat. An RBI base hit with a runner on 3^rd and less than two outs is clearly better than an RBI groundout, but you already know that. The table serves as a reminder that you can do a lot to help your team even when you don’t get a hit.

When the pressure is on, focus on team at-bats. Focus on doing whatever you can to get the outcome that will help your team. Make sure you congratulate your teammates when they have successful team at-bats even when they don’t get hits. If you and your teammates are able to achieve only the most basic result for each situation, your team will be more successful and you will be surprised how your personal stats will take care of themselves.

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