Strategy Question

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

Here's the situation:

Your team is trailing by one run late in the game. Your opponent has runners on 2nd and 3rd with two out. They have their leading hitter, and one of the best in the country, at the plate. what would you do?

[AUBandDad 0]

Depends on who is pitching. If the pitcher has control problems, I seriously doubt that I'd intentionally walk him. I would have him go after the hitter with his best stuff. But, with an open base, he doesn't have to throw it right down the middle.

If he has Greg Maddux-like control, he can walk him intentionally and go after the next guy.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

Depends on who is pitching. If the pitcher has control problems, I seriously doubt that I'd intentionally walk him. I would have him go after the hitter with his best stuff. But, with an open base, he doesn't have to throw it right down the middle.

If he has Greg Maddux-like control, he can walk him intentionally and go after the next guy.

Why give a great hitter a chance to even hit it with two men on and a weaker hitter coming up?

[IndyTiger 3]

Depends on who is pitching. If the pitcher has control problems, I seriously doubt that I'd intentionally walk him. I would have him go after the hitter with his best stuff. But, with an open base, he doesn't have to throw it right down the middle.

If he has Greg Maddux-like control, he can walk him intentionally and go after the next guy.

If he has control problems he is more likely to leave one up in the zone and over the plate. I don't follow your logic If he is the best hitter on the team and the next guy isn't near as much a threat I would walk him. It also allows an out at every base, where before the only focre would be the play at first.

[Mikey 16,640]

Conventional wisdom says walk him. I've coached a lot of baseball, and unless there were some condition unique to this particular situation, I'd walk him. Percentage wise, the likelihood of another walk is more than balanced out by having the "force at every base" situation after the intentional walk.

[Proud Tiger 4,261]

I agreee to walking him without a doubt. But we had that situation against bama in last Friday night's game and pitched to the hitter. he got a couple of good swings before walking. I didn't understand it.

[AUJarhead 70]

I agreee to walking him without a doubt. But we had that situation against bama in last Friday night's game and pitched to the hitter. he got a couple of good swings before walking. I didn't understand it.

Maybe it was the "unintentional intentional" walk, where you give him pitches out of the zone, and hope he swings at stuff he shouldn't? Didn't see the game, but I see it several times a week watching the Cardinals when Pujols is batting.