"No Hitters Off" Mentality: The Importance of Attacking the Bottom of the Order

Upgrade and join us in the clubhouse to access the video breakdown for this post and more!

I grew up watching National League baseball (or as I would refer to it, "real baseball") meaning the pitcher actually used to hit. There wasn't a DH (Designated Hitter). He would always be plugged down in the 9th spot in the lineup and normally asked to sacrifice bunt if there was a runner on base. It made teams use their benches more strategically and have to use the "double switch", which you hardly ever see used now. We can define that another time.

Today's lesson is on the importance of attacking the bottom of the order. While you don't see a pitcher swinging a newspaper as the 9-hitter anymore, you still generally see the other team's worst hitter fill that spot.

From High School to Pro Ball

It seems like common sense. If the worst hitter on the other team is up, the last thing I can do is let him get on base for free. No one should ever walk the 9 hitter, right? Make him get a hit! Well, here are the reasons I'm bringing it up:

1. At the high school I help out at, it's been enough of an issue that we've actually had to talk about it with our pitchers. We've walked or hit the 9-hitter with a pitch WAY too many times this season. More often than not, that hitter has come around to score.
2. Walking the 9 hitter actually cost the Mariners a game the other night, so I thought it would be worth going over that scenario specifically.

The Scenario

The Mariners hosted the Guardians for 4 games to open their season. After splitting each of the first two games, Bryan Woo took the mound for the Mariners on Saturday evening. He looked awesome. I love watching Woo pitch. He's kind of a throw back in that he relies on his fastball moving to get guys out. His fastball/sinker combo is one of the most effective in the league because of this movement.

On this night, he was cruising through 5 innings. The Mariners were up 2-0 and the Guardians only had two base runners, both via a hit. Let's head to the top of the 6th.

The Walk

Enter Brayan Rocchio. He's in his 3rd full season of Major League Baseball and is a career .220 hitter with a .295 on base percentage. He is not an offensive juggernaut. This was the at bat:

Now these are all competitive pitches. You can see that balls 3 and 4 are borderline strikes even. What is your consequence for walking the guy with a career .220 batting average? The hitters behind him are pesky contact hitter Steven Kwan, 2022 first round pick and top prospect Chase DeLauter, and perhaps the most well-rounded player in the league Jose Ramirez.

The Following At-Bats/Result

Woo is a stud in his own right. He got Kwan to fly out and DeLauter to strikeout before facing Ramirez. I don't want to say the night went south here, because Woo ended with a great line, but this is where the Mariners ended up losing this game. Ramirez got Woo for a double that scored Rocchio from 1st.

Then, only one pitch later, Kyle Manzardo flipped a first pitch sinker into right field. Just like that, the game was tied 2-2.

That's how fast things happen in the big leagues. You go from cruise mode and a 2-0 lead to tied in just 2 pitches. This game ended up going into extra innings and the Guardians ended up defeating the Mariners 6-5 by scoring 3 in the top of the 10th. This all goes back to that one walk to the guy that is a .220 career hitter. It's not to say he wouldn't have gotten a hit. That's entirely possible. But giving up a hit to someone at the bottom of the order is something you have less control over than walking him.

The Lesson

I'm not going to say this was a mental lapse for Woo. He walks less than 5% of batters he faces (close to league leading) and he knew it was a mistake. They showed video of him after the game got tied up and in the dugout. Despite striking out 9 over 6 innings and allowing just 2 runs on 4 hits, there was clearly one thing putting a cloud over his outing: the 6th inning, lead-off walk to the 9-hitter. Lead off walks are big no-no's in general, but when you do it to the 9-hitter with the top of the order coming up, it's a recipe for trouble.

For most pitchers this IS a mental lapse. Sometimes when guys are cruising they see it as an opportunity to get another punch out and nibble a little too hard at the corners. Don't let that be you. Make sure you take the same intent of pounding the white part of the plate to the bottom of the order hitters. You may not get a strikeout, but you may end up getting a 2-pitch out that prohibits you from giving up a couple runs and ultimately prolongs your outing.