"Moneyball" is so profound on so many levels (and parents, you have to wade through Billy Beane's antics and language in the book, so approach with caution). It really challenged me to look at the game -- in particular offense and statistics -- in a fundamentally different way.
One of the principal ideas in "Moneyball" is how the Oakland A's approached offense. They consistently looked for their pitch; they were patient. When they got it, they attacked and they hit it hard. They wore out opposing pitching staffs by running up pitch counts. They utilized this philosophy in the early 2000's to notch back-to-back 100-win seasons with a shoestring budget and small payroll. I was intrigued. As we play so much in a tournament format, running up the opposition's pitch count seemed to be the baseball equivalent of a map to buried treasure.
So, we changed our approach around here after I read "Moneyball." One of the things that I initially adopted from the book, however, that I have since changed is the absence of a two-strike approach. The A's preached looking for one's pitch all the way through an AB, even on two strikes. The rationale was simple: It made more sense to take a borderline pitch than to weakly put it in play and have a MLB defense almost always make a play.
But high school defenses are different than MLB defenses (insert "duh."). And high school games have six fewer outs (at least). And high school umpires are different than MLB umpires, with wider and more variable strike zones. In short, it pays more on a lot of levels to put the ball in play with two strikes in high school than to take your chances on a borderline strike three call.
My opinion is that a lot of misjudgments about high school baseball are made because of the failure to differentiate between how the game is played at various levels. Certain plays, for instance, work great at the JH level. But in high school, things change. And they change more still as the competition gets tougher up the ladder.
We encourage all of our hitters to work a good two-strike approach. This involves both a mechanical adjustment (to enable them to cover the whole strike zone, plus 2-3 inches, with a quicker stroke) and a mental one (our pitch is now the strike zone, plus 2-3 inches). Also, we need a fighting mentality with two strikes. We are battling to win the AB.
Our approach is that we allow the hitters to determine their own particular mechanical adjustment. Some choke up, others shorten loads, step lighter, etc. It's an individual choice, from our perspective. But it is important that the hitter make some adjustment to be able to handle all pitches with two strikes, more than simply "his" pitches.
Clearly, a two-strike adjustment will help us win a lot of battles with pitchers and create more offense with two strikes. It also give a hitter another tool in the "toolbox" when he may be struggling. For instance, I have found that using the two-strike approach is a good way to make contact and get it going at the plate.
But it does something even more profound ... A good two-strike approach makes a hitter more confident in hunting his pitch earlier in the count. Why? Because he has no fear of going to two strikes. He knows he can/will have success there, too. So, the good two-strike approach at the back end of an AB makes a hitter better earlier in the count, as well.
It all works together.
