[kq76]

Originally Posted by Robbo1222

I have shuffled my Batting Line-Up around based on the excellent advice by KBlover (See 'In desperate Need) and the results have been much improved.

However still not sure about the designated Hitter. Am i simply looking for the best AVG not in the starting line-up or is it more extensive than that? Also where typically would I place him in the order?

Avg? No. Normally one puts their worst fielding batter, who would normally be in the lineup, at DH. In real life, that usually ends up being a player who would otherwise play 1B or LF because that's where bad fielders usually get placed. In OOTP, though, you might have a great hitting SS who is not at all a good fielder that you might want to have DH.

Where the DH bats in the lineup usually depends on his hitting abilities. However, because a DH is normally not a good fielder that usually means he's not a good runner either and so you rarely see a DH batting first, second or even third in the lineup. He is usually a very good hitter, though, so you'll often see him batting 4-6 in the lineup.

As an aside, studies have shown it doesn't matter very much where you bat guys in a lineup, just that you have the best ones in it. That said, many people, like myself, do like to have some rationality to it. You'll get varying opinions on this, but I think most OOTPers go for something like the following:

1) great OBP / great speed
2) good OBP / good speed / good contact
3) great OPS / good OBP / good Avg
4) great OPS / good SLG
5-9) the next 5 best OPS (some prefer to go by OBP) in descending order

Some people will just go with the simple descending order of OBP 1-9. Back in the day, however, managers tended to ignore OBP and OPS, putting a lot more emphasis on Avg. You can read more on this at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batting...%28baseball%29

EDIT: Great thread BTW, everyone. I'm not very strong on in-game management, but I love reading the advice of others on the topic.

EDIT2: It should be pointed out that there is some good stuff on tactics in the game guide on page 162, sections 8.7.1.3 and 8.7.1.4.