We've been through this before, and the bottom line is that batting order just doesn't matter very much.
Hey, but it's still fun to talk about.
Here's what I've always wondered. You've got a slow guy who's an OBP machine (Helton), and a very fast guy without much in the way of other batting skills (Taveras, relatively low OBP + incredibly low power).
Pretend we're in the AL so we don't have to worry about the pitcher batting 9th. Or pretend our manager is Tony LaRussa and he bats the pitcher 8th.
All things being equal, wouldn't you want the order to be
1 Helton
2 Taveras
rather than the other way around? If Helton gets on, suddenly the sac bunt isn't necessarily a sacrifice at all with the way Willy runs. With the infield looking bunt, Willy's happy slappy batting style might push a lot of grounders through the infield.
As I said, it doesn't really make much difference. But I can't understand why no manager ever does this.
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