The Line-Up Change

There comes a time when most coaches consider a Line-Up change. Line-up changes are good for competition. They shake things up and give other team members a chance to start and show what they can do with that opportunity. This keeps everyone on their toes while taking nothing for granted. It gives hope to those who are not regular starters, develops their confidence, strengthens the team and keeps others humble.

However if line-up changes never occur (even when a player is not producing) then the coach sends a dangerous message to his team and others watching his program that production does not matter. Baseball is all about production, especially at higher levels. Sending a message that production does not matter, suggests that factors other than production on the field, do. This can be viewed as favoritism or prejudice and has no place in athletics.

So look for those opportunities where you can reward other players with some quality time. This will pay dividends in many areas over a long season.