Pillar #5 Process Over Outcome

Quality At-Bats Defined

by Brian Cain, MPM

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I often get asked how to define a quality at-bat…  

Cliff Godwin, former assistant coach at Ole Miss and current head coach at East Carolina University gave me the best definition I have ever heard. He said, “A Quality At-Bat is an at-bat that makes a positive contribution towards our team goals.”

There are numerous ways that to have a QAB:

  1. Executing a Hit & Run, Sac Bunt, Sac Drag, Squeeze
  2. Executing a Bunt for a Hit
  3. Walk, HBP, or Catcher’s Interference
  4. Moving a runner from 2nd base to 3rd base with 0 outs
  5. Driving in a run from 3rd base with less than 2 outs
  6. Any RBI (Sac fly, 2 out RBI, etc…)
  7. All hard hit balls (NOTE: All base hits are not QAB’s. i.e. bloop hits.. We want HARD contact!)
  8. 8+ pitch at-bats
  9. When you can see 4 or more pitches after you are down 0-2 in the count

He also said that the team’s goal is to have 54% quality at bats per game and a .500 QAB average at the end of the season.