Baseball Batting Order Template

This standard template holds nine batting slots with columns for jersey number, player name, fielding position, at-bats, hits, and a notes column for tracking mid-game changes. The header captures team name, date, opponent, and coach. A substitute section at the bottom records pinch hitters and defensive replacements.

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Type the lineup into the template on this page, or print it blank and fill it in by hand. When it is typed, "Copy as Table" under the batting order copies it for Excel, Google Sheets, or Word, and the substitutes table has its own button. Either way, filling it out follows the same steps.

Step 1: Header

Write your team name, the date, the opponent, and the head coach's name. Tournament cards may also need a field name or game number. If your league requires two copies for the plate meeting, print two: after typing, or before you fill anything in by pen.

Step 2: Batting Slots 1 Through 9

Enter each starter's jersey number, full name, and defensive position using standard position numbers (1 for pitcher through 9 for right field, DH for designated hitter). The at-bats and hits columns are optional during pregame but useful for tracking performance during the game.

Step 3: Substitutes

List your bench players in the substitute section. A substitute must bat in the same order slot as the player they replace. Recording the substitution here keeps the umpire and scorekeeper aligned when you make a change mid-game.

Rec leagues, house leagues, and many youth programs use continuous batting order where every player on the roster bats regardless of whether they are in the field. Check your league's local rules, as continuous batting policies vary by organization. This template holds up to 15 batters with position columns for six innings so you can track defensive rotations across the game.

How Continuous Batting Differs

With continuous batting, there are no offensive substitutions. Every player bats when their slot comes up, even if they sat out the previous inning on defense. Only the defensive alignment changes between innings. That is why this template has separate position columns per inning instead of a single "Pos" column.

Each slot in the batting order carries a traditional role based on the hitter's strengths. At competitive levels (travel ball, high school, college), these roles guide lineup construction. At younger age groups, most coaches rotate the order between games to give everyone experience in different slots.

The leadoff hitter sees more plate appearances than anyone else in the lineup, so on-base percentage matters more than power in that slot. The cleanup hitter comes to bat with runners on base more often than any other position in the order, which is why raw power gets the priority there. These principles are covered in detail in Tom Tango's "The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball"(opens in new tab), one of the most cited references on lineup optimization. For a deeper look at how player evaluation shapes these decisions, see our baseball tryout evaluation form.

Need the simplest possible version? This blank template strips out the extra columns and leaves only the four fields required for the plate meeting: order number, jersey number, player name, and position. Type the names in here and print it, or print it blank and fill it in with a pen, then hand it to the umpire.

Tournament weekends often mean two or three games in a single day. This side-by-side card lets you plan both lineups on one sheet so you can rotate players between games without pulling out a fresh template each time.

Compare the two columns after filling them in. Shifting every batter up one slot in game two (the player who hit leadoff in game one bats second in game two, and so on) is the simplest rotation method and gives everyone a different look across the day.

Every template on this page works with Excel and Google Sheets. Click "Copy as Table" on any template, paste it into a blank spreadsheet, and the data lands in separate cells ready for editing. From there you can save the file in .xlsx format for Word import, share it as a Google Sheet with assistant coaches, or export it as a PDF for printing.

Building a Reusable Spreadsheet

Paste the template into your first sheet and name it "Game 1." Duplicate that sheet for each game on your schedule. Add a roster tab with every player's name and number, then use data validation (dropdown lists) in the Player column to pick from your roster. That setup eliminates misspellings and speeds up pregame prep. The Google Sheets data validation guide(opens in new tab) explains how to set up dropdown lists from a named range. Once your spreadsheet covers a full season, the names on its roster tab can go into a platform like Striveon to manage rosters and coordinate coaching across your program.

Paper templates work for individual games, but they fall short when you need to track batting order history across a season. Did every player get equal time in the leadoff spot? Is your 3-hole hitter actually producing, or would the 5-hole be a better fit? Those answers require data from more than one sheet of paper.

Striveon saves each game's batting order with its lineup, beside player evaluations, so lineup decisions are backed by tryout and practice scores rather than memory alone. See how Striveon tracks player performance across your full season.

Keeping a Printed Card Handy

• Plate meetings with the umpire (many leagues still require a physical card)
• Dugout reference during the game when phones are off limits
• Quick tournament games where setup time needs to be zero

Where a Spreadsheet or Platform Helps

• Tracking lineup rotation fairness across a full season
• Comparing batting slot performance against tryout evaluations
• Sharing the lineup with parents and assistants before game day
• Storing every game's order for end-of-season reviews