Baseball lineup cards have long been used by managers and coaches to communicate their starting lineups to umpires, scorers, and sometimes even fans. As bullpens and benches have expanded in modern baseball, the standard lineup card sized at 3×5 inches just doesn’t always cut it anymore. Some forward-thinking managers have taken to using expanded, more detailed lineup cards to share richer information with their staff.
A prime example is Tampa Bay Rays manager Kevin Cash. Known for his innovative approaches and meticulous advance scouting, Cash frequently utilizes oversized 11×17 inch lineup cards jam packed with stats, matchups, and notes. “There’s just so much data available nowadays that I like having at my fingertips during games,” says Cash. “The large card format allows me to include pitching charts, heat maps, platoon splits, and more without having to constantly refer to my binder or iPad in high-pressure situations.”
Cash’s enlarged cards contain the standard batting order and defensive positioning, but then branch out from there. He includes season-long and last 15 game stats for both starters and key bench players. Cash also lists hot/cold zones and weaknesses for opposing hitters, such as how they fare against certain pitch types or when trailing in counts. On the pitching side, he maps out the expected starter and relief options along with their pitch mixes, spin rates, and recent velo trends.
Color-coded scouting reports for each positional matchup are another staple of Cash’s oversized cards. He may note that a certain lefty slugger tends to pull inside fastballs or that a weak-hitting shortstop frequently chops breaking pitches to the right side. This extra context regarding tendencies and scouting intelligence is valuable for Cash to reference between half-innings when making small strategic moves like alignments, intentional walks, and pitching changes.
Other managers borrowing this large lineup card approach include Gabe Kapler of the San Francisco Giants and Alex Cora of the Boston Red Sox. Kapler packs in align charts, heat maps, and spray charts to identify leverage situations for platoons or shifts. Cora takes it a step further by sometimes including predictive statistical projections for individual at-bats based on the matchup, count, and game state.
While detailed lineup cards remain on the cutting edge for now, their prevalence is likely to increase as front offices continue valuing abundant scouting information at the manager’s fingertips. Younger skippers who came up in an increasingly analytical game such as Cash, Kapler and Cora set the standard, but even old school veterans can see the value. Large cards condense pregame preparation and in-game resource accessibility into a single useful tool.
As stadium video boards and broadcasts get sharper, some experts argue lineup card images may start appearing to interested fans as well. Viewers could glimpse the scouting intelligence and strategy behind matchups in real-time. Others note privacy and competitive advantage concerns there. For now, the big boards stay behind closed doors, exclusively for managers to consult in high-leverage decisions.
While dugouts don’t always have space for unfolded broadsheets, visitors’ clubhouses present the opportunity. There, managers can lay out extensive pregame plans on a large table with their entire staff gathered around. Coaches provide input, players can see the thorough scouting of opponents, and everyone gains comfort knowing all available information supported each move. Then when game time hits, the enlarged card folds down small enough for the top step where in-game choices receive similar collaborative support.
As analytics permeate deeper into modern MLB, visually consolidated scouting intelligence becomes increasingly valuable to decision makers in real time. Perhaps one day soon, enormous 32×48 inch Interactive Touch Screen lineup cards could be the standard. Until then, innovative managers will continue finding ways to squeeze abundant useful data onto ever more enlarged cards that give their teams competitive edges through maximum information accessibility. The large lineup card revolution has only just begun.
