I would have to disagree. The difference between Soriano hitting a solo homer or a 3-run home can be the difference between winning and losing a close game. And if your leadoff man gets on base an extra time or two, that can be the difference in a close game, as well. Not to mention, considering our pitching, most of our games are pretty close. so batting 1st in the batting order prevents you from hitting 3 run homers? It strongly decreases the odds of it happening. I think it's impossible to argue otherwise. The bottom of the lineup is going to be on base much less often than the top. The lower in the order Soriano hits, the fewer at bats he gets over the course of a season, though. He played 30 fewer games than Soto last year, yet had just 41 fewer ABs. When Soriano is going good it's ideal to get as many ABs from him as possible and putting him at the top of the order does that. So Pujols should be a leadoff man, too?