The "old school mentality" is that you bat your best hitter 3rd no matter what with the theory that the #1 and #2 hitters stand the best chance of being on base ahead of him to drive in runs.
In reality though, quite often the #3 hitter will come up in the first inning with nobody on. And once you go through the batting order once the order becomes irrelevant. Hitting your best guy second will lead to more at bats for said hitter over the course of the full season.
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