This is a question that has been in my mind for such a long time. I am a “natural” right-hand batter, by “natural” I mean that I learned to bat right-handed first. Later, I learned to switch-hit while playing stickball on the streets of my neighborhood. The rule was to swing on your opposite side to avoid breaking the neighbors’ windows, which worked until we all learned to swing on the left.
I was never comfortable batting lefty. Honestly, I never put nearly the same amount of work batting left-handed as I did right-handed. Getting my right-handed swing ready to play was tough enough. So, I batted right-handed all through high school and college. As everyone else, I was aware of the advantage of my left-handed swinging teammates: they were closer to the 1st base, they had more off-handed matchups versus pitchers, they were better hitting grounders through 3-4 hole with runners on 1st base, and they also had more triples when hitting to their pull side. It was too late for me though.
Then, I wondered if a batter could find success hitting left-handed, why would they ever bat right-handed? I know the commonsense answer: to match up versus the slider and curve of left-handed pitchers, who we hardly faced. I had nothing against switch-hitting then or now. In fact, I found it impressive, and still do. However, it seemed an extremely hard skill to master, that might not be worth it for most players’ extra time and effort.
If a player devotes the amount of work and swings that one needs to put equally in both side of the plate to become a successful switch-hitter, wouldn’t it make more sense to devote more time training to hit left-handed pitchers batting left-handed?
After all, right-handed hitters do exactly that since they start playing. They must face more right-handed pitchers than lefties, and they do not reap the benefits of the lefty hitters. Of course, there is scarcity of lefthanded pitchers at all levels, and finding ways to practice lefty versus lefty matchups might be a bit more difficult.
In fastpitch softball, the lefty hitters have even more advantage than in baseball due to the dimension of the field. Off-handed pitcher versus batters’ matchups don’t work in softball very often. A left-handed pitcher might look a bit different, but she must release the ball at the same arm angle to pitch a strike. Many pitches in softball move and can be hard to hit whether the pitcher and/or batter are righty or lefty. But pitches have a more limited range of movement than in baseball due to the size and weight of the ball, the distance to home plate, the pitchers’ point of release, and the trajectory of the pitch. Most softball pitchers rely on location and speed more than movement deception as a result.
Children learn to bat on their “natural” side because the first time that they grab a bat, someone taught them how to hold the bat one way or another. Don’t waste their time and yours teaching them how to switch-hit unless they can do it effortlessly. If there is not a physical constraint, teach them how to bat left-handed. If you can, why not?
The accumulative stats, and advantages of lefty hitters are undeniable. These are a few:
1. The lefty hitter finishes his/her swing facing 1st base
2. First base is closer to the left-handed batter’s box
3. They can bunt, drag bunt and slap without stepping over home plate on the way to 1st base
4. They block catcher’s line of sight to the runner at 1st base
5. They block right-handed catcher’s throwing arm
6. They see right-handed pitcher’s release point better, thus it’s easier to hit curves and sliders thrown to their pull side by right-handed pitchers
7. It is better for pull hitters to hit toward right field than left so runner at first can get to third, and they can hit more triples theoretically. ( In the major leagues, this advantage was affected during the years of the extreme defensive shifts, but now that shift is over it has returned.)
In the major leagues, lefthanded batters have a batting average that is 7 points higher than righthanded batters about .270 for lefties, and .263 for righties. That’s why almost 17% of players bat left-han
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