A very random question

[crissfan172]

Why is it more advantageous? Because there are more righty pitchers? What about the shift and the fact that a ton of lefties can't hit left-handed pitchers a lick.

My dad is one of those weird guys. He said he was taught to do it because it's a couple steps closer to 1st. Apparently it makes a big difference.

[ScottP]

Had to look it up - Cody Ross and Ryan Ludwick. Cleon Jones did, too, but I refuse to consider any players from That Team.

[DrungoHazewood]

Why is it more advantageous? Because there are more righty pitchers? What about the shift and the fact that a ton of lefties can't hit left-handed pitchers a lick.

It's advantageous because you have the platoon advantage 60-70% of the time, and you are a step or so closer to first base. And there's no particular reason besides tradition that we think of batting right or left handed as being tied to being right or left handed.

[glenn__davis]

I do pretty much everything lefty except throw and swing. I can swing lefty pretty well but am naturally right-handed there.

Writing, eating, shooting, guitar - all lefty. I think the only real reason I throw righty is because my parents just bought me a cheap glove from the store when I started playing and it happened to be a glove for a righty.

[square634]

It's advantageous because you have the platoon advantage 60-70% of the time, and you are a step or so closer to first base. And there's no particular reason besides tradition that we think of batting right or left handed as being tied to being right or left handed.

Are you sure about that? I have no concrete evidence either way, but I would tend to think that a right handed person (especially a child with limited strength) would have a lot better control of the bat with the right hand higher up on the bat, along with added strength using the right leg as the plant leg.

[DrungoHazewood]

Are you sure about that? I have no concrete evidence either way, but I would tend to think that a right handed person (especially a child with limited strength) would have a lot better control of the bat with the right hand higher up on the bat, along with added strength using the right leg as the plant leg.

I have to think that the number of righties who hit lefty is pretty decent evidence that it's not much of a factor.

[Palmoripken]

And here I thought I was unique because I was one of the few kids growing up in my town that threw lefty but hit righty. Anyhow, I think the reason you see more lefty hitters but righty throwers is because as already said it's seen as advantageous. I read Leigh Monville's Ted Williams biography over the winter and Ted Williams basically said he did everything in his life right-handed but hitting. A kid on my kid brother's little league team told me similar when I asked him. As for me personally, I think I just started hitting right handed because it felt more natural which is odd because I do everything else left handed. If I could do it again, I'd probably hit left handed from the start though. Fun fact but Rickey Henderson is the only bat righty/throw lefty position player in the HoF. There are others in but they're all pitchers.

[DrungoHazewood]

My dad is one of those weird guys. He said he was taught to do it because it's a couple steps closer to 1st. Apparently it makes a big difference.

In 2011 there were 235 right handed batters who had 100+ PAs. Their median batting average was about .251. Median OPS+ was 93.

There were 153 lefties who had 100+ PAs. Their median batting average was .256. Median OPS+ was 93.

From 2000-2011 59 righties hit .325 or better, while 35 lefties did. 37% lefties among .325 hitters, while by population distribution you'd expect 39%.

Maybe there's not much to it. Although that's certainly not a definitive study.

[DrungoHazewood]

And here I thought I was unique because I was one of the few kids growing up in my town that threw lefty but hit righty. Anyhow, I think the reason you see more lefty hitters but righty throwers is because as already said it's seen as advantageous. I read Leigh Monville's Ted Williams biography over the winter and Ted Williams basically said he did everything in his life right-handed but hitting. A kid on my kid brother's little league team told me similar when I asked him. As for me personally, I think I just started hitting right handed because it felt more natural which is odd because I do everything else left handed. If I could do it again, I'd probably hit left handed from the start though. Fun fact but Rickey Henderson is the only bat righty/throw lefty position player in the HoF. There are others in but they're all pitchers.

That combination is clearly a disadvantage. Unless you're a pitcher. Otherwise you've disqualified yourself from playing four of the positions in the field, and possibly put yourself at a very small disadvantage at bat.

[Pedro Cerrano]

That combination is clearly a disadvantage. Unless you're a pitcher. Otherwise you've disqualified yourself from playing four of the positions in the field, and possibly put yourself at a very small disadvantage at bat.

I often wonder if a player who plays the OF because they are left-handed would have been incredible in the IF if they were righty. Imagine if Johnny Damon was secretly the best defensive 2b of all time and we'd never know?

[Palmoripken]

That combination is clearly a disadvantage. Unless you're a pitcher. Otherwise you've disqualified yourself from playing four of the positions in the field, and possibly put yourself at a very small disadvantage at bat.

Yeah it is. I think it's somehow easier to teach a natural right hander to hit left handed than it would be a natural lefty to throw right handed. I tried playing catch right handed once as a gag and my shoulder felt sore pretty quickly. As I said, if I could do it over again, I'd probably would have just hit left handed.

[Palmoripken]

Related to the original topic but I don't think I've ever seen a left handed knuckleball pitcher in a game ever. I've done a simplified one when throwing to my brothers in the yard and field before but I've never actually seen a lefty knuckler in the game. All the famous knucklers- Wakefield, Wilhelm, and others that I know were all right handed. Is there a mechanical reason for that or is it just coincidence?

[DrungoHazewood]

I often wonder if a player who plays the OF because they are left-handed would have been incredible in the IF if they were righty. Imagine if Johnny Damon was secretly the best defensive 2b of all time and we'd never know?

Yes, it's a near certainty that there have been incredible fielders who never got the chance to play the infield because they were left-handed. Mike Squires and Don Mattingly would probably have been gold glove third basemen in Bizzarro World where they run the bases clockwise.

[DrungoHazewood]

Related to the original topic but I don't think I've ever seen a left handed knuckleball pitcher in a game ever. I've done a simplified one when throwing to my brothers in the yard and field before but I've never actually seen a lefty knuckler in the game. All the famous knucklers- Wakefield, Wilhelm, and others that I know were all right handed. Is there a mechanical reason for that or is it just coincidence?

Dan Boone was a lefty knuckleballer who threw a few innings for the O's in the early 90s. I'm sure that prior to 1960 there were dozens or even hundreds of lefty knuckleballers. 1960 was roughly the dividing line between throwing knucklers as just another pitch, and the belief that you had to either be a knuckleballer or not. The Senators of the late 40s often had a rotation with 3-4 guys who threw knucklers at least sometimes.

In 1972 Wilbur Wood threw 376 2/3 innings as a left-handed knuckleballer.

This list includes over 50 lefties who threw kucklers.

[Palmoripken]

Dan Boone was a lefty knuckleballer who threw a few innings for the O's in the early 90s. I'm sure that prior to 1960 there were dozens or even hundreds of lefty knuckleballers. 1960 was roughly the dividing line between throwing knucklers as just another pitch, and the belief that you had to either be a knuckleballer or not. The Senators of the late 40s often had a rotation with 3-4 guys who threw knucklers at least sometimes.

In 1972 Wilbur Wood threw 376 2/3 innings as a left-handed knuckleballer.

Interesting. Had no idea that knuckleballs were that common in the past. Wonder why it became that you had to be a knuckler ot not. Another thing I rarely see if ever are submariner starters. I remember Chad Bradford and of course now see Darren O'Day with our O's but both those guys are relievers. A guy I kind of emulated as a lefty submariner was Brad Clontz with the Braves. One of those dime a dozen relievers but I kind of liked him because he was a sidearming lefty and a Virginia native. I imagine submarine starters don't exist because doing that 100 pitches a game is different than 10-20 with a reliever. I converted from sidearm to overhand when I became a starter because the coach though I'd throw my arm out doing that starting.