Lefthanded 3rd Basemen?

[isestrex]

As a lefty, I played tons of 3B and SS in little league and I can tell you it's not that hard if you're practiced in it.

You have to know how to throw across your body, but then, so does every infielder regardless of throwing arm. You also have to be much more comfortable with spinning and throwing. This obviously slows down the play a little bit (to the point where it would matter in the MLB) but if you're good, it won't matter on most plays.

How I handled bunts (and I worked on them) was to charge and then start turning right before I got to the ball. When I picked it up bear handed, my left shoulder would be pointing towards home plate, my eyes to the third base dugout and my back spinning towards the runner. Then I'd take a strong step towards 1B and fire. It's takes some footwork and it's a little harder to make the pickup than a right hander since you have to pick up the ball in the corner of your eye.

Still, I love playing 3B more than any other position.

[Mackus]

As a lefty, I played tons of 3B and SS in little league and I can tell you it's not that hard if you're practiced in it.

You have to know how to throw across your body, but then, so does every infielder regardless of throwing arm. You also have to be much more comfortable with spinning and throwing. This obviously slows down the play a little bit (to the point where it would matter in the MLB) but if you're good, it won't matter on most plays.

How I handled bunts (and I worked on them) was to charge and then start turning right before I got to the ball. When I picked it up bear handed, my left shoulder would be pointing towards home plate, my eyes to the third base dugout and my back spinning towards the runner. Then I'd take a strong step towards 1B and fire. It's takes some footwork and it's a little harder to make the pickup than a right hander since you have to pick up the ball in the corner of your eye.

Still, I love playing 3B more than any other position.

Yeah at the youth and even probably HS levels, a left-handed SS, 3B, or even C won't make much difference if the player is very good. Its just that at the MLB level everybody is amazing, and those little tenths of seconds make all the difference in the world.

[TJ Wrangler]

How would their throws be if a LHB is in the box and the 1B was running towards 1b to make the catch+tag.

I'd imagine similar to the right handed catcher who has to throw around the left handed batter too.

[TyCobb]

I'd imagine similar to the right handed catcher who has to throw around the left handed batter too.

Snap throws a pretty rare play to begin with...but with a LHB the RH catcher is less likely to throw a snap throw.

If a C was LH, the opposing teams would be trying to steal 3rd a ton. And a poor throw would actually cause the running to score. The is very good reason why today LHers aren't catchers in pro ball.

[Miller192]

It's just tougher for a LHC to throw runners out because most teams are RH. If you get a fastball inside it's going to slow down the transition.

[DrungoHazewood]

I think you guys are probably overstating the effect of the lefty throwing to third on steals. Last year the Rays led the AL with 28 steals of third, and the Indians were last with three. So an average team saw the opposition go 14-for-18 on steals of third. That's worth about one run.

Let's say the lefty makes those numbers double. That an average lefty catcher would allow 28 steals in 36 attempts over 162 games. That's 2-3 runs a year, or 1-2 more than a righty. People would have to be absolutely running wild on a guy to make any kind of impact.

I'm sticking with the assumption that it's a combination natural selection and tradition. If you're a lefty with a cannon you're worth more on the mound than behind the plate, that's the decision that was made in 1900, and that's what they're sticking with.

[Mackus]

I think you guys are probably overstating the effect of the lefty throwing to third on steals. Last year the Rays led the AL with 28 steals of third, and the Indians were last with three. So an average team saw the opposition go 14-for-18 on steals of third. That's worth about one run.

Let's say the lefty makes those numbers double. That an average lefty catcher would allow 28 steals in 36 attempts over 162 games. That's 2-3 runs a year, or 1-2 more than a righty. People would have to be absolutely running wild on a guy to make any kind of impact.

I'm sticking with the assumption that it's a combination natural selection and tradition. If you're a lefty with a cannon you're worth more on the mound than behind the plate, that's the decision that was made in 1900, and that's what they're sticking with.

I think you're vastly understating how much more often teams would run on a left-hander behind the plate. I think it'd be a damn near regular occurrence with 0 or 1 outs unless you've got one of the 3-4 slowest guys on your roster on base. Like stealing 2nd base in little league. Either that, or you'd have to hold the runner a lot closer at 2nd base by cheating with your SS or 2B, which would open up the holes.

Adding a quarter second or more to the time it takes a catcher to get the ball from home to 3B would be an enormous amount of time in terms of stealing that base.

[Mackus]

It's just tougher for a LHC to throw runners out because most teams are RH. If you get a fastball inside it's going to slow down the transition.

Then why aren't there left-handed SS or 3B? They don't have any more difficult of a throw to 1B than a catcher does to 3B, do they? In terms of contorting your body to get the ball across.

[Miller192]

Then why aren't there left-handed SS or 3B? They don't have any more difficult of a throw to 1B than a catcher does to 3B, do they? In terms of contorting your body to get the ball across.

They absolutely do.

If you're RH, go stand at first base and take grounders and make the throw to third. That's the same thing a SS or 3B would do.

It creates extra motion by making the field step accros his body to make the throw. It just doesn't work.

[DrungoHazewood]

I think you're vastly understating how much more often teams would run on a left-hander behind the plate. I think it'd be a damn near regular occurrence with 0 or 1 outs unless you've got one of the 3-4 slowest guys on your roster on base. Like stealing 2nd base in little league. Either that, or you'd have to hold the runner a lot closer at 2nd base by cheating with your SS or 2B, which would open up the holes.

Adding a quarter second or more to the time it takes a catcher to get the ball from home to 3B would be an enormous amount of time in terms of stealing that base.

Let's say you have a lefty catcher with the arm and athleticism of Nick Markakis.

Let's say you compare him to a righty catcher like the 2008 version of Ramon Hernandez, who only threw out 20% of opposing basestealers but only had 123 attempted steals against him in 127 games.

You really think that your quick, strong-armed left-handed catcher is going to see a ton more steals of third than against a slow, tired, right-handed guy with terrible footwork?

I don't buy it. Throwing lefty is something of a handicap, but it's not going to allow the other team to steal third at will when no team did it 30 times last year.

Jack Clements caught over 1000 games left-handed in an era when steals were at least as common as today, for a Philadelphia team that was over .500 10 times with him as the regular catcher. Maybe I'm missing something that's changed in a century, but that suggests it'll work.

[DrungoHazewood]

And it's honestly not that hard, with correct foot work, to snap up already aimed at third...kinda like a right hander does as well, only not as pronounced. You want to square your shoulder to the bag, regardless of what bag it is.

Then why aren't there left-handed SS or 3B? They don't have any more difficult of a throw to 1B than a catcher does to 3B, do they? In terms of contorting your body to get the ball across.

Wedge says it's not that big of a deal. Of course everything happens faster in the majors. But I think a good, athletic catcher with footwork could make it work well enough. Obviously we're not talking about a lefty version of JR House or Matt LeCroy here.

[The Wedge]

I was used as a reference. I'm not sure whether I should be honored or scared.

Keep in mind that's also not taking a RH batter in to account to the throw to third, but you shouldn't...if they don't clear the line, they could get called for interference, but that's not always the case.

[TGO]

I was used as a reference. I'm not sure whether I should be honored or scared.

Keep in mind that's also not taking a RH batter in to account to the throw to third, but you shouldn't...if they don't clear the line, they could get called for interference, but that's not always the case.

I was always taught as a hitter that the batter's box was mine, and I didn't have to move out of it for a catcher on a steal attempt as long as I didn't also purposefully get in the way. Is that not the rule?

I think Drungo is right that this is largely a self/coach selection thing at the lower levels. Athletic, hard-throwing left-handed kids tend not to be put behind the plate, but the fact that a guy like Matt LeCroy caught over 870 innings in the Majors indicates to me that an athletic, hard-throwing left-handed catcher could probably hold his own.

[The Wedge]

I was always taught as a hitter that the batter's box was mine, and I didn't have to move out of it for a catcher on a steal attempt as long as I didn't also purposefully get in the way. Is that not the rule?

That's kind of what I was getting at, but put it very very poorly. Most batters will get out of the way simply because they don't want the catcher to throw right at 'em, but yeah, the box is theirs, unless of course they move in front of the throw.

[TyCobb]

That's kind of what I was getting at, but put it very very poorly. Most batters will get out of the way simply because they don't want the catcher to throw right at 'em, but yeah, the box is theirs, unless of course they move in front of the throw.

One of the funniest things I have ever seen playing baseball was a teammate in the batter bats getting hit in the head by the ball from the catcher at point blank range trying to throw a runner out a 3rd.