Description
This article is from the Lefthanders
FAQ, by Barry D. Benowitz b.benowitz@telesciences.com with
numerous contributions by others.
18. In baseball, what makes left-handed hitters so successful?
This may not be a true statement, but here is a possible ex-
planation:
A left-handed hitter faces the home plate from a different side.
For a pitcher who is not yet used to pitching to lefties, His
standard arsenal of pitches do not have the same affect. A normal
outside fast-ball to a right-hander becomes an inside fast-ball
to a leftie and the same is true for an inside fast-ball. Also,
a curve ball curves out for a rightie would curve in for a lefty.
The resulting confusion is what makes left-handers better at
hitting.
Edward Brekelbaum (eb3z@andrew.cmu.edu) adds:
Also, batters in the right side of the plate (lefties), are about
one step closer to first base (a righty must step over the plate to be
where a lefty started). This may not seem like a huge advantage, but
how many times has a runner been out "By one step".
John Mianowski <jmianows@ix.netcom.com> points out that
LH hitters are generally more successful against RH
pitchers. As noted, a RH pitcher's breaking balls (i.e. curves,
sliders, cutters) will break in toward the hitter. It's
always easier to hit a ball that's breaking in on you than
breaking away. LH hitters are therefore perceived as being more
successful than RH hitters because the great majority of
pitchers are right-handed.
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