quote:Originally posted by Summermj:
I appreciate your insight. It is very hard to paint the whole picture on a web posting. And I can see that on the basis of this posting we look like we are nuts. He takes lessons because neither his dad or myself have a baseball background and he wanted to switch hit. Our son desires to play baseball and practice. He does play other sports (football and basketball). He does catch lizards and toads. And records MLB games so he can watch them over and over. The coaches don't want to waste practice time on something they are not going to use in the games. The batting coach does not think our son needs weekly lessons. But I continue to bring him because I know he will be working on hitting from both sides there, he loves to go and frankly it's easier than me trying to pitch to him in the back yard. I don't want to burn my son out and I don't want to put pressure on him to perform. He is 9. He is a child and we do control the situation. If he had his way, he'd be playing on a majors team year round. I am worried about the switch hitting. I don't want to wait too long to try it in games and wreck his confidence. I have spent hours looking online and find conflicting information. I'm really just seeking opinions as to the switch hitting. I am not a crazy competitive mom and neither is his dad. We are both new to the sport and are trying to help our son grow in the sport he loves so very much.
He wants to hit left. But he is nervous about striking out more often than he does when hitting right. Which is normal, I'm sure. I do not think he should hit left everytime the batter is a righty. Maybe just once per game to see how it goes. and then gradually grow into a more consistent pattern with rh pitchers hitting left. I'm just not sure if I should press the coaches on this or if it really won't matter if he gets his at bats left later on. As a teacher, I can see that the earlier you do something the easier and more natural it is. But perhaps that does not translate to baseball.
Thanks for the added perspective. Things make much more sense now. Great to hear that his love of playing is the primary driver. I love being wrong with these types of things.
So, the primary advantages of switch hitting for a naturally RH hitter are...
1.) Better utilization of exceptional speed - 2 steps closer to 1B.
2.) Matchup advantage against RH pitchers - better view at breaking balls, no pitches coming straight at you that you have to stand in on.
Your son shouldn't be overly concerned with either at this point. The matchup issue should be a non-issue for a few years as 9-11 yr olds should not be throwing breaking balls or dropping down and throwing sidearm.
So, my point is, if he wants to learn how to hit from both sides, at this age, it really doesn't matter whether the pitcher is LH or RH. He should start hitting LH in games when he feels comfortable enough to do so. And, if he has worked on it as much as it sounds, he's probably there. IMO, you shouldn't have to press the coach to let him. If he wants to do it, he should. If questioned, that's the way he hits. Unless the coach feels that he is really much weaker hitting LH, I would question why he would have a problem with it. If he does, then it's time to question what his coaching objectives are for this team. To win or to develop and have fun (Yeah, I know, winning is more fun, but what is the proper balance for this age)? From there, you can make your own decisions.
By the way, we had a HS soph last year that has been switch hitting for maybe three years. Just this last year, his LH strength has gotten to the point where he can drive the ball similarly to the way he can RH. This led to a great deal of success this year. My point there - if your son is not comfortable switching in games yet, there's certainly no rush at this point.
I do agree with your "teacher" analysis - it does translate to baseball. The only difference to keep in mind is that it's not class and he doesn't have to get an A. He just needs to have fun. If fun, for him, is competitive driven, he'll work at it and enjoy it.