Left handed question

WingKing,
How does your son feel about switch hitting?
Is he comfortable?
Does he want to stop or does he want to keep working at it?

P.S. WELCOME to the HSBBW!

Thanks for the welcome.

He wanted to develop the left side until the hitting instructor discouraged it. Now he feels that there is not much point since he will never be as good a lefty as he his on the right side, yet if he would switch hit the situations (majority of right handed pitchers) would have him batting left handed most of the time.

Frankly, some of this is my own curiosity. I've long wondered if I should have steered him more toward throwing and batting left handed, even though he has certainly succeeded to date.

Wing King

quote:

I should have steered him more toward throwing and batting left handed

If he throws and bats right, what makes you think he is a natural lefty?

I wonder what determines it
For instance I am Left: Eating, Hitting, Shooting a Rifle, Putting, Boxing.
I am righty: Writing, Throwing, Bowling, Golfing
I am not ambidextrous as I can't do these things both ways except hit.

My natural side hitting is my left, yet my left eye is dominant. It doesn't make sense. I have never noticed a correlation between left/right throwing and hitting except that lefties are less common. A lot of peaple assume that a left thrower is a left batter but that is not my experience.

As far as the hitting instructor being against starting a left handed swing. Most that I know are against it simply because most young hitters are not where they need to be fundementally on their natural side. So it stands to reason; why try hitting from the other side when there is still work to do on your natural side.

My middle son is a Freshman and I would not encourage him to hit from the left side because he has way to much room for improvement on the right.
And there is only so much time in the day to work on these things.
I did try to get my oldest to switch hit when he was young. It lasted about 3 minutes and I never tried again. My youngest son IS a lefty, but the kid can't hit.

My son is oppo from yours, a "natural" right hander who plays left, though he eats and writes with his right. He would say it's never to late to join "the dominant race."
Seriously though, I do know a kid who learned to switch just before HS. He never developed any power from the left side, and he eventually dropped it. I think its awfully tough to consider this working out unless his game is built around speed, and he's mentally tough. You wouldn't want to see him struggle or have it become a burden, especially since the coach isn't sold on the idea. On the other hand it probably won't hurt him in the long run to try.
Welcome to the HSBBW WingKing!

Well, my question has been answered. My buddy just informed me that the determining factor in whether you are a true lefty or righty is which hand you wipe with

LOL
I asked my son, and he said he's a true lefty
Don't wipe the hand that feeds you?

High school baseball tryouts in August?

[QUOTE]Originally posted by TripleDad:

... why try hitting from the other side when there is still work to do on your natural side.

... I would not encourage him to hit from the left side because he has way to much room for improvement on the right.
And there is only so much time in the day to work on these things.
QUOTE]

Welcome WingKing,

Tripledad makes good points here, but as for being a true righty or lefty, well...that was funny. Inappropriate, but funny.

quote:

Originally posted by TripleDad:
Well, my question has been answered. My buddy just informed me that the determining factor in whether you are a true lefty or righty is which hand you wipe with

This is so inappropriate.
It's really the other side, and not gender agnostic.


WingKing, It's rather late for the 14-15 yr old to switch to the left side (from the right). Yet with many reps, it's is possible, yet not practical, unless he is such a freak of nature. In all liklihood, each side of the plate will NOT closely resemble each other. Except for very few and outstanding HoF type professional hitters, the right handed hitters are typically the dominate side. Some notables are
- the O's retired HoF 1b, and
- the current LA Angels switch-hitting 1b.

A few experts may argue HoF #7 was more dominant on the right side of the plate (and in my opinion was pretty good on the left side too)

Regards,

I'll respond to verious responses:

(We'll check out the 'wipe' factor)

TriplePop:

1. Keep in mind that I put "I wonder if" in front of "I Should have steered him more toward.. left handed"

But, good points and the kind of things that I wanted to learn - he does eat and write left handed. I'm probably doing something wrong, but he actually seems to be equal in the eye dominant test. Not supposed to happen that way. He is fairly ambidextrous in general. Whenever he turns things around, he is pretty good considering he does it very little.

The hitting instructor's (by the way NOT the coach) points are exactly as you state. I have a lot of respect for him and he has certainly improved my son, but that doesn't keep me from asking for other opinions. I myself am a music teacher - trumpet to be specific. One thing that I have used in my trumpet teaching is to have the player reverse their hands. The results are always amazing - when they switch back to the original hands they play much better. Does this work in baseball? This might refute the opinion that they don't hit well enough on their natural side.

By the way, he has been told that he has a good swing. Possibly a factor in making the team - the varsity coach remarked that he had a nice swing.

Sizzle Pop - He does have speed and is mentally tough (also plays football). He does not have a lot of power. Your last point is pretty much my thought - does it hurt to give it a try?

Bear - He does really well with Whiffle Ball Left handed, but hasn't done much baseball. He also asked about Chipper Jones. We are also Angels season ticket holders - so have seen Texiera a bit recently.

Thanks for the thoughts. I don't have a history as a baseball player and this is very helpful.



WingKing

RJM

Actually the tryouts went from mid-June to early July - a three week long camp. Quite a few teams here in Southern California (Orange County) did this. Our school only picked half of the team then - the other half will be selected in September. Other schools have already selected the entire freshman team. One reason may be the new rule that (as of this year) the high school coach could coach the team out of season. So, many schools are playing fall ball with their coaches. Having the team selected makes this possible.

Wing King

quote:

since he will never be as good a lefty as he his on the right side,

Never say never WingKing.

The reason I asked you the questions that I did was because it has been my experience that if a kid wants to switch hit, and feels comfortable doing so, he's not going to stop trying/practicing, even inspite of the nay-sayers.
You'll find these kids before and after practice swinging from their un-natural side. You'll catch them swinging behind the shed in the back yard, in their rooms,....out in the driveway, etc. etc.
Chances are, one day they'll get their nerve up & they'll step up to the plate during a game and give it shot.

If they continue to work hard, they just might find success.

So never say never.

A sweet swing is a beautiful thing to watch. And if it happens from both sides, its pretty darn cool to witness. Even more fun to be the one doing the swinging!

Just think how many times that pro pitcher ( cant remember his name ) who switch pitches was told it could never happen.
Ya always have to believe and go after the dream, ...especially a freshman in highschool. Their whole life is a head of them.

Shortstopmom - I've always wondered what your quote meant - "Play both sports until the competition convinces you otherwise." My son plays baseball, basketball and football. He will be a freshman this year, and I wonder at what point he should start focusing more on a specific sport. Is that what you're talking about when you quote that?

Shortstop Mom:

quote:
since he will never be as good a lefty as he his on the right side.

Actually those are his words (or my paraphrase). I agree with your post - this is something that has been in my mind - what if he gave this a try? He had that kind of enthusiasm until his first lesson with this instructor and (in this one issue) his enthusiasm for the idea of switch hitting cooled off. Nevertheless, we both really like the teacher and he has definitely helped my son's swing and hitting. That doesn't mean that I agree with everything - but he certainly knows a lot more than I do!

That's why I'm asking about this - I don't know all that much and wonder what those of you who do know think. I'm learning from the different perspectives.

WingKing

WingKing,
Learning from different perspectives is what the HSBBW is all about!

Different hitting instructors have different approaches and opinions as well. I'm certainly not going to tell you that your son needs to disagree with his.

Just sayin' that your son is young and that I hope if he has a desire to try something, that the naysayers won't completely discourage him.

If he's having fun, works hard, he just might have success.

pitchersmom2012,
Howdy!
I believe in multi sport athletes.

Many times, once the athlete reaches the Varsity level in highschool they are encouraged to ( or are forced to ) pick one sport to specialize in, for the sake of playing at the next level.

I believe more experience, brings about more opportunities, more options,....and a whole heck of alotta fun!

The competiton will let ya know when its time to hang it up or time to make a choice.

Wing King

Which is the dominate eye?

Eddie Murray did not bat left handed until his first year in pro baseball.

On 23 August I will be at our Rays "work out" in Escondido High School. We can talk and see your son's swing.

Bob Williams

Wing

A simple test to determine dominate eye.

Punch a hole about the size of a quarter in a piece of paper. Look through the hole with both eyes open and focus on an object about 10 feet away. Slowly bring the piece of paper to your face while still focusing on object. When the piece of paper touches your face the hole will be in front of your dominant eye.

TripleDad -

Thanks- a test that has to end up with one eye dominant! He did it and his left eye is dominant. Same for me and I batted right as well, though naturally left handed.

I still wonder with his nearly equal eye dominance (based on the other tests he has conducted) if switch hitting is still worth trying, but this test finally confirms why he naturally bats right handed.

I've always heard that the eye dominance can determine batting but what about throwing? (No, I'm not going to get him a glove for switch pitching, just curious).

Thanks

Wing King

quote:

but this test finally confirms why he naturally bats right handed.

I don't think it confirms anything. It's just nice to know. You now know as a righty his lead eye is dominate.

If the kid wants to be a switch hitter by all means let him try it. Just make sure that he doesn't neglect his work on the right side.

The test for eye dominance that TripleDad mentioned is fine, but it really determines which eye is dominant in static situations. It is not clearly known whether that kind of eye dominance is important to hitting a baseball, in which the eyes need to track a moving object. Nor is it clear why the dominant eye should be the forward eye when batting. In reality, a player needs to use both eyes when hiting or fielding a baseball, because the information available from binocular depth perception is critical.

In my opinion, there is a clear advantage to being a left handed hitter, particularly in a contact hitter. I would invest some time in trying to learn to hit left handed, given the likelihood that he will be successful. The fact that your son began hitting right handed may have been caused by nothing more than imitating others. Of course it feels more "natural" after many repetitions. So possibly your son is actually more talented hitting left handed. He'd have to try it to see.

Finally, I would decouple the decision to try left handed hitting from switch-hitting. If LH hitting doesn't work out, the switch hitting decision is automatic. If he can hit as well or better left handed, then he can decide if the required additional practice to be good at switch hitting is worth it. Maybe he'll end up hitting only left handed!

Ok, so much for simple resolution. I just got excited the he actually demonstrated a dominant eye. I still imagine that is why he bats right.

3 Fingered Glove - I've wondered if he batted right just from imitating others. I did ask a friend who was a High School head coach when my son was very young. He didn't offer any definitive answers (including the eye dominant issue) and we never really pushed batting lefty.

He has tried batting lefty. It certainly is not better than right, but he does pretty well. He hasn't batted left in game - just batting practice.

My 16 yr old was so dominantly left-handed even as a baby we never expected him to do anything right- handed. Imagine our surprise when he tossed his lefty glove as a 5 yr old t-baller and picked up a right-handed glove. He never has done anything else with his right hand (including throw a football!). Thank the Lord for that because he's now a lefty-batting righty-throwing catcher of some ability.
He's played with the idea of batting right-handed but his coach has nixed it every time.

quote:

Originally posted by Consultant: Bob Williams
Eddie Murray did not bat left handed until his first year in pro baseball.

What the? Ha ha ha. lol

My wife's uncle in Santa Rosa from time to time
tells us NOT to drink the water. Heard the same while playing (and catching Ty Stofflet) vs Guanella Brothers. Did you not follow the same advice?

Bottom Line: Not my point of view.

Eddie Murray hit right handed at age 7. Then after
(as a ball boy) watching older brother Charles (got to AAA ball), began switch hitting at age 8.

Might you be confusing Murray with his inner city south central Los Angeles youth and HS teammate, HoF Ozzie (who turned around from the right side at the start of his pro career)?

emme for details.

A Lefty,

A True Lefty.

They just don't think Right.
EH

As this mom's lefty always says: "I may be a lefty but I'm always right!"

Hi WingKing!
Our son is a natural lefty who always hit from the right through high school. His college coach turned him into a switch hitter because he thought it would increase his value in the draft. The first few games were ugly, but he eventually got the hang of it and has been switch hitting ever since.

I can't see how it could hurt your son to work on this skill in practice situations for now. Your son will never know if he has the ability to hit from both sides if he doesn't try...and it's definately worth a try.