Switch hitter

 I believe the national HS average is 73mph, but that is a freshman-senior avg. so maybe a little deceiving. There are several charts online for avg exit speed.The one I'm looking at now reads avg collegiate is 84mph. If hitting from both sides of the plate makes him a better player, that is when they usually endorse the switch hitting. If a kid hits .300 from the right and .220 from the left, then they start to wonder if he spent all of his time working to be better at right, then perhaps he could be hitting .340. I will also add that if he is really fast they will like the lefty bat also besides all of the other advantages.

As food for thought and I'm not saying it is the gospel, Charlie Lau in his "Lau's Laws on Hitting" had an interesting view point on switch hitting:

 

Why would anyone switch hit?

I want to close this chapter on the mental approach to hitting with a discussion on the theory of switch-hitting. The longer I’ve been around baseball and the more I have studied the concepts of hitting, the more I have questioned the basic theory behind switch-hitting. In fact, I have reached the point where I don’t see the value of switch-hitting at all.

Think about this: Every switch-hitter who has ever played the game always has had a stronger, natural side of the plate from which he hits. Why would anyone purposely waste any at bats from their weaker side? Yes, yes, I know all the old-school theories on the value of switch-hitting: It is always better to have a breaking ball come toward you than move away from you, for vision purposes. And yes, it has been believed for years that it is far better to have right-handed hitters match up against left-handed pitchers (at least for offensive strategy) and vice versa. But the game is changing. And it has changed, thanks to the Lau System of Hitting. Statistics will bear out that hitters using the Lau method can hit right-handed or left-handed pitchers equally as well. This not only eliminates that whole righty vs. lefty maneuvering that managers love to overmanage with late in games, it eliminates the very premise of switch-hitting.

Let me explain it another way: The reason switch-hitting really became popular in the ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s was because the primary school of hitting was the pull school of hitting, the Ted Williams pull school of hitting. Almost every hitter in the game was taught to be a dead-pull hitter. Of course, it’s a little tough to be terribly successful as a pull hitter against intelligent pitchers who are running curve balls away from you. As we have explained previously, when a pull hitter attempts to hit a curve ball away from him, the result is usually a weak ground ball. This is why switch-hitting rose in popularity. The dead-pull hitters found they could be more successful if they always had that curve ball coming toward them rather than moving away. So they switched sides of the plate. And even by hitting with their ``weaker’’ side of the plate, they improved their overall average slightly. But we no longer are shackled by just one school of hitting. We no longer are restricted by dead pull hitting. In the Lau System of Hitting, hitters can cover the entire plate no matter what direction the pitch is heading.

To further illustrate my point, let me ask you this: Who was the last switch-hitter to flirt with hitting .400? Yet George Brett has. Larry Walker has. Tony Gwynn has. None of these great hitters are switch-hitters. And all three use the Lau System of Hitting. It makes little difference to any of those hitters whether they are facing a lefty or a righty because they have or had the ability to cover the entire plate. Here’s a more recent example. Chipper Jones, one of the more well-known switch-hitters today, is far better from his dominant side, his left side. From the left side, he hits .320 with 25to 30 homers a year. From the right side, he hits about .220 with homers. So why does he continue to switch hit? Only he can tell you. Another example is Royals rookie of the year Carlos Beltran, who in 1999 hit .300 with 15 home runs and 88 RBIs from his dominant left side, but hit only .265 with two home runs and 20 RBIs from his right side.

It seems to me that switch-hitting is yet another old-school philosophy that needs to be put on a shelf, right next to back-foot hitting and rolling the wrists over.

 I totally understand that theory and agree to most of it. But let me add this about Beltran and Jones weak side, How bad would those numbers of been if he would of stayed on the left side vs lefty pitchers? Maybe so bad that is why he switch hits. Who knows their reasons, I remember my knees buckling a few times.

 

 I do frown on kids a little that start switch hitting so late in their career, it takes so much work to be a great player, and then to add this to their schedule is crazy. A lot of times I see a average hitter start flirting with this idea, and all I can think of is that you could of been much above average if all of this would of been applied to your dominant side. If I remember right I think Chipper abandoned the switch hitting his senior year, and then picked it up again in the minors.

This is very simple, particularly for HS kids. Just hit from the left side and forgot about right for some time until he either gets better or it becomes obvious he is not going to continue to develop from the L side. LH hitters are a premium so focus on that. 

The high school range is typically 70-75. College is 75-85. Professional is 85+. However, be more concerned with his swing mechanics. Swing speed without proper mechanics is useless. Then there's solid contact.

I tend to agree with Lau as I have seen too many switch hitters in high school and college who were very weak on one side, yet were such good hitters from their dominate side that I can't help believing they would have been able to handle lefties as a left handed hitter only or vice versa. The really good one way hitters often can handle both lefties and righties because they see them all the time from their only side. I certainly would never encourage a fast lefty to switch hit as the lefty can take the breaking stuff to the left side and still have a chance for a lot of infield hits. I would not even think of my lefthanded son switch hitting.

It all depends on the player.

1. Will he take the extra time to be efficient from both sides.

2. What is his dominant eye?

3. Will his coach allow extra BP from both sides?

4. Is he a student of the game?

5. Does he use the mirror to study the swing.

6. Several years ago, I had an hour talking hitting with Edgar Martinez [Mariners] and he mentioned that he swing left handed off the tee for muscle memory.

It is the decision of the player. Have fun what ever you do. "Stay loose"

7. My son Robert switch hit. From the left side he though he was Daryl Strawberry and from the right side Eric Davis.

 

Check our web site <www.goodwillseries.org>

Bob

So my two cents, in response to the OP question: Is 78 mph good bat speed in HS?

 

No.

 

HS boys at PG Jupiter are in the 90s.

Are you in control or the radar gun of your decision. Bat speed means nothing if you cannot read the pitch.

 

Bob

Are we talking about bat speed or ball exit speed?  If bat speed, how is that measured?

Huh??

 

Consultant, I'm referring to the Trackman data at last year's event. If you're not familiar with it, I'd be happy to share the link to the HSBBW conversation.

 

And no, it means nothing if you cannot read the pitch.

 

But that wasn't the question.

 

What's up with all the sarcasm today??? Every dang topic has snarkiness.

 

OK, I'm mistaken. Trackman published ball off bat.

 

I still don't think 78 MPH is impressive, but I may be wrong.

Thanks everyone for info. I was just wandering about bat speed on non natural side if that generated interest of colleges? He works very hard both ways on plate batted 450 sophomore year and 667 on travel ball over summer. Was filmed at hitting camp last year at college and college coach said swing was unique due to mirror image left and right. Great hard working kid. High school coach encourages his switch hitting because he's good at it. He's 78 left but faster right on bat speed! Just didn't know if switch hitting helped colleges to be interested if your great at it.
Thanks

My son hits from both sides and has had good success doing it. However, I frequently wonder if he would be better right-handed (his natural side) than he is either way today. That said, there is no questions that his ability to hit from either side has created many benefits. He has stayed in games when coaches have gone to a righty or lefty lineup, it was part of the reason that Major League organizations liked him twice in the draft. He never sees a breaking ball move away from him, etc... Keep in mind that in addition to the extra work it takes to be successful as a switch-hitter, you become mostly a left-handed hitter since there are so relatively few left-handed pitchers. It is an interesting proposition with no clear-cut answer.

 

I also will say that it seems that much of what Charlie Lau taught is not regarded with the esteem today that it attracted 30 or 40 years ago.

As pitching becomes more difficult at higher levels switch hitters won't see as much success.  

 I wished That I was a lefty, but I didn't know everything about baseball until I was 12.

Basspro;

 

 Talk with the local college coaches in your area. Ask the same question. You will have your answer. Several years UH {U of Hawaii] placed 4 switch hitters in their line up. They were ranked Nationally #8.

 

Eddie Murray did not switch hit until his 1st year in pro baseball.

 

Gregg Jefferies one of our Goodwill Series players used the swimming pool to improve his "bat speed".

Each year, we change 4 players who will later benefit from switch hitting. It is the "slider" that determines the change.

 

Bob

 

Switch hitters are a dying breed.  I would not be to concerned with his swing speed, rather is getting work in on both sides of the plate and squaring up balls.

78 is good HS bat speed

 

Pujols is 86. He is one of the fastest in MLB regardless of the article in the baseball magazine GQ.

I would of thought he had much more exit speed than that, I read the results from a showcase a few weeks ago and there was several kids in the 90s and a freshman that was 87 on both sides.

Pujol's "bat speed" was measured at 86mph.  His batted ball "exit speed" hit 119 (2009), with an average of 107.  These measurements were taken in game at bats (not off tee, soft toss or BP).  I think exit speed is easier to measure with a gun and more reliable (JMO).  Hitting off tee with wood bat removes some variables such as pitch speed, bat differences, pitch location differences, hitting/missing sweet spot, etc that can affect the measurement.  To address the OP's question, a bat speed of 78 is pretty average for a high school player with a metal bat.