First and foremost if you cant hit from both side it doesnt matter obviously...
Let me also say that I think your player needs to show some natural tendency to be able to switch hit. When my son was just old enough to hold one of those big plastic bats sometimes he would pick it up LH and sometimes RH and even sometimes cross handed like Aaron did in his young days. My dad who was a surgeon was truly ambidextrous. He could cut and stitch with either hand. When I put all this together I thought I would try it with him.
My son is a switch hitter and has been since 11. Often times he would go RH when younger b/c, as has been said, he had more power and the team needed him in a power role. I once asked Jack McKeon at a hot stove banquet about hitting from both sides. He said absolutely stick with it. A former AAA mgr told me "I can go to Venezuela and sign all the SH second baseman I could possibly want.. but a SH catcher?.. it really helps his marketability".
We have run into some opposition to it at the HS level.. as mentioned above. We have no opposition to it on his showcase team.
One of my proudest moments was in LL when he hit one out from both sides of the plate in the same game. I will always cherish those HR balls.
ps: and dont forget how much extra work being a switch hitter means in your workout schedule!!!
Some ESPN analyst who likely got picked last at recess for kickball every day (Tim Kirkjerk) does what geeks do best--he pulled up history of stats to demonstrate what?? That he is smarter than all the MLB managers for decades who have been foolish to use SH in their line-ups?
Kirkjerks numbers aside-- let's keep this simple...and I would even pose this questions to Kirkjerk:
You have 2 players vying for same position on any roster. All things being equal and by that I mean their abilities and even their stats (yes-overall batting average not one side of the plate over the other) --all is similar--"You" are the coach which one do you pick--the SH or non SH???
Pretty simple answer for ANY coach who knows baseball and even simple answer for any geek who has NEVER played beyond t-ball!
Since Kirkjerks article how many SH in MLB have stopped Switch hitting??? Ya See--just like when he was a kid at recess--MLB players don't pay much attention to kirkjerk either.
Kirkjerks numbers aside-- let's keep this simple...and I would even pose this questions to Kirkjerk:
You have 2 players vying for same position on any roster. All things being equal and by that I mean their abilities and even their stats (yes-overall batting average not one side of the plate over the other) --all is similar--"You" are the coach which one do you pick--the SH or non SH???
Pretty simple answer for ANY coach who knows baseball and even simple answer for any geek who has NEVER played beyond t-ball!
Since Kirkjerks article how many SH in MLB have stopped Switch hitting??? Ya See--just like when he was a kid at recess--MLB players don't pay much attention to kirkjerk either.
quote:Originally posted by bothsportsdad: One of my proudest moments was in LL when he hit one out from both sides of the plate in the same game. I will always cherish those HR balls.
Mine was early last spring; my son hit an everyday line drive single to left (from the left side). He stayed down on it, got through it, got down the line and made his turn. He told us after the game that he knew he could switch hit when he could go with the pitch and "hit it where it was pitched."
Mine was in High School Varsity game this year. Son tagged a kid out at the plate and hyper-extended his thumb. The next inning he came up to bat, hitting lefty, took strike one, fouled off strike two and fell to his knees in pain from the injury. he looked around kind of confused on what to do and then jumped in the right-handed batters box. The pitcher then was shaking his head. Son rips a double in the gap, and everyone in the stands was amazed.