Why? A lefty's curveball can be a nasty pitch against right-handers, but it can also throw lefties off too. The curve can head straight for the batter then break at the last second, causing the hitter to instinctively back off. Left-handed hitters can have a particularly hard time with lefty pitchers throwing sidearm.
But there's still the question of why a pitcher's handedness actually matters. The answer is what, in baseball, are called "platoon splits." "Platoon splits" refers to a fundamental fact about baseball: Righty hitters do better against lefty pitchers, and lefty hitters do better against righty pitchers.
There is no definitive answer to this question, as it depends on a number of factors. However, some studies suggest that left-handed hitters have an advantage over right-handed hitters when it comes to hitting the ball in the air. This may be because they are more able to generate power with their opposite hand.
Hitting away from a lefty pitcher is more difficult than hitting towards him because most hitters rotate their hips when swinging at a pitch thrown by someone on their same side of the mound. This makes it easier for them to hit pitches coming inwards off the plate.
Left Handed Hitters Approaching Left Handed Pitchers
Why are lefties so special in baseball?
So a lefty gets to first base about 1/6th of a second faster, translating into more hits and a higher batting average. For lefty pitchers on the mound, they stand automatically facing a runner on first, making a pickoff far easier."
Left-handed hitters fair better against righty pitchers, who are the majority, because they pick up the ball easier. If you're a right-handed hitter, the pitch looks like it starts out behind your shoulder. But a lefty sees it in front of him the whole way.
This applies to pick off moves for righties and lefties where they perform their first-base pick off move without stepping off the rubber. You cannot fake to first base when you do this otherwise legal pick off move.
The skill set and athleticism required to play shortstop position is rarely found in youth baseball kids. You are right on that lefties should not play baseball shortstop or 3rd base. The only positions lefty baseball players should play are pitcher, firstbase and outfield positions.
It's possible that left-handed pitchers tend to throw slower because they don't have the same ability to convert spin into movement that right-handed pitchers do. This difference in motion can lead to problems with getting batters out, since they're not able to make solid contact as easily.
“Most left-handers seem to have similar language processing to right-handers,” Grimshaw says. For other one-sided brain functions, such as attention, emotion, music, and face perception, she says, there are less data. “But for the most part, left-handers do not differ obviously from right-handers.
Left-handed people are said to be good at complex reasoning, resulting in a high number of lefty Noble Prize winners, writers, artists, musicians, architects and mathematicians. According to research published in the American Journal of Psychology, lefties appear to be better at divergent thinking.
Right-handed people are more skillful with their right hands. Studies suggest that approximately 90% of people are right-handed. Left-handedness is less common. Studies suggest that approximately 10% of people are left-handed.
Although hand preference can be learnt, the genetic influence is surprisingly consistent. If two parents are right-handed, their offspring has a 10% chance of being left-handed.
Although the percentage varies worldwide, in Western countries, 85 to 90 percent of people are right-handed and 10 to 15 percent of people are left-handed. Mixed-handedness (preferring different hands for different tasks) and ambidextrousness (the ability to perform tasks equally well with either hand) are uncommon.
Overall, individuals with ADHD had a 27.3 percent chance of being either left-handed or mixed-handed compared to 18.1 percent in the general population. So the results suggest that the effects are smaller than for the autism spectrum, but generally go in the same direction.
A lefty catcher would struggle to throw out runners at third base. This is true! Whereas a right-handed catcher can keep his feet planted and make the throw, a lefty would have to pivot first. This encumbrance counts on plays in which fractions of a second make the difference between safe or out.
Indeed, the occurrence of left-handed third basemen in MLB is exceedingly rare, owing nearly entirely to the cross-body positioning involved. In general, third basemen will be fielding balls hit to their left side, since ball to the right will mostly be in foul territory.
The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must be able to make the pivot on a double play. In addition, second basemen are usually right-handed; only four left-handed throwing players have ever played second base in Major League Baseball since 1950.
In baseball, 90% of players are right-handed but 12% of them throw and bat left-handed. This unusual trait can be traced back to the greats like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Babe Ruth who batted lefty and threw righty.
In boxing, baseball, fencing, table-tennis and specialist batting positions in cricket the contrast is even starker, with 30% or more of top players often being left-handed.
Research suggests that between ten and twelve percent of the world's population is left-handed. Even though being left-handed might mean struggling with right-handed scissors from time-to-time, there are plenty of reasons being a lefty is pretty cool! Check out these stories: Could video games actually be good for you?