Is switch-hitting a thing of the past?

[woofy25]

You don't see it near as often now days. It seems like you see more lefty on lefty than ever. Is it even taught anymore in little league? I would think that with the inherent advantage a lefty has against lefty hitting would make more think about trying it. When I see one of our flailing at a pitch half a foot outside it just makes me wonder, "Why not try it?"

Because theres a more inherent advantage with swinging with your dominant hand vs your weaker hand.

Generally growing up, theres almost no advamtage to switch hitting because little league putchers dont have developed putches enough to make a lefty lefty matchup that inherently different so it would make trying to switch hit at that age an absolute disadvantage unless the person was truly ambidextrous.

But the problem is if you dont start switch hitting young, it probably isnt an option later if you dont develop that coordination. But not every 8 year old coach and parent is thinking i should teach my kid to switch hit even if its harder for him right now to learn 2 ways just because someday he may make the majors and it become more handy.

I think also the general shift towards homerun or bust also makes it harder cuz as hard as it is to develop swinging wirh nondominant hand, its even harder to generate power that way so the homerun or bust mentality has also killed switchhitting in that regard

Bryce Harper, Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Raphael Devers, Ted Williams, etc wouldn't agree with your dominant hand assessment. I don't either. The baseball swing uses the entire body, not one body part. It's not an armwrestling competition. Power is generated from the core, legs, arms, etc.

[nighthawk]

While Latin players are often encouraged to switch hit as children, it has almost become taboo among youth in America. Seattle Mariners manager Scott Servais spent 11 years as a right-handed catcher in the majors. He believes being a switch hitter is the biggest advantage in all of sports.

“Youth baseball in our country has changed dramatically over the last 15 years,” Servais said. “The focus ultimately comes down to college scholarships or getting into pro ball, and the lack of patience in letting those things develop in young players. So they get on Select teams and they’re traveling all over the country and Mom and Dad are paying a lot of money to put you in front of all of the top coaches. Why would we ever put you in a situation where you might fail? And you’re going to fail. Switch hitting is really hard. It’s really hard when you’re young. And they’re afraid of failure.”

https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/560970 ... bers-down/

[NYCardsFan]

You don't see it near as often now days. It seems like you see more lefty on lefty than ever. Is it even taught anymore in little league? I would think that with the inherent advantage a lefty has against lefty hitting would make more think about trying it. When I see one of our flailing at a pitch half a foot outside it just makes me wonder, "Why not try it?"

Because theres a more inherent advantage with swinging with your dominant hand vs your weaker hand.

Generally growing up, theres almost no advamtage to switch hitting because little league putchers dont have developed putches enough to make a lefty lefty matchup that inherently different so it would make trying to switch hit at that age an absolute disadvantage unless the person was truly ambidextrous.

But the problem is if you dont start switch hitting young, it probably isnt an option later if you dont develop that coordination. But not every 8 year old coach and parent is thinking i should teach my kid to switch hit even if its harder for him right now to learn 2 ways just because someday he may make the majors and it become more handy.

I think also the general shift towards homerun or bust also makes it harder cuz as hard as it is to develop swinging wirh nondominant hand, its even harder to generate power that way so the homerun or bust mentality has also killed switchhitting in that regard

Bryce Harper, Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Raphael Devers, Ted Williams, etc wouldn't agree with your dominant hand assessment. I don't either. The baseball swing uses the entire body, not one body part. It's not an armwrestling competition. Power is generated from the core, legs, arms, etc.

Yeah, it’s probably more about long-term training and repetition. I would guess all of those guys you mentioned started hitting left-handed at a young age. And in the overwhelming majority of cases, it’s naturally right-handed players batting LH because of the inherent platoon advantage. Very few examples I can think of of naturally left-handed players batting RH (e.g., Ricky Henderson).

[TXCardsFanX]

We had 2 "switch hitters" in Tommy Edman & Dylan Carlson. They were right-handed and were both bad from the left side:

Career hitting lefty handed, per baseballreference.com:
Carlson - 0.217/0.295/0.352/0.647
Edman - 0.255/0.314/0.373/0.687

They both hit really well against lefties as their natural side is hitting RH. But, unfortunately for them, over 70% of their ABs are against RHP. So, they wound up hitting from their weak side the heavy majority of their ABs.

I've always wondered if they had never tried switch hitting if their numbers would have been better overall. Both clearly had more power hitting RH. Personally, I doubt they would be WORSE going RH vs RH.

On that note, Edman has had 67 PA going RH vs RH. His OPS is 0.603 in those 67 PAs. Worse, but a small sample size. I still think he could be better going that route if he had done so all along. But, that's impossible to know, really.

[Wattage]

You don't see it near as often now days. It seems like you see more lefty on lefty than ever. Is it even taught anymore in little league? I would think that with the inherent advantage a lefty has against lefty hitting would make more think about trying it. When I see one of our flailing at a pitch half a foot outside it just makes me wonder, "Why not try it?"

Because theres a more inherent advantage with swinging with your dominant hand vs your weaker hand.

Generally growing up, theres almost no advamtage to switch hitting because little league putchers dont have developed putches enough to make a lefty lefty matchup that inherently different so it would make trying to switch hit at that age an absolute disadvantage unless the person was truly ambidextrous.

But the problem is if you dont start switch hitting young, it probably isnt an option later if you dont develop that coordination. But not every 8 year old coach and parent is thinking i should teach my kid to switch hit even if its harder for him right now to learn 2 ways just because someday he may make the majors and it become more handy.

I think also the general shift towards homerun or bust also makes it harder cuz as hard as it is to develop swinging wirh nondominant hand, its even harder to generate power that way so the homerun or bust mentality has also killed switchhitting in that regard

Bryce Harper, Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Raphael Devers, Ted Williams, etc wouldn't agree with your dominant hand assessment. I don't either. The baseball swing uses the entire body, not one body part. It's not an armwrestling competition. Power is generated from the core, legs, arms, etc.

Yeah, it’s probably more about long-term training and repetition. I would guess all of those guys you mentioned started hitting left-handed at a young age. And in the overwhelming majority of cases, it’s naturally right-handed players batting LH because of the inherent platoon advantage. Very few examples I can think of of naturally left-handed players batting RH (e.g., Ricky Henderson).

Some right handed players(throwing) bat left handed because they findnit easier to have dominant hand on barrel.

Its definitely something that requires it at a young age though to do it both ways. And at a young age, i doubt theres really much platoon advantage at those low age levels and not everyone is thinking to learn switch hitting because 10 years later it might be more useful. Etc.

[sikeston bulldog2]

You don't see it near as often now days. It seems like you see more lefty on lefty than ever. Is it even taught anymore in little league? I would think that with the inherent advantage a lefty has against lefty hitting would make more think about trying it. When I see one of our flailing at a pitch half a foot outside it just makes me wonder, "Why not try it?"

Because theres a more inherent advantage with swinging with your dominant hand vs your weaker hand.

Generally growing up, theres almost no advamtage to switch hitting because little league putchers dont have developed putches enough to make a lefty lefty matchup that inherently different so it would make trying to switch hit at that age an absolute disadvantage unless the person was truly ambidextrous.

But the problem is if you dont start switch hitting young, it probably isnt an option later if you dont develop that coordination. But not every 8 year old coach and parent is thinking i should teach my kid to switch hit even if its harder for him right now to learn 2 ways just because someday he may make the majors and it become more handy.

I think also the general shift towards homerun or bust also makes it harder cuz as hard as it is to develop swinging wirh nondominant hand, its even harder to generate power that way so the homerun or bust mentality has also killed switchhitting in that regard

Bryce Harper, Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Raphael Devers, Ted Williams, etc wouldn't agree with your dominant hand assessment. I don't either. The baseball swing uses the entire body, not one body part. It's not an armwrestling competition. Power is generated from the core, legs, arms, etc.

Yeah, it’s probably more about long-term training and repetition. I would guess all of those guys you mentioned started hitting left-handed at a young age. And in the overwhelming majority of cases, it’s naturally right-handed players batting LH because of the inherent platoon advantage. Very few examples I can think of of naturally left-handed players batting RH (e.g., Ricky Henderson).

Some right handed players(throwing) bat left handed because they findnit easier to have dominant hand on barrel.

Its definitely something that requires it at a young age though to do it both ways. And at a young age, i doubt theres really much platoon advantage at those low age levels and not everyone is thinking to learn switch hitting because 10 years later it might be more useful. Etc.

Here’s how we learned to switch hit. Used a yellow wiffle ball bat. Light weight easy to develop proper muscle and mechanics. Then we had to pick a baseball team to emulate. We were always the Cardinals Cubs or Reds.

Here is the key- we had to bat the hand of the player hitting. I hit a ball so far one day it’s still going. A Pujols shot. Left handed- I was batting as Bobby Tolan.

[12xu]

You don't see it near as often now days. It seems like you see more lefty on lefty than ever. Is it even taught anymore in little league? I would think that with the inherent advantage a lefty has against lefty hitting would make more think about trying it. When I see one of our flailing at a pitch half a foot outside it just makes me wonder, "Why not try it?"

Because theres a more inherent advantage with swinging with your dominant hand vs your weaker hand.

Generally growing up, theres almost no advamtage to switch hitting because little league putchers dont have developed putches enough to make a lefty lefty matchup that inherently different so it would make trying to switch hit at that age an absolute disadvantage unless the person was truly ambidextrous.

But the problem is if you dont start switch hitting young, it probably isnt an option later if you dont develop that coordination. But not every 8 year old coach and parent is thinking i should teach my kid to switch hit even if its harder for him right now to learn 2 ways just because someday he may make the majors and it become more handy.

I think also the general shift towards homerun or bust also makes it harder cuz as hard as it is to develop swinging wirh nondominant hand, its even harder to generate power that way so the homerun or bust mentality has also killed switchhitting in that regard

Bryce Harper, Ohtani, Freddie Freeman, Raphael Devers, Ted Williams, etc wouldn't agree with your dominant hand assessment. I don't either. The baseball swing uses the entire body, not one body part. It's not an armwrestling competition. Power is generated from the core, legs, arms, etc.

Yeah, it’s probably more about long-term training and repetition. I would guess all of those guys you mentioned started hitting left-handed at a young age. And in the overwhelming majority of cases, it’s naturally right-handed players batting LH because of the inherent platoon advantage. Very few examples I can think of of naturally left-handed players batting RH (e.g., Ricky Henderson).

Some right handed players(throwing) bat left handed because they findnit easier to have dominant hand on barrel.

Its definitely something that requires it at a young age though to do it both ways. And at a young age, i doubt theres really much platoon advantage at those low age levels and not everyone is thinking to learn switch hitting because 10 years later it might be more useful. Etc.

Many RHH kids began switching when pitchers started throwing curves, which started around age 12 in my day.

[scoutyjones2]

Hers an idea. Learn to hit pitching, regardless of what hand it comes from...

Switch hitting is stupid.

[sikeston bulldog2]

Hers an idea. Learn to hit pitching, regardless of what hand it comes from...

Switch hitting is stupid.

Actually at some point, the weaker handed side will show its weakness. Much is put into hitting opposite pitchers throwing. As you note, use your strongest side, and learn to hot both pitchers, righties and lefties.

[CCard]

You don't see it near as often now days. It seems like you see more lefty on lefty than ever. Is it even taught anymore in little league? I would think that with the inherent advantage a lefty has against lefty hitting would make more think about trying it. When I see one of our flailing at a pitch half a foot outside it just makes me wonder, "Why not try it?"

Because theres a more inherent advantage with swinging with your dominant hand vs your weaker hand.

Generally growing up, theres almost no advamtage to switch hitting because little league putchers dont have developed putches enough to make a lefty lefty matchup that inherently different so it would make trying to switch hit at that age an absolute disadvantage unless the person was truly ambidextrous.

But the problem is if you dont start switch hitting young, it probably isnt an option later if you dont develop that coordination. But not every 8 year old coach and parent is thinking i should teach my kid to switch hit even if its harder for him right now to learn 2 ways just because someday he may make the majors and it become more handy.

I think also the general shift towards homerun or bust also makes it harder cuz as hard as it is to develop swinging wirh nondominant hand, its even harder to generate power that way so the homerun or bust mentality has also killed switchhitting in that regard

I can see that but hasn't little league always been that way? I agree the "homerun or bust" philosophy pervades baseball now and I really hate it. It seems that everything is about power. Some would argue that it's more conducive to scoring because it's hard to string together enough hits to score. I get that, but if you aren't going to sign or develop pure power hitters then you're defeating your purpose I think. Victor Scott II swings as hard as he can every time up and he doesn't even have 10 homeruns. Same with most other players. They all wanna be homerun hitters instead of just being good hitters. I think the desire to win has turned players and coaches against actually learning how to switch hit. So concerned with numbers that they're afraid to fail while learning something new.

[RamFan08NY]

do kids even play fuzzball anymore? great way to hone batting skills

No. Kids dont do anything outdoors any more. If they're not in travel league, they're not playing. I think that travel youth baseball drastically limits the talent pool. As a kid, i learned so much more by playing neighborhood sandlot baseball 7 days per week. Thank God there were no electronics when I was a kid.

[12xu]

Hers an idea. Learn to hit pitching, regardless of what hand it comes from...

Switch hitting is stupid.

It is not stupid. Ask Lance Berkman, Pete Rose, Carlos Beltran, Eddie Murray, Ted Simmons, Chipper Jones, Roberto Alomar, Tim Raines, Bernie Williams, Reggie Smith. Look back at those departed like Mickey Mantle, Red Schoendienst, Frankie Frisch. Today we have Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor, Ketel Marte, Ozzie Albies, Ian Happ. Remember the Cardinals of mid 80's - McGee, Pendleton, Herr, Coleman, and Ozzie - ALL switch hitters.

[sikeston bulldog2]

do kids even play fuzzball anymore? great way to hone batting skills

No. Kids dont do anything outdoors any more. If they're not in travel league, they're not playing. I think that travel youth baseball drastically limits the talent pool. As a kid, i learned so much more by playing neighborhood sandlot baseball 7 days per week. Thank God there were no electronics when I was a kid.

Travel ball has done several horrible things- limits the pool.
Most players are friends of the coaches kids.
Focuses solely on baseball 24/7 365. We hung up the cleats and picked up a basketball.
Your coaches are dads- lots of bad habits.

[12xu]

do kids even play fuzzball anymore? great way to hone batting skills

No. Kids dont do anything outdoors any more. If they're not in travel league, they're not playing. I think that travel youth baseball drastically limits the talent pool. As a kid, i learned so much more by playing neighborhood sandlot baseball 7 days per week. Thank God there were no electronics when I was a kid.

Travel ball has done several horrible things- limits the pool.
Most players are friends of the coaches kids.
Focuses solely on baseball 24/7 365. We hung up the cleats and picked up a basketball.
Your coaches are dads- lots of bad habits.

One of my grandsons played travel ball. He played as many games in one season that I played organized ball in my entire youth leagues. This is not a bad thing. Experience is great. He also played and excelled at basketball and soccer all through high school. He played 4 years of college baseball. He is a fine athlete - easily recognized at a very young age.

Dad coaches are more prevalent at the rec level than at select/travel teams.

[CCard]

do kids even play fuzzball anymore? great way to hone batting skills

No. Kids dont do anything outdoors any more. If they're not in travel league, they're not playing. I think that travel youth baseball drastically limits the talent pool. As a kid, i learned so much more by playing neighborhood sandlot baseball 7 days per week. Thank God there were no electronics when I was a kid.

There's definitely more to do now days. But that's not bad for the kids. Playing baseball 7 days a week is not in a kids best interest. Sorry for your suffering. LOL

[CCard]

Hers an idea. Learn to hit pitching, regardless of what hand it comes from...

Switch hitting is stupid.

It is not stupid. Ask Lance Berkman, Pete Rose, Carlos Beltran, Eddie Murray, Ted Simmons, Chipper Jones, Roberto Alomar, Tim Raines, Bernie Williams, Reggie Smith. Look back at those departed like Mickey Mantle, Red Schoendienst, Frankie Frisch. Today we have Jose Ramirez, Francisco Lindor, Ketel Marte, Ozzie Albies, Ian Happ. Remember the Cardinals of mid 80's - McGee, Pendleton, Herr, Coleman, and Ozzie - ALL switch hitters.

Indeed. No flailing at balls half a foot outside.