Natural Side

[Guest AG/DC]

I was watching the linke to see Reese Havens. His swing kind of reminded me of Gregg Jeffries', and I wondered if he switch-hit. He doesn't, but I went on to ponder an old thought: how many switch hitters call lefty their "natural side."

I've got to imagine not many, as their are stronger advantages to batting lefty (no bailouts against two thirds of all pitchers and step and a half closer to first) than there are to batting righty (no bailouts against one third of all pitchers and a step and a half further from first). So the motivation just isn't as obvious. I'm going to guess that, while coaches everywhere are trying to turn righthandeed hitters with speed into switchies, any players who bat lefty first and start switch-hitting are doing it under their own volition.

I think it's a natural assumption that guys who hit better lefthanded are natural lefties, but I don't think that's so. They may have just developed that way because of the ever-increasing amount of reps from that side. Was a HoJo a natural lefty? Was Backman?

I know Mookie did a little better batting lefthanded, and I don't think he started batting from that side until AA or AAA.

So my question is: which switch-hitters do we know were actual lefties first?

[Benjamin Grimm]

I don't know of any, but I would think that there might be some natural lefties who are just so bad at hitting left-handed pitchers that they might try batting from the right side.

Whether any of them were successful enough as right-handed batters that they actually became switch-hitters, I don't know.

On the possibly inaccurate theory that the hand a player throws will usually indicate which side of the plate he'd naturally bat on, here's a list (from the UMDB) of switch-hitters who throw left-handed:


Hank Aguirre
Bob Beall
Lance Berkman
Vida Blue
Ron Bryant
Scott Bullett
Morgan Burkhart
Melky Cabrera
John Candelaria
John Cangelosi
Craig Caskey
Norm Charlton
Dave Collins
Jay Dahl
Doug Dascenzo
Jack Daugherty
Jack DiLauro
Jamie Easterly
Greg Garrett
Larry Gura
Mark Guthrie
Carlos Hernandez
Ramon Hernandez
Tom Hilgendorf
Reggie Jefferson
Tyler Johnson
Gary Lavelle
Mickey Lolich
Mickey Mahler
John Martin
Greg Mathews
Sid Monge
Roger Moret
Fred Norman
Billy O'Dell
Jim O'Toole
Ryan Olson
Dan Ortmeier
Donovan Osborne
Wes Parker
Troy Patton
Brock Pemberton
Yorkis Perez
Erik Plantenberg
Kris Regas
Wandy Rodr�guez
Ron Roenicke
Kevin Rogers
J. C. Romero
David Segui
Dan Serafini
DaRond Stovall
Nick Swisher
Bob Sykes
Bob Veale
Dan Warthen
Mitch Webster
Matt Williams
Brad Woodall

[seawolf17]

Not for nothing, but it looks like MiniWolf is going to go the Rickey Henderson bats-right-throws-left route, which is exciting for his draft prospects in 2024.

[Guest AG/DC]

Keeps him from playing the infield.

If Ricky threw righthanded, he might have been the best secondbaseman ever.

[Frayed Knot]

A decent-sized chunk of that list are pitchers who probably fit the 'too incompetent at hitting to face a same-side hurler' category.



Just off the top of my head:
Hank Aguirre
Bob Beall
Vida Blue
John Candelaria
Norm Charlton
Jack DiLauro
Larry Gura
Mark Guthrie
Mickey Lolich
Mickey Mahler
Sid Monge
Roger Moret
Fred Norman
Jim O'Toole
Donovan Osborne
Wandy Rodr�guez
Kevin Rogers
J. C. Romero
Bob Veale

... and probably a few others.

[Guest sharpie]

I believe Vida Blue is still the answer to the question of who was the last switch-hitting AL MVP?

[Guest AG/DC]

Guys I Remember Bob Beall Lance Berkman Vida Blue Melky Cabrera John Candelaria John Cangelosi Norm Charlton Dave Collins Doug Dascenzo Jack DiLauro Larry Gura Mark Guthrie Ramon Hernandez Gary Lavelle Mickey Lolich Mickey Mahler Donovan Osborne Wes Parker Brock Pemberton Yorkis Perez Wandy Rodr�guez Ron Roenicke J. C. Romero David Segui Nick Swisher Bob Veale Dan Warthen Mitch Webster Matt Williams

Guys Who Sound Kind of Familiar but I Can't Say Morgan Burkhart Jamie Easterly Carlos Hernandez Reggie Jefferson Dan Serafini Bob Sykes

Guys I Don't Remember Hank Aguirre Ron Bryant Scott Bullett Craig Caskey Jay Dahl Jack Daugherty Greg Garrett Tom Hilgendorf Tyler Johnson John Martin Greg Mathews Sid Monge Roger Moret Fred Norman Billy O'Dell Jim O'Toole Ryan Olson Dan Ortmeier Troy Patton Erik Plantenberg Kris Regas Kevin Rogers DaRond Stovall Brad Woodall

[seawolf17]

Guys Who Sound Kind of Familiar but I Can't Say Morgan Burkhart Jamie Easterly - former Indians pitcher Carlos Hernandez Reggie Jefferson - outfielder, also Indians, I think Dan Serafini - pitcher Bob Sykes - Cardinals pitcher , early 80s

Guys I Don't Remember Hank Aguirre - two-guard for the Pistons in the 1980s Ron Bryant Scott Bullett - former Rochester Red Wing Craig Caskey Jay Dahl Jack Daugherty - former Cavaliers center Greg Garrett - the tall guy on Everybody Loves Raymond Tom Hilgendorf Tyler Johnson - recent Cardinals OF John Martin - mid-80s Cardinals pitcher Greg Mathews - mid-90s Cardinals pitcher Sid Monge - mid-80s pitcher (Expos?) Roger Moret - mid 70s Red Sox pitcher Fred Norman Billy O'Dell Jim O'Toole Ryan Olson Dan Ortmeier - recent OF (Oakland?) Troy Patton Erik Plantenberg Kris Regas Kevin Rogers DaRond Stovall Brad Woodall

[Guest Vince Coleman Firecracker]

sharpie wrote: I believe Vida Blue is still the answer to the question of who was the last switch-hitting AL MVP?

You are correct, sir! That's a fun little factoid. The last NL MVP switch-hitter is:
oh. Jimmy Rollins.