Left-Handed Batters / Right-Handed Throwers

My son Michael is right-handed. He did everything right-handed except batting in baseball and swinging a golf club. When he was quite young, he used either hand interchangeably. We tried the different “tests” to see which hand dominant he was, but it just seemed, whatever was convenient, he would use. He would throw the ball to me with one hand, then the other, but he always picked up and swung his whiffle ball bat lefty. I assumed it was him watching me and lining up the same way, but who knows. When he went to kindergarten, he pretty much was using his right hand for his schoolwork, so when it came time to buy his first “real” glove, we made the decision, he’d throw righty. He still batted lefty and I figured he’d be a step or two nearer to first base and if he inherited my speed, or lack thereof, he’d be better off. Plus, his swing just seemed fluid even at an early age from the left side. Later we tried the switch-hitting route, but it was just awkward for Michael from the right-side and we abandon that experiment pretty quickly.

I didn’t find the situation strange. I had known a few guys that threw righty and batted lefty, so we went with it. Michael did well and it didn’t seem to bother him. In fact, one of his friends, Cameron played the same way.

Somewhere over the years, I noticed some successful players had thrown righty and batted lefty. In fact, in the Top 10 Career Batting Average List there are four players that fall into that category:

1.      Ty Cobb .3664 Batted: Left / Threw: Right

2.      Rogers Hornsby .3585 Batted: Right / Threw: Right

3.      Shoeless Joe Jackson .3558 Batted: Left / Threw: Right

4.      Lefty O’Doul .3493 Batted: Left / Threw: Left

5.      Ed Delahanty .3458 Batted: Right / Threw: Right

6.      Tris Speaker .3447 Batted: Right / Threw: Right

7.      Billy Hamilton .3444 Batted: Left / Threw: Right

Ted Williams .3444 Batted: Left / Threw: Right

9.      Dan Brouthers .3424 Batted: Right / Threw: Right

10.  Babe Ruth .3421 Batted: Left / Threw: Left

So today, here is an all-Right-Handed Throwing / Left-Handed Batting Team, just for the heck of it.

Starting Pitchers:

Mike Mussina (1991-2008) *HoF    Career Batting Avg .173

Tim Lincecum (2007-2016) +Not on the ballot yet    Career Batting Avg .112

Charles “Babe” Adams (1906-1926)   Career Batting Avg .212

Julian Tavares (1993-2009)     Career Batting Avg .114

Bullpen:

Fred Gladding (1961-1973)     Career Batting Avg .016

Ryan Madson (2003-2018)     Career Batting Avg .122

Todd Jones (1993-2008)         Career Batting Avg .211

Addison Reed (2011-2018)     Career Batting Avg .000

Ricky Bottalico (1994-2005)    Career Batting Avg .118

Kirby Yates (2014-Present)     Career Batting Avg .000

Catchers:

Yogi Berra (1946-1965) *HoF Career Batting Avg .285

Mickey Cochrane (1925-1937) *HoF  Career Batting Avg .320

Infielders:

Wade Boggs (1982-1999) 3rd Base *HoF       Career Batting Avg .328

Rod Carew (1967-1985) 2nd / 1st Base *HoF  Career Batting Avg .328

Eddie Mathews (1952-1968) 3rd Base *HoF   Career Batting Avg .271

Arky Vaughn (1932-1948) Short Stop *Hof    Career Batting Avg .318

Eddie Collins (1906-1930) 2nd Base *HoF       Career Batting Avg .333

Johnny Mize (1936-1953) 1st Base *HoF        Career Batting Avg .312

Outfield:

Ty Cobb (1905-1928) Center Field *HoF Career Batting Avg .366

Ted Williams (1939-1960) Left Field *HoF      Career Batting Avg .344

Shoeless Joe Jackson (1908-1920) Left Field ++Not Eligible for HoF Consideration Career Batting Avg .356

Ichiro Suzuki (2001-2019) Right Field +Not on the ballot yet     Career Batting Avg .311

Mel Ott (1926-1947) Right Field *HoF            Career Batting Avg .304

Duke Snider (1947-1964) Center Field *HoF  Career Batting Avg .295

Carl Yastrzemski (1961-1983) Left Field / 1st Base *Hof        Career Batting Avg .285

Now, obviously this would be a fun to team to see play, but the pitching staff and bullpen would be at a disadvantage without any lefthanded pitchers, but I am pretty confident the position players would hit consistently. I’ve often wondered if having your dominant hand at the bottom of the bat added more speed and power to your swing? Any thoughts or opinions?

Thanks for reading!

~ Coach Mike

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