Switch hitter
Encyclopedia
In baseball
, a switch-hitter is a player who bats
both right-handed and left-handed.
s break away from batters hitting from the same side as the opposing pitcher. Such pitches are often harder to hit than those from the other side. Even so, many switch-hitters do better from one side of the plate than the other. Numerous switch-hitters have achieved a higher batting average on one side, yet have more power from the other. For instance, New York Yankees
great Mickey Mantle
always considered himself a better right-handed hitter, but hit more home runs left-handed. (However, many of Mantle's left-handed home runs were struck at Yankee Stadium, a park notorious for being very friendly to left-handed power hitters due to the short right field porch, and Mantle batted left-handed much more often than right-handed, simply because there have always been more right-handed than left-handed pitchers.)
Most switch-hitters have been right-handed throwers, though among other exceptions have been the following players: Lance Berkman
, Dave Collins
, Doug Dascenzo
, Mitch Webster
, Wes Parker
, Melky Cabrera
, Nick Swisher
, Justin Smoak
, David Segui
and J. T. Snow
(who in the final years of his career hit exclusively left-handed).
Switch-hitting pitchers are relatively rare. They include Mordecai Brown
, Norm Charlton
, Vida Blue
, Marvin Rotblatt
, Sid Monge
, Johnny Vander Meer, J.C. Romero
, Kyle Snyder
, Wandy Rodriguez
, Troy Patton
, Tim Dillard
, Tyler Johnson
, Carlos Zambrano
, Dock Ellis
, Anthony Claggett
, Kris Medlen
, and Drew Storen
. Joaquín Andújar
sometimes hit right-handed against lefties, sometimes left-handed.
Management also had a say in the switch-hitting careers of Bob Gibson
and Dwight Gooden
. Both Gibson and Gooden—each right-handed, and a fine hitting pitcher—had reached the major leagues as a switch-hitter, and both their teams required them to bat only right-handed, to reduce the possibility of their pitching arms being hit by a pitch.
, OBP
, and SLG) from each side of the plate, which has led some to question whether switch-hitting is such an advantage after all. Some managers believe they are a necessary evil, essentially taking the position that switch-hitters are entirely different hitters from one side of the plate from the other and thus have different strengths and weaknesses.
There have been a few young switch-hitters who have been called up to the majors that were convinced (or told) to bat exclusively from one side of the plate, as switch-hitting can make the already complex task of hitting a baseball needlessly more complex. Mike Schmidt
, the Philadelphia Phillies
' Hall of Fame third baseman
, is such an example. But on the other hand, the St. Louis Cardinals
' Hall of Fame shortstop
Ozzie Smith
, originally a right-handed hitter, taught himself to bat left-handed in his late teens. Sometimes coaches will teach a right-handed hitter to bat left-handed simply to have the extra step to first base, thereby allowing faster players to get on base more often. However this method may sacrifice contact or power until fully mastered.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, a switch-hitter is a player who bats
Batting (baseball)
In baseball, batting is the act of facing the opposing pitcher and trying to produce offense for one's team. A batter or hitter is a person whose turn it is to face the pitcher...
both right-handed and left-handed.
Baseball
Usually, right-handed batters hit better against left-handed pitchers and vice-versa. Most curveballCurveball
The curveball is a type of pitch in baseball thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball causing it to dive in a downward path as it approaches the plate. Its close relatives are the slider and the slurve. The "curve" of the ball varies from pitcher to...
s break away from batters hitting from the same side as the opposing pitcher. Such pitches are often harder to hit than those from the other side. Even so, many switch-hitters do better from one side of the plate than the other. Numerous switch-hitters have achieved a higher batting average on one side, yet have more power from the other. For instance, New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
great Mickey Mantle
Mickey Mantle
Mickey Charles Mantle was an American professional baseball player. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.Mantle was noted for his hitting...
always considered himself a better right-handed hitter, but hit more home runs left-handed. (However, many of Mantle's left-handed home runs were struck at Yankee Stadium, a park notorious for being very friendly to left-handed power hitters due to the short right field porch, and Mantle batted left-handed much more often than right-handed, simply because there have always been more right-handed than left-handed pitchers.)
Most switch-hitters have been right-handed throwers, though among other exceptions have been the following players: Lance Berkman
Lance Berkman
William Lance Berkman is an American professional baseball outfielder and right fielder with the St. Louis Cardinals of Major League Baseball....
, Dave Collins
Dave Collins
David S. Collins is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball from to .Collins is one of three players to have made it to the major leagues who played for the storied Rapid City Post 22 American Legion baseball program in Rapid City, SD...
, Doug Dascenzo
Doug Dascenzo
Douglas Craig Dascenzo is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He is an alumnus of Oklahoma State University and a graduate of Brownsville Area High School in Brownsville, Pennsylvania....
, Mitch Webster
Mitch Webster
Mitchell Dean Webster , is a retired Major League Baseball outfielder. He is currently the Midwest Regional Scouting Supervisor for the Kansas City Royals....
, Wes Parker
Wes Parker
Maurice Wesley Parker III is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers from to...
, Melky Cabrera
Melky Cabrera
Melky Astacio Cabrera is a Major League Baseball outfielder for the San Francisco Giants.-Minors:Cabrera was signed by the New York Yankees on November 13, 2001, at age 17...
, Nick Swisher
Nick Swisher
Nicholas Thompson "Nick" Swisher is an outfielder for the New York Yankees. Swisher is a switch hitter who throws left-handed....
, Justin Smoak
Justin Smoak
Justin Kyle Smoak is an American Major League Baseball first baseman for the Seattle Mariners.-High school career:...
, David Segui
David Segui
David Vincent Segui, is a Cuban-American former Major League Baseball first baseman. Segui played collegiate baseball for Louisiana Tech University and Kansas City Kansas Community College. During a 15-year baseball career, he played with the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Montreal Expos,...
and J. T. Snow
J. T. Snow
Jack Thomas "J. T." Snow, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball player. He played all but two games in his career as a first baseman, and played nine of his 13½ seasons with the San Francisco Giants...
(who in the final years of his career hit exclusively left-handed).
Switch-hitting pitchers are relatively rare. They include Mordecai Brown
Mordecai Brown
Mordecai Peter Centennial Brown , nicknamed "Three Finger" or "Miner", was an American Major League Baseball pitcher at the turn of the 20th century. Due to a farm-machinery accident in his youth, Brown lost parts of two fingers on his right hand and eventually acquired his nickname as a result...
, Norm Charlton
Norm Charlton
Norman Wood Charlton III , nicknamed "The Sheriff", is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds , Seattle Mariners , Philadelphia Phillies , Baltimore Orioles , Atlanta Braves , and Tampa Bay Devil Rays .Charlton holds three degrees from Rice University.The left-handed...
, Vida Blue
Vida Blue
Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. During a 17-year career, he pitched for the Oakland Athletics , San Francisco Giants , and Kansas City Royals He won the American League Cy Young award and Most Valuable Player Award in 1971...
, Marvin Rotblatt
Marvin Rotblatt
Marvin Rotblatt , nicknamed "Rotty", is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox in the , and seasons. His ERAs in 1948 and 1950 were the highest in the majors...
, Sid Monge
Sid Monge
Isidro "Sid" Monge Pedroza is a retired Major League Baseball relief pitcher with a ten-year career from 1975 to 1984...
, Johnny Vander Meer, J.C. Romero
J.C. Romero
Juan Carlos Romero is a Puerto Rican professional baseball pitcher. He has played for the Minnesota Twins , the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim , the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies and Colorado Rockies....
, Kyle Snyder
Kyle Snyder
Kyle Ehren Snyder is an American baseball player, who is a former relief pitcher.Snyder played with the Kansas City Royals and the Boston Red Sox . He is listed at 6-8 and 220 pounds, is a switch hitter, and throws right-handed....
, Wandy Rodriguez
Wandy Rodríguez
Wandy Fulton Rodríguez is a Dominican pitcher for the Houston Astros. He is a native of Santiago Rodriguez, located in the North Region of the Dominican Republic.-Playing career:...
, Troy Patton
Troy Patton
Troy Jamieson Patton is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Baltimore Orioles. Patton attended Tomball High School in Tomball, Texas.-Baseball career:...
, Tim Dillard
Tim Dillard
Timothy Charles Dillard is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Milwaukee Brewers. He is the son of former major league infielder Steve Dillard.-College career:...
, Tyler Johnson
Tyler Johnson
Tyler James Johnson is a left-handed Major League Baseball relief pitcher who is currently a free agent.-Professional career:...
, Carlos Zambrano
Carlos Zambrano
Carlos Alberto Zambrano is a Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher with the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball. Zambrano, who stands 6' 5" and weighs 260 pounds, was signed by the Cubs as a free agent in 1997 and made his debut in 2001...
, Dock Ellis
Dock Ellis
Dock Phillip Ellis, Jr. was a professional baseball player who pitched for the Pittsburgh Pirates, among other teams in Major League Baseball. His best season was 1971, when he won 19 games for the World Series champion Pirates and was the starting pitcher for the National League in the All-Star...
, Anthony Claggett
Anthony Claggett
Anthony Paul Claggett is an American Major League Baseball pitcher who is currently with the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.-Career:...
, Kris Medlen
Kris Medlen
Kristopher Allen Medlen is a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Atlanta Braves.-Professional career:Medlen was drafted by the Braves in the 10th round of the 2006 Major League Baseball Draft....
, and Drew Storen
Drew Storen
Drew Patrick Storen is an American baseball relief pitcher for the Washington Nationals. The Nationals selected the 6'1" 170 lb. right-hander No. 10 overall in the 2009 Major League Baseball Draft...
. Joaquín Andújar
Joaquín Andújar
Joaquín Andújar is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher who became one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball while playing with the St. Louis Cardinals in the mid-80s.-Early years:...
sometimes hit right-handed against lefties, sometimes left-handed.
Management also had a say in the switch-hitting careers of Bob Gibson
Bob Gibson
Robert "Bob" Gibson is a retired American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Hoot" and "Gibby", he was a right-handed pitcher who played his entire 17-year Major League Baseball career with St. Louis Cardinals...
and Dwight Gooden
Dwight Gooden
Dwight Eugene Gooden , nicknamed "Doc Gooden" or "Dr. K", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He was one of the most dominant and feared pitchers in the National League in the middle and late 1980s.-Career:...
. Both Gibson and Gooden—each right-handed, and a fine hitting pitcher—had reached the major leagues as a switch-hitter, and both their teams required them to bat only right-handed, to reduce the possibility of their pitching arms being hit by a pitch.
Criticism
It is rare for a switch hitter, even a great, Hall of Fame-caliber switch hitter, to post similar numbers (averageBatting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
, OBP
On base percentage
In baseball statistics, on-base percentage is a measure of how often a batter reaches base for any reason other than a fielding error, fielder's choice, dropped/uncaught third strike, fielder's obstruction, or catcher's interference In baseball statistics, on-base percentage (OBP) (sometimes...
, and SLG) from each side of the plate, which has led some to question whether switch-hitting is such an advantage after all. Some managers believe they are a necessary evil, essentially taking the position that switch-hitters are entirely different hitters from one side of the plate from the other and thus have different strengths and weaknesses.
There have been a few young switch-hitters who have been called up to the majors that were convinced (or told) to bat exclusively from one side of the plate, as switch-hitting can make the already complex task of hitting a baseball needlessly more complex. Mike Schmidt
Mike Schmidt
Michael Jack Schmidt is a Hall of Fame third baseman popularly considered among the greatest third basemen in the history of Major League Baseball. He played his entire career for the Philadelphia Phillies....
, the Philadelphia Phillies
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
' Hall of Fame third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
, is such an example. But on the other hand, the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
' Hall of Fame shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
Ozzie Smith
Ozzie Smith
Osborne Earl "Ozzie" Smith is an American former baseball shortstop who played in Major League Baseball for the San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals from 1978 to 1996...
, originally a right-handed hitter, taught himself to bat left-handed in his late teens. Sometimes coaches will teach a right-handed hitter to bat left-handed simply to have the extra step to first base, thereby allowing faster players to get on base more often. However this method may sacrifice contact or power until fully mastered.