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Lefties in Baseball

A while back, I saw Baseball Tonight comparing the best baseball players of all time, and it ended up being Alex Rodriguez (ARod) over Barry Bonds, which wasn’t surprising. Barry’s recent steroid controversies notwithstanding, ARod can field the hardest position to fill at shortstop, increasing his value.1 Even though the Yankees have him at 3rd base, it’s still harder to play 3rd than left field.

In addition, Barry isn’t a particularly good fielder. There was a time when he was, but he just doesn’t get to the same balls he used to, and his arm is simply terrible. However, Harold Reynolds didn’t cite this as the reason ARod was the better player. Instead, he said Barry was left-handed, which meant he was limited as to which positions he could play, whereas ARod could theoretically play anywhere.

Although I’ve watched baseball for quite a while, this was news to me. Why were lefties limited? My curiosity was piqued, and so I looked it up. And since there’s probably a lot of casual baseball fans out there who aren’t familiar with the whole lefty-righty issue in baseball, I decided to compile everything I found with everything I already knew into one nifty package.

Fielding Limitations

The three positions lefties generally shouldn’t play are shortstop (SS), third base (3B), and catcher (C), and the reasons are all about mechanics. When you field the ball, you ideally want to have your body square to the ball. This allows you to shift quickly to the left or the right by just a shuffle of the feet, and also means your body provides the largest surface area to block the ball, keeping the ball in front of you if it takes a bad hop (note goalies in hockey do the same thing, positioning themselves square to the shooter to block as much of the goal as possible).

However, when you throw a ball, you want your throwing arm and the matching leg to be planted in back, with your other non-dominant leg stepping in the direction of the throw. This means if you throw with your right hand, you will naturally be able to throw to your left. Indeed, if you have to, you can throw to your left across your body without moving your feet at all. Likewise, lefties throw more naturally to their right.

See where this is going? When you field a ground ball, most of the time you’re going to throw to 1st base, which for infielders will be to their left, a more natural throw for a right-hander. Lefties would have to pivot almost a full 180 degrees to make the same throw, which takes time and can be the difference between a runner being safe instead of out. Note that this is not an issue for outfielders, who don’t need to be square to the ball and wouldn’t have to turn very much to throw the ball to the infield anyway.

Now, a 3rd baseman will always be throwing the ball to his left, either to 2nd or to 1st (if he needs to go to 3rd, he just runs to the bag himself). It’s pretty much the same for a shortstop. Even if he has to throw to 3rd (which is very rare), he’s close enough that he might have enough time to pivot, and since he’s usually positioned well behind 3rd base, on the edge of the outfield, he doesn’t have to turn very far.

A 2nd baseman will be throwing to both 2nd and 1st, and a lefty will have an advantage throwing to 2nd and a disadvantage throwing to 1st. Although the latter is a lot more common, the throw to first is much shorter than for a 3rd baseman or shortstop (and like the shortstop throwing to third, doesn’t require much of a pivot), so being a lefty is not as much of a disadvantage. Meanwhile, a lefty is perfectly fine at 1st base. When the play’s at first, he either runs to the bag himself, or make an underhand flip to the pitcher as he runs to cover the bag. Indeed, being a lefty 1st baseman is actually an advantage, since it makes it easier to throw to 2nd and turn the 3-6-1 double-play (DP)2, and it’s also slightly easier to transition from holding a runner on to fielding the position.

For catchers, the reasons are a little less intuitive, but it’s mostly about throwing out base-stealers. Although 2nd base requires an equal shift of 90 degrees for both lefties and righties, a throw to 3rd base is much more natural for a righty than a lefty (note you can’t steal 1st, and both lefties and righties are generally facing 1st by the time they field a bunt). In addition, most batters are right-handed, and thus, from the catcher’s perspective, stand to the left of the plate when batting. This would be in the way of the arm of a lefty, who thus has to shift to the right before throwing out a base-stealer.

And of course, because of all this, it’s hard for little-leaguers to get lefty catcher’s mitts, which are very different from the mitts of any other position. Although outfielder and infielder gloves are slightly different, you can generally get by with a generic mitt. A catcher’s mitt, however, has to have extra padding to withstand the punishment of pitching, and thus is always specialized. Therefore, young lefty ballplayers are generally discouraged from playing catcher. Note that, thankfully, none of this applies to slow-pitch softball, where my lefty wife has fielded the catching position very ably.

The lefty-righty matchup

Of course, for those fairly new to baseball, it might seem puzzling why there are so many left-handed baseball players in the first place, especially in light of the above limitations. Well, one of the first things you should learn as a baseball fan is that lefty batters do better against righty pitchers, and vice versa. The reasons for this are myriad. First of all, pitches do curve in the air. Anyone who plays tennis or ping-pong is well aware of the effect that spin has on a ball. A ball with top-spin (i.e. spinning in the same direction as it would be if it were rolling) has a downward tendency (sinker), and a ball with backspin has an upward tendency (rising fastball — no it doesn’t actually rise, but it doesn’t fall as much as it should). This is due to the Magnus force.

Now, a slider is thrown with sidewise spin. A righty throws this so that his fingers come around the right side of the ball such that the you see the seams of the ball moving left to right (or counter-clockwise, if viewing the ball from the top). This imparts a Magnus force to the left (or to the right, from the batter’s perspective). Likewise, the curveball (the other most commonly thrown breaking ball) has a spin that’s a cross between a slider and a sinker, so a righty’s curveball would curve down and to the left (here’s some diagrams of various pitches showing how the spin looks from the batter’s perspective, along with the direction of the Magnus force).

While it is possible to throw a ball with the opposite spin (screwball), this exerts a lot more wear and tear on a pitcher’s arm, shortening their careers. Since pitching is such a prized commodity, pitchers are strongly discouraged from throwing that pitch (indeed, young arms are discouraged from throwing anything but fastballs until they reach the professional level). So just remember that a righty’s breaking balls will curve to the left, and a lefty’s will curve to the right.

Now note that a righty’s breaking balls will curve in towards a lefty batter (who, from the pitcher’s perspective, stands on the left side of the plate) but tail away from a righty batter. It’s generally easier to hit a ball that’s always coming towards you than a ball that comes towards you and then tails away. When you watch a baseball game, note how often batters swing and miss at breaking balls that curve away from them (often out of the strike zone) versus how few batters swing and miss at breaking balls that curve in toward them. Also note that a breaking ball is, for most pitchers, harder to control than a fastball, and throwing a breaking ball that breaks in towards a batter risks hitting them. And since breaking balls are typically slower than fastballs, most pitchers don’t like to throw them into the strike zone.

Some also make the argument that it’s easier for a lefty batter to see the ball sooner from the hand of a righty pitcher, but I personally can’t understand why that’d be so, as it seems counterintuitive. Regardless, if you look at the split stats, lefty batters historically hit significantly better against righties, and righty batters hit better against lefties. This is why some teams platoon a righty and a lefty at the same position, starting the lefty when the other teams starts a righty pitcher, and vice versa. Note the Giants did this with J.T. Snow and Andres Galarraga at 1st base last year, and are doing this with Michael Tucker and Dustan Mohr in RF (at least, until Tucker got so hot that they couldn’t afford to bench him).

It’s also why managers like to mix up the lineup so that the lefties and righties aren’t bunched up. This makes it harder for the other team to call on a bullpen arm that matches up well with all the batters they are likely to face. Of course, bullpens are deep enough nowadays that the pitching manager will sometimes still insist on getting the matchup anyway by bringing in one bullpen arm after another, even if they each face a single batter. And some managers will overdo this to the point of putting in a player with a good matchup, but who are so much worse than the player they are replacing that they are still less likely to succeed (of course, the risk-reward of conventional vs. unconventional management is a topic for another time).

Batting Advantages

The main reason why lefty batters are so prized is, of course, that the majority of pitchers are righties. But there are also some subtle advantages inherent to left-handed batters. Most batters tend to pull the ball, or hit the ball slightly early. For reasons I’m not sure of, it’s a lot easier to hit the ball harder when you pull it.3 For righties, this sends the ball towards left field, and for lefties, towards right field.

Now, with a runner on first base, a ball hit to RF is worth more than a ball hit to LF because the runner is a lot more likely to make it all the way to 3rd base, which is much farther from RF than LF (this is why you want a good arm in RF, like Vlad Guerrero or Jose Cruz, Jr.). In addition, a runner on first or second is more likely to be able to advance on a ground ball hit to the right side of the infield (behind the runner) than the left side, because remember most fielders are right-handed who can more smoothly throw to their left. Certainly, if the ball gets to them with enough time, they’ll pivot and get the lead runner, but you’ve got a good chance that this won’t happen. This is why a lot of managers prefer to have a lefty as their #2 hitter in the lineup, whose main job is to move the leadoff guy over. Note that J.T. Snow filled that role pretty well last year, and Michael Tucker has been doing it this year.

In addition, lefties start out in the batters box that is closer to first, which allows them to drag bunt and start to turn and run towards 1st base much earlier than righties. Also, a normal swing takes their momentum towards 1st base, which also gives them a headstart. So a lefty batter with speed will likely get a lot more infield hits than an equivalent righty. Some people also claim that lefties are better at hitting low balls, but I don’t understand why that’d be the case.

Pitching Advantages

Given that most batters are righties, it would seem unlikely that a lefty pitcher would have an advantage. Yet somehow, they do. Lefty pitchers and teams with lefty pitchers win more often. I mean, just look at Kirk Rueter, who, judging from his repertoire of pitches, should be below-average. Yet every year, Woody wins more games than he loses, which always confounds the stat-heads.

One obvious reason lefty pitchers have an advantage is that, when a runner is at first base, it’s easier for lefties to keep him close. This is because a lefty pitcher in the stretch position4 will be facing first base, and thus he doesn’t have to turn around to make a pickoff throw to first. In addition, they can have a pickoff move that no righty can use: lift the right knee as if they’re going to pitch, but then step towards first and throw there5. Another advantage is that they tend to face more righty batters (opposing managers will play as many righties against a lefty as possible, especially if they have a platoon somewhere). And remember that righties are less likely to advance a runner.

However, these are pretty small advantages. Most baseball people believe that the main reason they do better is because a lefty pitcher will throw a ball with more natural movement.

True or false: Left-handers cannot throw a ball straight.

True, says former major league catcher Tim McCarver.

“They’ve got a natural tail on every ball they throw,” McCarver said. “I’m not talking myth here.”

False, says former major league lefthander Tug McGraw.

It is all an optical illusion, McGraw said. Left-handers look different because they are the minority, McGraw said. Their pitches seem to move more than they really are.

Most baseball people agree with McCarver, with the reasons ranging from the force of the Earth’s movement in the Northern Hemisphere to deliveries.
…
Former major league manager and pitching coach Ray Miller said left-handers probably gain a “body lean” as they cope with a right-handed world. That gives left-handed pitchers the lower release point and allows left-handed batters to handle low pitches.

The lower release point gives the pitches more movement, making the left-hander more effective.

I highly doubt the Coriolus Effect has anything to do with it, and the “body lean” seems unlikely, but my guess is that lefty pitchers just have slightly different mechanics. Note that when a left-handed person writes on a piece of paper, they tend to hold the pen and paper at a much different angle than a righty. It’s generally not even close to a mirror image. I don’t know why (maybe it has to do with coping with a right-handed world), but my guess is their natural throwing motion is also somewhat skewed. And for a pitcher, skewed is good.

So there you have it. If you’re somewhat new to baseball or a casual fan, hopefully you can use this to shut up a baseball snob who’s trying to lord their knowledge over you. And I hope it gives you a taste of the depth and subtlety in the game that isn’t readily apparent to many people.

¹ In baseball, unlike many other sports, players play both offense and defense, and the field is too large for a defense to really rotate on the fly to adjust to a play (although rotation plays do exist, they all involve players either moving before the pitch is thrown, or positioned far from their normal spots). So players generally specialize at one defensive position, and some positions are harder to play than others. For example, shortstop, center field, catcher, third base, right field, and second base require much more athletic ability than left field or first base. The main challenge facing baseball GMs and coaches are how to field the optimal team that can both hit and field, since you have only a few spaces where you can put a great hitter who’s also a poor fielder without severely impacting your defense. One reason I dislike the DH rule is that it makes this challenge much easier. Return.

² Eventually, I’ll write a full post on scoring baseball, but for now, note that fielders were traditionally assigned numbers 1-9. The origins of this are unclear, but they’ve stuck through time. 1: pitcher, 2: catcher, 3: 1st base, 4: 2nd base, 5: 3rd base, 6: shortstop, 7: left field, 8: center field, 9: right field. It sorta makes sense if you picture a baseball field and imagine connecting the dots through all the fielders in order. Plays are scored by the number of each fielder touching the ball. For example, the most common double-play (DP) is shortstop flipping to 2nd who throws to 1st, or 6-4-3. When a first baseman turns a double play, he usually throws to the shortstop at 2nd who throws back to the pitcher covering first (I’ll cover the reasons behind this some other time, but you should be able to think through it, especially if you watch it in action). Thus, a 3-6-1 DP. Return.

³ My guess is that it has to do with a batter’s timing — if a batter tries to hit it to the opposite field (“hitting the other way”), they have to consciously wait a little longer, and it’s probably harder to swing the bat as quickly when you have to wait, reducing your power. Despite this, it’s a valuable skill for a righty batter to have for reasons I get to in the next paragraph. Return.

⁴ The most natural way to pitch is the wind-up, where you rock back, put your hands over your head, and then plant your foot behind the rubber as you rock forward and your hands come down. This gives you some forward momentum that helps your velocity. However, this takes too much time with a runner on, who could easily steal the base. So pitchers tend to pitch from the stretch, which means standing sidewise with their back foot already on the bag. Then they just lift their front foot and throw. Some relievers pitch purely from the stretch all the time, since they’re so used to coming in with runners on. Return.

⁵ Andy Pettitte is the master of this move. Most fans don’t understand the balk rule correctly. There are two ways to correctly do a pickoff throw (do it wrong, and every baserunner gets to advance one base, even if they’re at third). The first way is to take your back foot off the rubber, at which point you can throw to any base you want. The second way is to start your pitching motion by lifting your front leg, but then stepping with that leg towards the base to which you want to throw before making the throw. Some pitchers cheat this by stepping 45 degrees between home and first, but some umps won’t let you get away with that (I know Damian Moss did that a lot and sometimes got called for it). Return.