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Hello Baseball Fever Fans:
One of the most common questions at Baseball Almanac is whether or not my left-handed child can play catcher in the Major Leagues. An excellent reply to this was made on Yahoo! and it read / answered why not as follows:
Two words: stolen bases.
If you're a student of baseball, then you know that the catcher has many different duties: choosing pitches and signalling them to the pitcher; catching pitches; fielding pop-ups and bunts; tagging runners at the plate; and finally, perhaps the most difficult task, throwing runners out when they attempt to steal second or third base.
The very best catchers in the Major Leagues rarely throw out even half of the runners that attempt stolen bases. A slow delivery from the pitcher, an off-speed pitch, a pitch in the dirt, or, of course, a speedy runner -- any of these complications can make retiring a runner a difficult proposition.
So, you ask, how does being left-handed interfere with throwing out baserunners? It has to do with the fact that most batters are right-handed and therefore stand in the batter's box on the left side of home plate. A left-handed catcher would need to throw through that batter's box or move over and throw directly over the plate -- added problems that would hinder even the most talented athlete.
Since most baseball coaches, from Little League to the Majors, are aware of the inherent difficulties of left-handed catching, they undoubtedly encourage talented southpaws to find other positions on the diamond -- outfield, first base, or even pitcher, where left-handedness is largely viewed as a competitive advantage.
So, there you have it. The subtleties of handedness when it comes to being a baseball catcher. Other positions where left-handedness is all but unheard of: third base and shortstop.
Lefty catchers are rare, but that's not to say that no left-handers have ever played the position. According to sites we found by searching on "left-handed catchers," both Mike Squires and Dale Long moved over from their regular positions and played multiple games at catcher.
Perhaps most interesting was our discovery that the game's greatest player, Babe Ruth, was a left-handed catcher. At the National Sports Gallery, we learned that a young Babe caught left-handed, despite the lack of equipment. In his own words:
"We had no catcher's mitt built for left handers, of course. We were lucky to have any kind of mitt. I'd used the regular catcher's mitt on my left hand, received the throw from the pitcher, take off the glove and throw it back to him left handed. When I had to throw to a base, trying to catch a runner, I'd toss the glove away, grab the ball with my left hand and heave it with everything I had."
Answers a lot of things, but can they play or not? This led me to wonder and I've put together the following chart. It is a list of every left-handed player to catch in a Major League game. The list is ordered by number of games caught with ties alphabetized and links to player stats for further research.
1,073 Clements, Jack
272 Trott, Sam
202 Tate, Pop
186 Sutcliffe, Sy
128 Harbridge, Bill
99 Hines, Mike
75 Humphries, John
71 Tenney, Fred
52 Twineham, Art
50 Baker, Phil
45 Donahue, Jiggs
35 Oldfield, Dave
34 Householder, Charlie
21 Malone, Fergy
16 McMahon, Jack
12 Krehmeyer, Charlie
7 Wall, Joe
3 DiStefano, Benny
3 Hillebrand, Homer
2 Egan, Jim
2 Long, Dale
2 Squires, Mike
1 Cassidy, John
1 Eden, Charlie
1 Marr, Lefty
1 Mullen, John
1 Powell, Martin
1 Redmon, Billy
1 Short, Chris
Hope you enjoyed this Baseball Fever exclusive!
Sean
PS: In closing I leave you with the following Stengelese, "Left-handers have more enthusiasm for life. They sleep on the wrong side of the bed, and their heads get more stagnant on that side."
PSS: No, I am not left handed
One of the most common questions at Baseball Almanac is whether or not my left-handed child can play catcher in the Major Leagues. An excellent reply to this was made on Yahoo! and it read / answered why not as follows:
Two words: stolen bases.
If you're a student of baseball, then you know that the catcher has many different duties: choosing pitches and signalling them to the pitcher; catching pitches; fielding pop-ups and bunts; tagging runners at the plate; and finally, perhaps the most difficult task, throwing runners out when they attempt to steal second or third base.
The very best catchers in the Major Leagues rarely throw out even half of the runners that attempt stolen bases. A slow delivery from the pitcher, an off-speed pitch, a pitch in the dirt, or, of course, a speedy runner -- any of these complications can make retiring a runner a difficult proposition.
So, you ask, how does being left-handed interfere with throwing out baserunners? It has to do with the fact that most batters are right-handed and therefore stand in the batter's box on the left side of home plate. A left-handed catcher would need to throw through that batter's box or move over and throw directly over the plate -- added problems that would hinder even the most talented athlete.
Since most baseball coaches, from Little League to the Majors, are aware of the inherent difficulties of left-handed catching, they undoubtedly encourage talented southpaws to find other positions on the diamond -- outfield, first base, or even pitcher, where left-handedness is largely viewed as a competitive advantage.
So, there you have it. The subtleties of handedness when it comes to being a baseball catcher. Other positions where left-handedness is all but unheard of: third base and shortstop.
Lefty catchers are rare, but that's not to say that no left-handers have ever played the position. According to sites we found by searching on "left-handed catchers," both Mike Squires and Dale Long moved over from their regular positions and played multiple games at catcher.
Perhaps most interesting was our discovery that the game's greatest player, Babe Ruth, was a left-handed catcher. At the National Sports Gallery, we learned that a young Babe caught left-handed, despite the lack of equipment. In his own words:
"We had no catcher's mitt built for left handers, of course. We were lucky to have any kind of mitt. I'd used the regular catcher's mitt on my left hand, received the throw from the pitcher, take off the glove and throw it back to him left handed. When I had to throw to a base, trying to catch a runner, I'd toss the glove away, grab the ball with my left hand and heave it with everything I had."
Answers a lot of things, but can they play or not? This led me to wonder and I've put together the following chart. It is a list of every left-handed player to catch in a Major League game. The list is ordered by number of games caught with ties alphabetized and links to player stats for further research.
1,073 Clements, Jack
272 Trott, Sam
202 Tate, Pop
186 Sutcliffe, Sy
128 Harbridge, Bill
99 Hines, Mike
75 Humphries, John
71 Tenney, Fred
52 Twineham, Art
50 Baker, Phil
45 Donahue, Jiggs
35 Oldfield, Dave
34 Householder, Charlie
21 Malone, Fergy
16 McMahon, Jack
12 Krehmeyer, Charlie
7 Wall, Joe
3 DiStefano, Benny
3 Hillebrand, Homer
2 Egan, Jim
2 Long, Dale
2 Squires, Mike
1 Cassidy, John
1 Eden, Charlie
1 Marr, Lefty
1 Mullen, John
1 Powell, Martin
1 Redmon, Billy
1 Short, Chris
Hope you enjoyed this Baseball Fever exclusive!
Sean
PS: In closing I leave you with the following Stengelese, "Left-handers have more enthusiasm for life. They sleep on the wrong side of the bed, and their heads get more stagnant on that side."
PSS: No, I am not left handed
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