Bat Righty or Lefty?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts
  • Modal94
    Registered User
    • Nov 2018
    • 554

    Bat Righty or Lefty?

    I've been swinging righty cause that's what is natural for the better part of a year but I always messed around as a lefty and noted it was in a far better place than me swinging righty. I solely focused as a righty moving forward. Recently went to a facility with tee and hittrax that revealed things to me that I wondered if anyone has an opinion on this or experience

    The most I topped out was 82 and only hit more than 80 three times out of 132 swings and was sitting 73-78 when hitting off the tee righty. I batted lefty and I topped out at 76 but averaging 65-69. I also believe this can be improved on through experience.

    It is obvious to say to just bat righty since I hit harder but I've used my body to the most of its potential to hit hard while batting righty while batting lefty was mostly me using my hands and nothing else to get the ball out the infield and not being too far behind. Also, I feel free to just put the bat on the ball anywhere on the field lefty compared to righty where I am pull focused and can't hit the ball oppo even if I tried.
  • Bobm34
    Registered User
    • Oct 2019
    • 5

    #2
    Is there anything stopping you from continuing to work at lefty so you can ultimately be a switch hitter.

    The added benefit is the muscle symmetry you get by swinging both L and R. Practicing lefty , even if not ultimately ever equal to your righty swing , may inadvertently help your swing overall by balancing things out a bit, less susceptible to injuries etc... just a thought

    Comment

    • Modal94
      Registered User
      • Nov 2018
      • 554

      #3
      Originally posted by Bobm34 View Post
      Is there anything stopping you from continuing to work at lefty so you can ultimately be a switch hitter.

      The added benefit is the muscle symmetry you get by swinging both L and R. Practicing lefty , even if not ultimately ever equal to your righty swing , may inadvertently help your swing overall by balancing things out a bit, less susceptible to injuries etc... just a thought
      It comes down to familiarity both for myself and others. I've tried batting lefty and it didn't work out in real game scenarios. Then again, I didn't refine my skills as a lefty through cage and Tee work to the extent I did as a righty. Regardless, I'm not that far off from batting as a lefty to my righty that with a few rounds in a month, they'll be about equal and if not, more advanced.

      I'm likely to focus hitting lefty moving forward, but since the teams I played on are aware of my potential power as a RHH, they will likely balk on me doing LHH. Good thing it's the off season and I have time to learn and come back improved.

      Comment

      • bluedawg
        Registered User
        • Jun 2014
        • 1331

        #4
        i think most people are pretty dominant handed so the switch doesn't work for them. But if you can already swing it, why not? How did you fair against a pitched ball? For me, my lefty swing looks like a toddler swinging for the 1st time

        Comment

        • Modal94
          Registered User
          • Nov 2018
          • 554

          #5
          Originally posted by bluedawg View Post
          i think most people are pretty dominant handed so the switch doesn't work for them. But if you can already swing it, why not? How did you fair against a pitched ball? For me, my lefty swing looks like a toddler swinging for the 1st time
          I only batted three times as a lefty in real game pitching. All three were K's but I don't have much experience seeing the pitch coming from a different angle. However, my Right eye is more dominant than my left and I feel I can wait much longer.

          in Batting practice/cages, it varies between late and pop ups to crushing it to all fields. However, I will say that it's in far better shape at the start compared to when I began as a RHH and was all arms and having no whip or body to think of. At least I looked like Greg Bird swinging the bat, right down to the left hand coming off the bat on contact.

          Comment

          • Modal94
            Registered User
            • Nov 2018
            • 554

            #6


            Decided to post a video. I only enjoy the way my hands enter the zone and how it lingers after contact to show the path is clean, like it is following the ball.

            My complaint is how my bosy is lagging to keep up with the pitches and avoiding going all hands approach in hitting

            Comment

            • T Dot
              Coach Daddy
              • May 2019
              • 82

              #7
              One thing I discovered over the weekend is eye dominance. Which is your dominant eye? It may help to stay on the side which is your dominant eye.

              Comment

              • Modal94
                Registered User
                • Nov 2018
                • 554

                #8
                Originally posted by T Dot View Post
                One thing I discovered over the weekend is eye dominance. Which is your dominant eye? It may help to stay on the side which is your dominant eye.
                My right eye is the most dominant. My left is 25, my right is 20.

                While my hand eye coordination for lefty is not as fast to RHH, I did feel like I can wait on the ball so much longer as it reaches the plate. Next thing you know, going to get contact lenses to get 20-8 vision to improve my sight

                Comment

                • cards6
                  Registered User
                  • Feb 2014
                  • 12

                  #9
                  Eye dominance isn't necessarily which eye you see out of the best. Check out: https://www.allaboutvision.com/resou...t-eye-test.htm . Typically, you are going to see the ball better when your dominant eye is closer to the pitcher.

                  Also, if you are going to pursue hitting left handed in games, be sure and practice how to get out of the way of the ball properly. First instinct is often to turn into the pitch, because that is the direction you turned when hitting on the right side.

                  Comment

                  • Modal94
                    Registered User
                    • Nov 2018
                    • 554

                    #10
                    Originally posted by cards6 View Post
                    Eye dominance isn't necessarily which eye you see out of the best. Check out: https://www.allaboutvision.com/resou...t-eye-test.htm . Typically, you are going to see the ball better when your dominant eye is closer to the pitcher.

                    Also, if you are going to pursue hitting left handed in games, be sure and practice how to get out of the way of the ball properly. First instinct is often to turn into the pitch, because that is the direction you turned when hitting on the right side.

                    Thank you. I did the test and my right eye which had the better vision passed the exam. Hopefully this off-season lends me to finding time to get out the way. Going to hug the plate in Bp and get the muscle memory in.

                    Comment

                    • skipper5
                      Registered User
                      • Oct 2007
                      • 5334

                      #11
                      Originally posted by Modal94 View Post
                      I've been swinging righty cause that's what is natural for the better part of a year but I always messed around as a lefty and noted it was in a far better place than me swinging righty. I solely focused as a righty moving forward. Recently went to a facility with tee and hittrax that revealed things to me that I wondered if anyone has an opinion on this or experience
                      On one hand, I like your scientific attempt to figure out if you should bat lefty. It's interesting to read about it. Especially regarding eye dominance.

                      On the other hand, just bat lefty for a year and see how it works out.

                      If one year-olds were subjected to this type of analysis, they wouldn't learn how to walk until they were five.

                      I'm glad my four sons learned to walk prior to the internet.

                      Last edited by skipper5; 10-24-2019, 08:54 AM.
                      Skip

                      Comment

                      • JettSixty
                        Registered User
                        • Feb 2016
                        • 4524

                        #12
                        How old are you? What are you trying to accomplish?

                        Comment

                        • Modal94
                          Registered User
                          • Nov 2018
                          • 554

                          #13
                          Originally posted by skipper5 View Post

                          On one hand, I like your scientific attempt to figure out if you should bat lefty. It's interesting to read about it. Especially regarding eye dominance.

                          On the other hand, just bat lefty for a year and see how it works out.

                          If one year-olds were subjected to this type of analysis, they wouldn't learn how to walk until they were five.

                          I'm glad my four sons learned to walk prior to the internet.
                          I did laugh at this. It can be absurd to just expect a lot out of anyone or one's own self because of what they should be doing. The only reason I asked if I can bat lefty was that for the longest, I found I was far better on one side than the other despite my experience at the time was zilch to none.Does this had to do with body control/ambidextrous ability etc? Previous experience playing other sports? Could it be seen from a young age where despite having eye and hand dominance in one area, they prefer hitting on another side?

                          I'm using myself to figure out if there are signs that point out for me preferring one side, or if I can see it in others that might be just as talented on one side. This could all be a moot point since I'm not playing in MLB or college at the moment, just a fun league. It does make one wonder if just cause one is a righty, means they HAVE to hit righty and if eye dominance can be a huge factor?

                          Comment

                          • Modal94
                            Registered User
                            • Nov 2018
                            • 554

                            #14
                            Originally posted by JettSixty View Post
                            How old are you? What are you trying to accomplish?
                            25, never played up until year but have been watching baseball since I was 10 and been a fan for the longest. I'm more or less wanting to understand how hitting is done against live, competitive pitching, the mechanics to hit the ball hard and get a general understanding of it on video. I'm not intending to sell or do anything with it since I'm preferring to give back to my community for rec leagues or travel teams in my area at younger age to teen age. The ones I've seen are athletes and I'm just looking to see if there's anything to get them an extra edge in either technique as a pitcher or timing as a hitter.

                            Comment

                            • bluedawg
                              Registered User
                              • Jun 2014
                              • 1331

                              #15
                              Originally posted by Modal94 View Post

                              I did laugh at this. It can be absurd to just expect a lot out of anyone or one's own self because of what they should be doing. The only reason I asked if I can bat lefty was that for the longest, I found I was far better on one side than the other despite my experience at the time was zilch to none.Does this had to do with body control/ambidextrous ability etc? Previous experience playing other sports? Could it be seen from a young age where despite having eye and hand dominance in one area, they prefer hitting on another side?

                              I'm using myself to figure out if there are signs that point out for me preferring one side, or if I can see it in others that might be just as talented on one side. This could all be a moot point since I'm not playing in MLB or college at the moment, just a fun league. It does make one wonder if just cause one is a righty, means they HAVE to hit righty and if eye dominance can be a huge factor?
                              personally I think the effect of eye dominance on hitting is nonsense. I think eye dominance usually follows handedness, unless there's a disparity in vision.

                              It is interesting to think about someone with little to no prior experience still having a clear difference in ability on each side of the plate, but again that's probably related more to handedness -if you were to kick something or punch something, you would setup similarly with the dominant side as the back side.

                              Comment

                              Ad Widget

                              Collapse
                              Working...
                              X