3 The result is that over 40 percent of MLB plate appearances are taken from the left side.
#Left handed submarine pitchers plus#
When a batter hits with the platoon advantage, his on-base plus slugging percentage is more than 80 points higher than when he faces a same-handed pitcher, and left-handed batters enjoy this advantage far more often (73 percent of plate appearances) than right-handed hitters do (29 percent). The first half of this story is generally correct.
In response, the story goes, teams then stock up on left-handed pitchers to counter the advantage offenses gain from their excess of left-handed hitters. Since left-handed hitters have the platoon edge much more often than right-handed hitters, they have an edge in the competition for MLB jobs and end up overrepresented on offense. The traditional explanation has pinned responsibility on baseball’s platoon advantage, in which hitters perform better in opposite-hand matchups while pitchers have the edge in same-handed contests. What accounts for this huge surplus of southpaws? Remarkably, lefty pitchers make it to the big leagues about three times as frequently as righties, given their share of the general population. Although just 10 percent of American males throw with their left hand, fully 28 percent of innings thrown by MLB pitchers in the past decade 2 - and 29 percent of starts - came from the left side. MLB rosters reflect this preference for lefties today. Two-sport athlete Tom Glavine explained his career choice this way: “I love both sports, but the deciding factor was, being a left-handed pitcher, I had a huge advantage in baseball because of that, and I didn’t have that type of advantage in hockey.” Even a century ago, Tris Speaker expressed the sport’s reverence for southpaws - if falling short as a trade analyst - when he reportedly opined that “taking the best left-handed pitcher in baseball and converting him into a right fielder is one of the dumbest things I ever heard.” 1 Teams strive to obtain lefty pitchers, and southpaws recognize their competitive edge.
Left-handed pitching has long been one of the most prized commodities in professional baseball.
#Left handed submarine pitchers full#
Editor’s note: Read the full study, “ The Southpaw Advantage,” at FanGraphs.
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