Why do pitchers often bat with the opposite hand they pitch with?
445178
They don't any more than any other player, but if they did it would be because they thought they could hit better.\n\nHitting lefty if you throw righty is a bit better if you are a weak hitter because your dominant eye is on the side that you use to throw, and for a weak hitter it is best for the dominant eye to be nearest the incoming ball. Also, the arm towards the pitcher is the most important arm because it does most of the work in guiding the batt onto the ball. If you don't make contact, it doesn't matter how hard you swing. For most pitchers, just making contact is a great success, so they work on that first.\n\nAll the BULL about protecting the pitching arm is just guessing, and guessing wrong. Pitchers "bail out" at anything remotely near them, and the umpires are particularly sensitive about allowing the pitcher on the mound throw near the pitcher in the batters box.\n\nI should know. I was a pitcher who could hardly hit anything righty, but I had some success hitting lefty with better batt control. It never went very far when I hit it, but at least I made contact occassionally.
523948
This happens when the baseball player has the option of getting the out in multiple places.  For example, a ball is hit to the short stop and there was a man on first.  In this case, the short stop could throw the ball to second or first base and get the out.
466632
location location location....scouts also love a left handed pitcher
1056290
Tradition. That way the 1B can begin infield warm-ups with the other infielders while his pitcher is warming up, without yelling at someone to throw him a ball.
785842
Both the pitcher and the catcher exert an equal impulse on the ball to change its momentum.  The pitcher applies a force over a certain length of time to accelerate the ball and change its momentum....then the catcher reverses the change in momentum by exerting another force over a certain length of time.\n\nHowever, the different between what the pitcher does and what the catcher does is the length of time the total impulse is delivered.  The pitcher has a "windup" and "pitch" to accelerate the ball....which takes a comparatively much longer period of time than the split second the catcher stops the ball in.\nThe catcher must exert a much greater force over a shorter length of time to stop the ball compared to the pictures smaller force applied over a longer period of time.\n\nAt any given time, there is some force F acting on the ball, but over time as the force is applied, an overall impulse is applied on the ball to change its momentum.  Force more of an instantaneous concept, compared to impulse which takes into account the time it takes to apply the force.
502317
A few reasons. 1). The five man rotation which cuts down a pitcher's starts to around 30-32 games a season. Up until the start of the 162 game era, pitchers could routinely pitch 38-40+ games a year. Cy Young started 906 games in his 20+ years as a pitcher. 2). To protect their multi-million $ investments, teams "baby" their pitchers so they rarely pitch on less than 3-4 days rest or throw in between starts. Which leads to 3). More time on the DL (and less starts) because they don't throw as much to build up arm strength and brings us to 4).The pitch count. You think Warren Spahn was ever pulled after throwing 110 pitches? Which gave birth to 5). The advent of the middle relief specialists. You can thank Tony LaRussa for bringing in a left handed reliever in the 7th to face one batter. Go 8 innings with the lead and you control your chance to win. Get pulled in the 6th or 7th and you leave it to a guy who couldn't cut it as a starter. A 20 game winner used to be the gold standard. Now it's 15. Who said today's players are much better than the players from the past?
68066
The typical offence is to have a hitter on the left (power) side, a middle hitter, and a right (weak) side hitter.  For most people, it is most natural to approach the set coming from the left, which is generally easier to hit when you're right handed.  The setter is then best situated on the right side of the court so that when facing towards the power hitter (generally a better hitter than the right side), you are also facing the middle hitter, so you have two options when setting in front of you (the easier set).  The other option being a backset to the right side hitter, which is not as accurate since you cannot see the hitter behind you.
863529
I know what you're asking for, but I don't think I can give you a great answer.  The best way I can think of answering your question is that you are trying to make contact with the ball; you are trying to strike it with the bat.  You swing and miss or do not swing at a potential good pitch, which will equal to your first attempt of striking the ball.\n\nHa ha ha.....not sure if that's true, but after I read this, surprises me..sounds like it's the right answer.
594342
General agreement among coaches is, it takes too much time for a left-hander to set and throw across the field to 1st base compared to a right-handers on short ground balls. 3rd base is not as bad as 2nd or shortstop, but all three take an extra second or two to turn and position the lead shoulder toward 1st base for a strong throw. On the other hand, Left-handers make excellent 1st basemen and are often part of strong double play combos! I am left handed, and played short and 3rd through little league. As the speed of the game increased in high school and college, I was converted to an outfielder. You just don't get as much behind the ball on your throws, if you can't turn and throw off your back foot. The only problem with catching as a left-hander is you are always having to step to the right (away from a right handed batter) to throw to second. Once again it costs you a second or two that can be the difference between throwing a runner out or not.
318253
The last answer was almost right, but not quite. Usually, a pitcher's breaking ball will break away from a similarly handed batter i.e. a southpaw's curve will tail away from a left handed batter and into a righty. Matching up like this helps minimize the hitter's power, as the hitter has to either take the pitch the other way or try to turn it over, which leads to a lot of ground balls on the hitter's pull-side. It's a lot harder to hit an opposite field homerun than to pull a curve a little inside and take it a long way.
439516
This full phrase is, "turn the ball over."\n\nThere are two meanings, but I'll give you the one that directly pertains.\n\nTo "turn the ball over" means that a pitcher rotates his wrist as he releases the ball, making it stay low in the strike zone.\n\nThe other phrase involves turning so there is a reverse spin, but I think the first definition is the one you want.
456723
Ok I was a left-handed pitcher and just graduated after playing in college. The best source in baseball right now for pitching is Tom House. If you are really serious about becoming a good pitching coach you'd learn as much about him as possible -- buying one of his recent books is a great option. He is not only a former baseball pitcher / pitching coach, but also has a Phd in bio kinetics. He was Nolan Ryan's, Randy Johnson's, Curt Schilling's, etc. pitching coach. For quick refence I'll go over three things: mental aspect, mechanics, and drills. \n\n1. Mental aspect. Pitching is all mental. It is as much about confidence as anything. A good pitcher is not just talented physically but also understands a batter's stregnths and weaknesses and exploits them. He also follows these goals...\n\nA.Get ahead in the count (throw a first pitch strike)\nB.Get the first out of the inning (this takes away the opposing team's ability to play small-ball)\nC.When you get a hitter 0-2 change head or change feet. That means make them reach for a pitch off the plate or brush them back inside -- this choice will become more clear when you know the hitter.\nD. Never commit a cardinal sin of pitching (0-2 to 3-2 or even worse a walk, 0-2 hard contact -- they should never hit an 0-2 pitch hard if at all, lead-off walk)\nE. Pitch down in the zone and on the corners\nF. Have command of three pitches (i.e. fastball, breaking pitch, change-up)\nG. Know the how attributes of pitches rank (1. Location, 2. Movement, 3. Velocity -- don't try to overthrow the ball)\n\n2. Mechanics\n\nA. Have good posture and good balence (be over the center of gravity, pitch off your toes not your heels)\nB. Throw with equal and opposite (if front side is high back side is low)\nC. Stay in the box keep your front elbow between your shoulder and your hips at all times, don't pull it out of the that box on follow through -- it will move the release point)\nD. Keep your head still (1 inch of head movement moves release point 2 inches...something like that not positive)\nE. IMPORTANT Throw to your glove. Hold your front side glove out, push it closer to the plate, and aim it where you want the pitch to go. When you throw move your throwing arm to the mit. It is like a site on a gun. The front side (glove) is a muzzle, your arm is the bullet. Point the muzzle and direct the bullet to it. If you miss low push out farther with your front side. The farther you extend your front glove the closer you throw to the plate, which creates preceived velocity. A good drill for this is the Towel Drill.\nF. Step over the buck with your back foot when you follow through. \nG. When you throw a curveball you wrist should be at full pronation. When you throw the pitch you do a karate chop motion. Your fingers shoould be folded over the ball. \nH. When you throw a curveball hold it in your glove a second longer before you part your hands.\nI. Change-ups are thrown with full supination -- like a screwball. Drop your thumb to your hip -- set that angle and keep it, unless you do that the pitch will be ineffective and will hurt your arm. (a left handers thumb will be facing first base at release, a right hander will face third)\nJ. Pitches are more a matter of arm angle than grip. \n\n3. Drills \n\nA. Towel Drill -- Go through your motion with an 18-inch towel held with your middle finger 6 inches down. Mark off full extension and have a buddy hold out his glove there. Try to slap his glove with the towel. If you can, move your buddy back and try again. This will help extension and is also a good way to solidify mechanics without pitching a ball. \n\nB. Knees -- start each day throwing all your pitches from both knees (both knees on the ground). This should isolate the upper body and allow you to get a feel for your pitches and help solidify release point. \n\nC. Hat drill -- Take off your hat and put it about 15 feet in front of you. Have your buddy do the same. T
1046586
I didn't even know that there weren't left handed catchers.  According this website that I just found alot of it is just tradition but there is a perception that it would be more difficult for them to throw to third.  You can read all about left handed catchers here :\nhttp://members.tripod.com/bb_catchers/catchers/catchleft.htm\n\nLearn something new everyday.
1070390
No way, it just seems wrong. Its bad enough to get one base for a pitch that grazes a uniform, or a guy walking because he stands at the plate with his knees touching his chest. Too much cheap crap in sports today, lets not make it any easier, especially in baseball, the pitching "talent pool" is in sad shape as it is, dont make it any harder for them.
414821
im also a lefty, i used to hit the batter more than i threw a ball, but anyway now when i warmup and practice i exaggerate every movement i make and that helps alot, but when you're throwing and you have your arm behiend you should try to reach back as far as you can and place the ball on second base.
199646
Because most people are right-handed.  Because lefty's like myself are weird.  Give me a break!
1011191
first answer was correct, the bat handles are so thin today, it's hard to believe that the bats don't break every time a hitter makes contact with the ball...\n\nThe batters want as light a bat as possible, but rather than sacrifice wood in the sweet spot area, they take it out of the handle area.