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August 10, 2012

Raising Aces

Hocking LOOGYs

by Doug Thorburn


Growing up left-handed is a tough gig. We left-handers can't write a sentence in ink without needing to wash our hands, classroom scissors malfunction in our claw-like grips, and driving a stick-shift requires a certain degree of ambidexterity. In little league, defensive assignments were restricted to roaming the outfield pasture unless one happened to have a hyperactive pituitary gland, thus earning a trip to play first base with the right-handed infielders. I was able to fool one coach into putting me at catcher for a season, but that experiment was predictably short-lived.

The mound is a southpaw's chance at redemption, where the bar for lefties to gain acceptance is lowered. Left-handers sit right in the cross-hairs of the supply-demand curve in the majors due to the limited player-pool as well as a league-wide desire to exploit platoon splits (see table for 2012 figures). Just 10 percent of the world is left-handed, yet southpaws have been on the mound for 31 percent of all plate appearances this season. Lefty batters make up 44 percent of plate appearances, a function of the advantages that are inherent in a two-step head-start down the line, combined with the reality that it is much easier to switch sides of the plate than it is to alternate throwing arms.

 

AVG

OBP

SLG

OPS

RHP vs RHB

.251

.309

.397

.707

RHP vs LHB

.261

.333

.418

.751

LHP vs RHB

.260

.326

.426

.752

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<< Previous Article
Premium Article Baseball at the Olympi... (08/10)
<< Previous Column
Premium Article Raising Aces: Throwdow... (08/03)
Next Column >>
Premium Article Raising Aces: Draft Da... (08/17)
Next Article >>
What You Need to Know:... (08/13)

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