OT: Baseball - Pablo Sandoval switch hitting

[eddief]

I am intrigued that someone who hits nearly 300 points higher left handed than he does right handed would keep trying to hit from the right side? Hard to believe if he is that effective from the left side that he would be any worse batting from the same side against left handed pitchers. Maybe he'd be even better?

http://espn.go.com/mlb/player/splits...pablo-sandoval

[bikingshearer]

Interesting question, and I have wondered the same thing.

But that is the Red Sox' problem now, along with his intransigence about his weight (which will shorten his career) and his immaturity and over-sensitivity demonstrated by him burning his bridges behind when his team was never anything but up-front with him (not always the case in Boston) and the fans adored him and never turned on him (not something for which Red Sox fans are noted; see, e.g., Buckner, Bill).

I suspect it will not end well for the Panda in BoSox land. When he goes into a hitting slump (and he will - he is a streak hitter), those fans have it in them to eat him alive. It's too bad, because he is a good and valuable player. The real problem is he is not as valuable as what the Red Sox are paying him (or what the Giants offered him) and he believes his press clippings way too much.

[paulh]

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

[Porschefan]

Well, for whatever reason, this question brought to mind another sports oddity that has puzzled me for years....

What is the problem with NBA players who can't shoot free throws? This is most pronounced in big men, but not exclusive to them. It seems to me a skill that just about anyone could develop to a proficient level--say 75% or so.

With big men, I've thought it might be analogous to me trying to get good at shooting a nerf ball--maybe the ball is just too small/light relative to their strength/size so it's hard to control? With the money they make they could hire a full-time coach to help; but even that has been tried, IIRC, with Shaq O'Neal when he was a Laker.

I know...OT, OT...but you started it!

STP

[eddief]

sit on their butts 4 days a week. Why not teach them to hit? Not sure why not.

Originally Posted by Porschefan

Well, for whatever reason, this question brought to mind another sports oddity that has puzzled me for years....

What is the problem with NBA players who can't shoot free throws? This is most pronounced in big men, but not exclusive to them. It seems to me a skill that just about anyone could develop to a proficient level--say 75% or so.

With big men, I've thought it might be analogous to me trying to get good at shooting a nerf ball--maybe the ball is just too small/light relative to their strength/size so it's hard to control? With the money they make they could hire a full-time coach to help; but even that has been tried, IIRC, with Shaq O'Neal when he was a Laker.

I know...OT, OT...but you started it!

STP

[Louis]

Originally Posted by eddief

sit on their butts 4 days a week. Why not teach them to hit? Not sure why not.

And I bet the next you're going to say is that the DH makes the AL game more interesting.

[oldpotatoe]

Originally Posted by eddief

sit on their butts 4 days a week. Why not teach them to hit? Not sure why not.

No kidding and get rid of the DH...

[unterhausen]

I agree, old, nearly washed up players making a living off of brushing people back wouldn't be able to do that

[FlashUNC]

Just what baseball needs in this post-steroid era, even less offense.

Come on out kids, watch the grandeur of a double switch and a guy limply swing at three pitches every time through the order.

[Louis]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

Come on out kids, watch the grandeur of a double switch and a guy limply swing at three pitches every time through the order.

Instead of say, some over-the-hill 265 lb guy who can barely run, who takes a mighty cut at the ball, but is unable to do anything else on the field?

[MattTuck]

Not a huge baseball fan, so this may be very ignorant.

I believe that it is a fallacy to compare the left and right handed batting averages against each other. The choice to bat on the off side may have something to do with game theory and making the opponent do something different with the pitcher (ie. keep a right or left handed pitcher in the game longer or force a switch). You'd have to include in your analysis if the batting average of the players that hit after Sandoval do better because of his switch hitting.

I'm not saying he is right to switch hit, just saying that comparing batting averages may not tell the whole story.

[ctcyclistbob]

It looks like Sandoval may hit lefty exclusively:
http://www.prosportsdaily.com/Headli...ticleId=357708

He hit lefty against a lefty pitcher yesterday due to a sore left knee, and may stay that way. Victorino has done that too, but righty (then again, when is Victorino not injured?).

I wonder where the advantage of hitting from both sides is negated because the guy is a worse hitter from one side. Pablo is 2 for 41 from the right side, so there's no advantage there and it should be an easy decision. He can most certainly hit better from the left side no matter who's pitching.

[jmoore]

There are almost certainly some situational things going on to determine if a batter hits left or right handed. There is so much minutiae in baseball that every single pitch has some sort of decision to be made.

Originally Posted by MattTuck

Not a huge baseball fan, so this may be very ignorant.

I believe that it is a fallacy to compare the left and right handed batting averages against each other. The choice to bat on the off side may have something to do with game theory and making the opponent do something different with the pitcher (ie. keep a right or left handed pitcher in the game longer or force a switch). You'd have to include in your analysis if the batting average of the players that hit after Sandoval do better because of his switch hitting.

I'm not saying he is right to switch hit, just saying that comparing batting averages may not tell the whole story.

[eddief]

Throws right, bats left...and is crushing left handed pitching this year. So he has managed to go against conventional wisdom:

One hugely noticeable improvement Crawford has made over the past few years is his ability to hit left-handed pitchers. In his first three seasons, Crawford hit just .214 against lefties (62-290), and would often be replaced against opposing southpaws to gain a more favorable matchup with a right-handed hitter.

In 2014, Crawford put all thoughts of a platoon away. He hit .320 (49-153) against left-handers with 23 RBI, and made a habit out of ruining the other teams’ left-handed specialists’ night.

This year, although it has come in a small sample size, Crawford has ripped apart opposing lefties. In 29 at-bats, he has 12 hits (.414) with two home runs and seven RBI. Just Wednesday night, Crawford went 3-3 against Los Angeles Dodgers’ left-hander Brett Anderson, including a scoreless tie-breaking RBI single. He’s 6-7 with two RBI against Anderson alone this year.

[FlashUNC]

Originally Posted by Louis

Instead of say, some over-the-hill 265 lb guy who can barely run, who takes a mighty cut at the ball, but is unable to do anything else on the field?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKAJIvQRSzE