Left hand vs. right hand?

Question

Is there any truth to the notion that southpaws are better athletes than right handed people?

Answer 1

No. I am left handed and I was an athlete so I can speak from experience.

Being left handed is an great advantage in some sports especially sports where you compete against another person. For the most part, the advantage amounts to how rarely a Rightie plays a Leftie. Righties aren't used to playing against Lefties (male Lefties constitute 10-12% of the male population and female Lefties constitute 8 - 10% of the female population). So Righties don't usually know how to deal with us. That is the main advantage that applies across most sports. There are other advantages that apply specifically to a particular sport.

Three sports where the advantage is quite apparent are boxing, baseball and tennis.

In Boxing (and in fencing) a right handers offense and defense are intended to work against another right hander. A Leftie can utterly confuse a Rightie if they haven't been trained in how to handle a Leftie.

In Baseball, Lefties have an advantage because we get used to seeing right handed pitching and because a right handed pitcher's "slider" comes in to us (which makes it much easier to hit). A Leftie pitcher has advantages also. (However in Baseball there are also disadvantages - we are limited to which infield base we are allowed to play and our gloves cost almost double.)

In Tennis, we have two main advantages. One, our serves curve in the opposite direction from a Righties. Second, it skews a Righties strategy. Our supposedly strong hand stroke, the forehand, is where a Righties supposedly weak hand stroke (the backhand) is.

But there is no advantage in sports like Track and Field or Golf. There are a few cases where a Leftie is at a disadvantage. Bowling is a good example. Because there are so many Righties compared to Lefties, on older bowling alleys, there is a (strike ball) grove worn into the alley on the Rightie side. This helps the Rightie have a higher score without having to be as skillful. There is no grove worn in the left side of an alley. Without the grove, you are more susceptible to alley conditions and must be a more skillful bowler to obtain the same score as a Righie. You must also own your own bowling ball because "house ball" finger holes are not drilled for Lefties.

I played tennis at a high amateur level and I taught tennis professionally. I played fast pitch softball, handball and many other sports. I was taught to think and use my left handedness to my advantage. Because of that, I won over many Righties who were actually better athletes.

Answer 2

No but they do some things better than righties. Like hitting baseballs. They are harder to hit as well.
How many left handed QB's have won Superbowls?
How many have won the Cy Young?

Not many of either.

Answer 3

not better, its just that in stuff like baseball, for a righty it's harder to hit a ball pitched by southpaws because of the angle or whatever but anyway, it doens't go the same way that a ball pitched by a righty would so it messes them up. however, left handed ppl are strongly thought of to have a more creative mind, lots of famous ppl were lefties, leanardo da vinci michaelangelo and multiple blockbuster actors.

Answer 4

i think that it doesnt matter wether your right or left handed or male or female...if your good @ a sport well great and if your not u will greatly improve if u practice,try hard,and believe in yourself...and if u still suck at it after all that then its just not your thing...p.s.Leftys Rule!!!

Answer 5

NOPE IT DOSENT MATTER ITS JUST EASIER IN BASEBALL IM A RIGHTIE SO I SHOULD KNOW THE ADVANTAGE IS THAT PEOPLE WHO ARE RIGHT HANDED ARE MORE COMFORTABLE WRIGHTING THEN LEFTIES

Answer 6

I do not think so, it seems like one of those "post hoc ergo propter hoc" aguments. . . . . There is not really a co-relation.

Answer 7

right hand

Answer 8

NO