When a right handed batter is facing a left handed pitcher, who has the advantage?

Question

I always thought the pitcher wants a batter who is the same handed as he is because the batter would think he is going to get hit by a breaking ball, is this right?

Answer 1

There are many factors that can make exceptions to this general rule. In general though, a pitcher has an advantage when facing a batter of the same handedness.

Answer 2

The Advantage goes to the batter when a LHP faces a RHB due to the fact that the batter can see the ball much easier out of a lefty's hand then with a righty. Just like a LHB is much better against a RHP for the same reason. I dont think your reasoning is right either. Batters just usually focus on a pitchers strengths and look for that pitch and the location. Some batter will cut off the plate and only look inside or outside and will get hits that way.

Answer 3

the batter has the advantage..when seeing the ball coming from the left hand, upon release the batter can see the pitchers hand easier as it is in the open, as opposed to a right handed pitcher, the ball is somewhat hidden by his body..which gives the batter less reaction time to the pitch. And yes, the breaking ball is coming into the heart of the batters zone instead of breaking away.

Answer 4

Anytime the pitcher and batter face off, the pitcher has the advantage no matter what. The hardest thing to do in sports is hit a round ball with a round bat. PERIOD!

A right handed better v. a left handed pitcher is better than a right handed batter v. a right handed pitcher. The same is true with a left handed batter v. a right handed pitcher, and here is why.

If its a RH hitter v. a LH pitcher, the batter can see the ball longer, and at a better view point than the RH pitcher. From a RH pitcher to a RH batter the ball is comming in more of a a straight line of site to you(in relation to the LH pitcher), making it harder to judge the vilocity. If your a RH batter facing a LH pitcher, now you get to see the ball at a different point of view, at a better angle. The difference could be as great as 4 feet from where the RH pitcher released the pitch. This is much like standing along side of a road watching cars go by. If you stand on the road it might be harder to tell how fast the car is approaching.

It has nothing to do with the pitches and how they break. If the ball is breaking towards you, your swing has to become unnatural in motion to make contact, often times fouling it off of your foot or leg. If the ball is breaking away from you, that motion is more natural, in regards to an inside out swing. (Rather than swinging at and outside pitch, and then it breaks in, that is harder to adjust too) Some right handed pitchers even pitch in a way that the ball starts behind your body, and then comes across your body to the plate... This can be very hard for a hitter is getting a good read on the ball... No imagine if you were a left handed batter, and how much better your line of sight would be for that same pitch...

As far as advantages, they are bigger at different levels... For example, in HS there at not as many left handed pitchers, that can have control, more than one pitch, and that throw with a decent speed, making them effective. So when a HS kids sees a LH pitcher, it is odd for the hitter and thus the pitcher has a much larger advantage here. I would guess 80 percent of HS kids (atleast here in ks) would rather face a RH pitcher, no matter what their dominate side of the plate is. As you get into college the matchups between RH and LH pitchers and hitters become more important. When you get into the pros, now you have special lineups v. RH and LH pitchers.

I hope you can make some sense out of all of that!

Answer 5

That's exactly right, the batter has a better angle to the ball when he's on the opposite side the pitcher throws from. That's why when you see switch hitters go to the plate they always bat on the opposite end that the pitchers throwing.

Answer 6

COME ON PEOPLE!!!!!!! THE ANSWER IS THE PITCHER HAS THE ADVANTAGE!!!!!! THE PITCHER ALWAYS HAS THE ADVANTAGE!!!!!!THAT IS WHY A GOOD BATTIN AVERAGE IS ONLY .300!!! APPROXIMATELY 70% OF THE TIME THE BATTER FAILS!!! THE AVERAGE FOR A RIGHT HANDED BATTER IS A LITTLE BETTER AGAINST LEFT HANDED PITCHERS BECAUSE IT NEUTRALIZES THE BREAKING BALL!! A BREAKING BALL FROM A LEFT HANDED PITCHER TO A LEFT HANDED BATTER LOOKS LIKE IT IS GOING TO HIT YOU AND THEN SUDDENLY BREAKS TOWARD THE PLATE, THEREFORE THE LEFT HANDED BATTER'S TENDANCY IS TO GO BACK ON THEIR HEELS AND FALL OFF OF THE PLATE. THUS HAVING LESS PLATE COVERAGE. HOWEVER A BREAKING BALL FROM A LEFTY TO A RIGHT HANDED BATTER DOES NOT FOOL THE BATTER AS MUCH BECAUSE THE BALL DOES NOT LOOK LIKE IT IS GOING TO HIT THEM.

THERE YOU GO!!!!!!!!! HOORAY FOR ME!!!!!! LOL

Answer 7

The left handers always have the advantage. Because there are so many right handers and so few left handers. The pitcher is much more accustomed to right handed batters than the batter is to facing left handed pitchers.

Answer 8

The batter does in both situations whether it be right vs. left, or left right. The reason is because they can see the pitch quicker and have more time to pick up on the pitch. This is why a good switch hitter can hit for a good average.

Answer 9

In this situation the batter has the advantage. He has the advantage because the pitchers curveball or slider will break towards him. This makes it easer for him to hit because the pitches don't befuddle him as much.

Answer 10

The batter its hard for a lefty to throw an oposite curve ball