Why do left-handed pitchers throw slower?

As righty batters are much more accustomed to facing righty pitchers, the natural movement from a lefty appears foreign and difficult to gauge. Thus, lefty pitchers often perform slightly better than righty pitchers even if throwing a bit slower.

Why is it easier for a right-handed batter to hit a left-handed pitcher?

A right-handed batter has to lunge after an outside pitch and has a weaker swing as a result. But those same breaking pitches will curve toward a lefty, thus making them easier to hit. The same principle applies to left-handed pitchers against right-handed batters.

Do left-handed pitchers throw faster?

From 2007 to 2019, left-handers registered a substantially lower velocity for every type of pitch tracked, including not only higher-velocity pitches like fastballs and sinkers, but also sliders, changeups and curves. Southpaws were much less likely than RHPs to average 93 mph or more on their fastball (27 percent vs.

Why do right-handed pitchers throw harder than left-handed pitchers?

Why is that? Here’s what Bill James had to say: Right-handers do throw much harder than left-handers, as major league pitchers. The reason is that, in a counter-clockwise game, being left-handed is a significant advantage.

Are left-handed pitchers rare?

Lefty hitters have a bigger advantage against right-handed pitchers than righty hitters have against lefty pitchers. And since left-handed pitchers are the rarest of these “demographic” groups, they are the most valuable.

Why do lefty pitchers have an advantage?

Traditionally, left-handed pitchers have an advantage over right-handed pitchers simply because most batters have not faced as many left-handed throwers in their lifetime to adequately adjust to seeing the pitches coming out of a left hand.

Why are left-handed pitchers called southpaws?

Supposedly, late 19th-century ballparks were laid out so that the pitcher looked in a westerly direction when facing the batter. The throwing arm of a left-handed pitcher would then be to the south-hence the name southpaw.

Do left-handed pitchers have a southpaw advantage?

This “southpaw advantage” is substantial enough to generate a large surplus of lefty pitchers on rosters and shape the game in profound ways. Indeed, our analysis suggests that a substantial majority of MLB left-handed pitchers could not survive in the majors if they threw right-handed but had otherwise identical talent.

Do left-handed pitchers suffer from poor pitch movement?

Pitch movement is just another arena of right-handed pitcher superiority. The performance metrics all point to the same conclusion: When a left-hander is on the mound, the quality of pitches suffers considerably. This skills gap makes perfect sense given lefties’ overrepresentation relative to their share of the general population.

Do left-handed pitchers have a platoon advantage?

On the field, what matters is that left-handed pitchers (LHPs) only enjoy the platoon advantage 29 percent of the time, far less than the 53 percent rate for right-handed pitchers (RHPs). 4 Over the past 10 seasons.

Do we have receipts for handedness and pitching?

But as the kids say, we have receipts. At the heart of the mystery of handedness and pitching lies a crucial but underappreciated distinction: outcomes vs. pitch quality. MLB left-handers are just as successful as right-handers at retiring batters, but they are not truly peers when it comes to throwing a baseball.