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To
Switch Hit, Or Not to Switch Hit,
That is the Question…
It's amazing to me
how some topics come to me in different directions,
all around the same time.
Maybe the topic of
switch hitting has come up to me a lot lately
because the youth baseball season is fast
approaching and more people are curious.
It first started when
a good friend of the academy and future major
leaguer, Darwin Barney came into the academy the
last couple of months to work out before he reported
to spring training this year for the Cubs.
One day, he turned
around to the left side and started swinging it. I
asked him about it, and he thought that being a
switch hitter would bring more value to his club as
a ball-player. I certainly agreed. His swing looked
very good for someone who just started. We even got
him on video and looked at it on the computer,
side-by-side with his right handed swing. It was
amazing how similar the two swings were
mechanically.
The more we talked
about it, the tougher the decision it's going to be
for Darwin. He wants to make a great impression this
year on the ball club, and taking time away from
developing his right handed swing is a big concern.
I know he certainly
wishes he would have done it a lot earlier. He said
he had thought about it years ago, but it was hard
to make the switch during competition because there
was always an important game on the line and he
didn't want to do it then.
Here's a similar
question from one of the BioForce Faithful…
Bill,
My
14 year old son is a natural lefty (he eats and
writes left handed) who has always batted and
thrown right handed. Do you think it's a good
idea to teach him to switch hit? The only time
he hit left handed in a practice he hit the ball
really well.
Thanks in advance for your reply,,
John
John, I would try.
Lefties are a premium in baseball. Both hitting and
throwing. The first question to ask him is does he
want to be a switch hitter. And how bad.
Just as I wrote about
Darwin, the biggest challenge you will find is his
patience in struggling at bat and wanting to go
righty when he struggles. There's always a big game.
An inopportune to go the "weak" side. Guys on base,
opportunities to score, etc. But when is a better
time to try but when you are younger? Especially
before he gets into high school. His current coach
and future high school coaches might no have the
patience to let him struggle too. The other kids on
the team will also bark a little if he is
“experimenting” when the game is on the line.
If he can get past
that, then his overall value as a baseball player
goes way up. But those are big hurdles to get over.
That's why I asked, how bad does he want to do it.
In my mind, the answer had better be, "real bad!"
He will need to make
the commitment to do it and practice twice as much
lefty as he does righty. You'll also want to get the
body more prepared for swinging the other way. Build
the strength in the core for more power. Improve
your balance to handle the different stresses on
your body. A great way to do that is with our
Pure Power Training for Hitters and Pitcher DVD.
Click here to visit that page on our website, or
visit the
website and follow the links on the website.
Hope this helps.
What's Darwin doing
this spring with the switch hitting? Not sure, but
we'll keep you posted.
Until next time,
Train like a champion
today!
P.S. One way to help with your hitting and
switch-hitting is to get the body better prepared
for the baseball swing. Check out our
Pure Power Training for Hitters and Pitcher DVD.
Who else wants to develop more power?
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