This is true for baseball, tennis, soccer, bowling, and basketball. I am not sure about running. (Anyone know about runners)
Also the majority of people with IQs over 140 are left handed.
I guess I can understand why we were feared and vilified through history.
Christ, have you not read The Sports Gene yet? Rojo only recommends it like 5x a day. Anyhow, it's dealt with there.
Also, 'The Professor in the Cage' is an excellent read that deals with the left/right issue in sports.
Lebron and Larry Bird are truly ambidextrous. They write and eat with their left hands and throw and shoot with their right. You hear "ambidextrous" used for players who are right handed but can also use their left really well, but the guys I'm talking about were truly ambidextrous from birth.
For baseball, lefties have an obvious advantage. A left-handed batter has a shorter distance to first base and is therefore more likely to get a hit.
Left-handed pitchers are harder to hit because batters are not used to the ball being delivered from that side. That is, until you get into the pro and major college ranks where managers start to recruit lefties for exactly that reason.
Those factors make lefties over-represented in baseball.
In the other sports you mention (with the exception of bowling), it's simply harder to play against a left-hander because you don't see them that often.
It's more of an advantage to bat left-handed because most of the pitchers are right-handed, not because you are closer to first base. Most hits don't happen because you beat the throw to first.
It's less of an advantage to be a left-handed pitcher because most people bat right-handed.
Same hand, pitcher has the advantage. Different hand, the batter has the advantage.
Switch-hitters will always bat opposite hand of the pitcher.
All that said, good is good. Plenty of good left-handed pitchers get everyone out.
Left handers are 10% of the population.
For soccer-- depending on what line-up you play-- either 3 or 4 of the field players should be leftfooted. The goal is in the middle of the field.
4runner wrote:
Left handers are 10% of the population.
For soccer-- depending on what line-up you play-- either 3 or 4 of the field players should be leftfooted. The goal is in the middle of the field.
Well, realistically probably only two (left midfield and left back) really need to be predominantly left footed but yeah that is still at least 20% of outfield players.
Lefty Ruggiero wrote:
This is true for baseball, tennis, soccer, bowling, and basketball. I am not sure about running. (Anyone know about runners)
Also the majority of people with IQs over 140 are left handed.
I guess I can understand why we were feared and vilified through history.
Are you trying to take credit for their accomplishments just by being left handed. You will just be vilified not feared
Lefty Ruggiero wrote:
Also the majority of people with IQs over 140 are left handed.
I guess I can understand why we were feared and vilified through history.
Link? I highly doubt leftys are more gifted.
Soccer wrote:
4runner wrote:Left handers are 10% of the population.
For soccer-- depending on what line-up you play-- either 3 or 4 of the field players should be leftfooted. The goal is in the middle of the field.
Well, realistically probably only two (left midfield and left back) really need to be predominantly left footed but yeah that is still at least 20% of outfield players.
The current trend among elite teams is to have a right-footed left winger and a left-footed right winger so they can cut in on their strong foot and shoot rather than the traditional concept of having wingers be primarily crossers. Messi, Neymar, Hazard, Ronaldo, Bale, Robben, Ribery, etc all fit this mold.
dsgdfgbgfd wrote:
Soccer wrote:Well, realistically probably only two (left midfield and left back) really need to be predominantly left footed but yeah that is still at least 20% of outfield players.
The current trend among elite teams is to have a right-footed left winger and a left-footed right winger so they can cut in on their strong foot and shoot rather than the traditional concept of having wingers be primarily crossers. Messi, Neymar, Hazard, Ronaldo, Bale, Robben, Ribery, etc all fit this mold.
I would like one as well
RE baseball... playing SS would be very difficult for a lefty. I've never seen it (in the big leagues). There have been a few guys behind the plate that caught left handed but that seems as it would be difficult with most batters hitting righty. Guys playing first should be lefty to dig out throws.
TRIVIA... name the one sport where it is against the rules to play left handed.
right is outta-sight! wrote:
TRIVIA... name the one sport where it is against the rules to play left handed.
Arm wrestling
I guess arm wrestling is accurate but not what I was looking for
You've got a good point lefty. Lefties will be over represented in sports where coaches want a balance of left to right handers, like soccer, baseball and cricket (this explains why all soccer left backs are crap).
However in sports where leftiness provides no real advantage, like golf, tennis or rugby (maybe), the numbers are more representative.
Apparently more left-footed soccer players are "one-footed" because coaches don't have them practice using their right, whereas for a right-footed player, the ability to use both feet is considered a big advantage.
You can easily distinguish left-footed runners, they're the ones racing clockwise around the track.
right is outta-sight! wrote:
TRIVIA... name the one sport where it is against the rules to play left handed.
100% sure about polo and as far as I know Jai Alai
Although lefties are closer to first base, they also have to turn around before they start running. Is it established if one arrangement is faster than the other?
what would have happen in a chirally different world?
Star wrote:
It's more of an advantage to bat left-handed because most of the pitchers are right-handed, not because you are closer to first base. Most hits don't happen because you beat the throw to first.
You may be right. It would be interesting to try to figure that out conclusively.
The advantage of lefty vs. righty is very slight. So multiply that by the greater probability that a left handed batter will face a right handed pitcher and you get a pretty small advantage.
I suspect that the actual advantage is no better than the one given to lefties by virtue of being closer to first base.
But it doesn't take many percentage points on a batting average to go from "decent" to "great".