The latest installment of the John Dewan Stat of the Week on May 29, 2008, reprinted with permission:
Do left-handers hit low pitches better than righties?
You hear it all the time on the radio, lefties like the low pitch. In fact, I heard the corollary just today on the radio. The announcer said, “As a rule right-handers hit high pitches better than left-handers.”
Let’s take a look at the numbers and see how batters fare on high, medium, and low pitches.
Batting Average by Pitch Location 2006 - 2008
Pitch Height
Batting Left
Batting Right
High
.259
.257
Medium
.288
.285
Low
.244
.242
Total
.269
.266
Source: Baseball Info Solutions (through games of Monday, May 26, 2008)
Lefties hit a couple points higher overall on low pitches, but they also hit a couple of points higher on medium and high pitches. The height of the pitch seems to have no consequence whatsoever.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Copyright © 2008 by John Dewan.
Permission to reprint or broadcast this information is granted only if used in conjunction with the following citation: "Used with permission from John Dewan's Stat of the Week™, www.statoftheweek.com."