Given that the majority of batters are righties, why are left handed pitchers so coveted, except in situational pitching?

mythbusting the value of left handed pitchers (stats included)

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As you can see, batters facing pitchers throwing from the opposite side of the plate hold a significant advantage. Left-handed batters have a 22-point increase in batting average when they face a righty, and right-handed batters see an 11-point increase in their average when they face a lefty. The disparities are even greater in my favorite baseball statistic, OPS (on-base plus slugging percentage).

Since we have that settled, let's look go back to the fact that 75% of all position players in MLB are right-handed. That means that left-handed pitchers are at a distinct disadvantage every time they pitch. If seven out of every nine batters they face are right-handed, statistically they are going to have a tougher time retiring batters are on consistent basis than will right-handed pitchers.

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at the college level...a left-handed pitcher with a plus offspeed pitch will neutralize almost all left-handed hitters.

in recent times...think about Matt Kent in 2015

Ok, but the vast majority of batters are right handed, which neutralizes that advantage.

We have a lot of lefties. So, for this season at least, I'm thinking of it as an advantage.

I think at some point there is a level of decision-making in baseball that goes beyond just statistics and you put the best player on the mound, whether that's a left or right handed pitcher. It just so happens that A&M has three left handed pitchers in the weekend rotation to start the season. I think any team basing decisions solely off of statistics like the ones presented in the article would find themselves questioning why that formula isn't working at some point. But, to your point, it does seem lefties are a bit more coveted of an asset in today's baseball.

another recent example...in the 2017 SR...Davidson's leadoff hitter was left-handed. He murdered the Ags' right-handed pitching in those 2 games. Had 6 hits including 3 doubles.

however Dox came in and got him out in a critical situation late in game 1; and Chafin retired him late in game 2. He was locked in vs. the rightys. Had to give him a different look

W said:

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another recent example...in the 2017 SR...Davidson's leadoff hitter was left-handed. He murdered the Ags' right-handed pitching in those 2 games. Had 6 hits including 3 doubles.

however Dox came in and got him out in a critical situation late in game 1; and Chafin retired him late in game 2. He was locked in vs. the rightys. Had to give him a different look

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Was that before or after he had to take a timeout for some Gatorade?

I think the Conlaw, the OP's, original post was more about 'average' lefties. Kershaw is Kershaw. Kimbrel is Kimbrel.

And I agree with the OP. Especially in MLB where some teams carry 13 (or even 14) pitchers and just 12 or 11 hitters, there are fewer guys who can platoon like Earl Weaver used to.

In fact if you've ever played Strat-O-Matic baseball, you know that in draft leagues, an average lefty starter is Undesirable because you can stack your lineup with righties who are lefty-killer hitters.

Perhaps the most famous example of ineffective lefties is looking at the mid 50s National League.

The Brooklyn Dodgers had an amazing group of righty hitters, Duke Snider was the lone lefty.

Warren Spahn -- winningest lefty of all time, at the height of his powers in 1952 & 1953. 2.98 ERA, 1.16 WHIP and 2.10 ERA and 1.06 WHIP respectively.

He went 0-5 against the Dodgers in 1952, 1953 they skipped him a few times against the Dodgers and started him just thrice. He went 0-2 with a 5.9 ERA and 2.0 WHIP in 3 starts.

In 1954 he got 1 inning of relief against Brooklyn (in the day when you played each of the other 7 teams 22 times each and Spahn pitched 283 innings total).

In 1955 he didn't leave the dugout against Brooklyn.
1956 he started 1 game: ERA 13.5, WHIP 3.75. (3rd in Cy Young votes)
In 1957 he got 1 inning in relief. (Cy Young winner)

In fact in 1957 the Dodgers faced only SIX left handed starting pitchers all season! The other 7 teams averaged 40 games against lefties.

This also led to the Rays introducing the opener last year -- they started their righty closer against the Angels strong group of six righties leading off so they could have their best righty get those outs each game. (FWIW they did not skip Blake Snell, their only lefty starter).

But I strongly agree with the OP -- that the 'average' lefty starter is probably of little benefit and I expect to see more lefties (except the great ones) work more often from the bullpen.

I don't think anyone is arguing that there's not an advantage for a right-handed hitter facing a lefty. And yes, some of our guys may struggle vs right-handed heavy lineups. But they've all got pretty good stuff (as does Jozwiak, another lefty) and give us a chance to win. That's why most people are claiming that they're not in the rotation because they're left handed. They're in the rotation because they have good stuff. Our coaches didn't say, "Hey, let's put together a rotation of only left-handed pitchers!"

According to last weekend's broadcast, Childress says on our Roster that we have 9 lefties and 9 righties that can pitch.

If this staff turns out to be like Granger, Moore, Wunsch..... we may make a deep run this post season.

jc97 - You grinned a little when you typed 'thrice', didn't you?

MaroonStain said:

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According to last weekend's broadcast, Childress says on our Roster that we have 9 lefties and 9 righties that can pitch.

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"can pitch" and "will pitch" are two very different lists

src94 said:

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jc97 - You grinned a little when you typed 'thrice', didn't you?

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No

okay, where were we?

at the college level...left-handed pitchers...with plus offspeed stuff...and so forth

Tonight's and last nights performances say HELL YEAH THEY ARE!