What’s the benefits of being a switch hitter?
- Thread starter Rerun
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Always felt like in softball (different than in baseball), lefty was a BIG advantage, so why would you ever hit right if you could hit well from the left. Now days however, seeing how much better pitchers are getting at spinning it, I can see the benefit of a lefty moving over to the right against a lefty pitcher with a big hook. As the game progresses and pitching improves, I can see lefty righty and righty lefty matchups becoming a bigger part of the game. Time will tell.
daboss
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5 years ago I would be reluctant to agree but as mentioned I can see switch-hitting being a bigger part of the game in years to come. The pitchers are getting better at moving the ball.
Also, I agree that being able to hit from the left side would take precedence over hitting from the right most of the time. The reason being the many options of hitting styles we all know about. That doesn't mean right-side hitters should ignore learning how to bunt. It can be an equalizer for a fleet-footed hitter.
Become a well-rounded lefty hitter and the world is your oyster. Natasha Watley comes to mind. Can you imagine trying to defend a lefty hitter that can hit with over-the-fence power as a slap hitter? Now come on!!!! That's just brutal!!!!!!
jayflyer98
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Switch hitting is not like it was years ago at least for baseball. Rarely see it now at any level. My daughter is a switch hitter and the way I use her depends on the speed of the pitcher, situation, and the defense. She does better from the left side against faster pitching. If in an RBI situation, she mostly will hit righty. It all started in 11U when her coach had all the girls practice bunting from the left side. It worked for my daughter and then got some coaching slapping after seeing results of getting on base a lot by just bunting from the left side. Highly suggest working with girls with speed from the left side when young even if it is just to put a bunt down.
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does it count when you tell your lefty slapper to bat righty for one pitch so she is in the way of the catcher on a throw down when you want to steal your runner from 2nd to 3rd... then tell her to go back to lefty after the steal? 
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Denver Roach
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It can help level the playing field in the younger age divisions somewhat if your up against a more talented team. Pitchers in those lower age divisions oftentimes see far fewer lefties than righties and some otherwise solid pitchers will often struggle here and there especially if you have your batter switching sides of the plate between each and every pitch. I have only seen that sort of strategy utilized one single time however it did in fact frustrate the pitcher enough to help take some of the wind out of their sails and the less talented team was able to send more batters to first once the pitcher began to loose their composure and control. It also frustrated their coaches too. Doesn’t really work so well at higher levels of competition that travel teams participate at though. The teams I’m referring to were u12 rec teams. One was stacked with talent and the other wasn’t so stacked. Switching sides between each pitch is permitted in softball however it’s not in baseball. There’s an interesting story as to why baseball has rules against such a thing that you can read about with a quick google search if anyone is curious as to why the rule exists. Per our batting coach there are no switch hitters in D1 college softball. The best batting instructors I’ve come across advise against it at any level of play and recommend to pick one side or the other and put all efforts into being the best batter possible on which ever side the batter chooses. It is fun to watch though
