Hitting and Hitters Discussion Hitting and Eye dominance

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Batting left handed shortens the distance between home and first, but does it also give a player a visual advantage? The reason I ask is because, I am right handed and left-eye dominant. I had to learn how to shoot pool left handed and shoot a gun or bow left handed in order to line up targets accurately. I did not play baseball, so I don't have first hand experience with hitting and eye-dominance.

I have seen natural leftys bat from the right side and eye-dominance is about the only reason that could make sense to me. I am curious if anyone has experience with this idea.

Do you know which eye is your dominant eye? Here is a simple test:
Extend your arms in front of you.
Bring your hands together to form a hole that you can look through.
Choose a small object about 15 feet away from you. With both eyes open, focus on the object as you look through the hole.
Keep looking at the object through the hole while you close one eye and then the other. When you close one eye, the object will be stationary. When you close the other eye, the object should disappear from the hole or jump to one side.
The eye that sees the stationary object is your dominant eye.


Here are some articles I found by searching "eye dominance and hitting"

Association between eye and hand dominance ... [J Am Optom Assoc. 1996] - PubMed - NCBI

TheRustyArm — Dominant Eye and Hitting


Dominant eye - Youth Baseball Knowledge Base

Eye And Hand Dominance – Baseball Performance?|?Psyched Online

 

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I might add... I know many hitting instructors place emphasis on "a good two-eyed look at the pitcher". Could this be necessary because many right-handed batters are right eye dominant, and left handed batters are left eye dominant?

 

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Nice articles. Thanks.

 

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Workouts for Your Eyes | Fitness - Health and Fitness Advice | OutsideOnline.com

We have used these drills for years. Using a 5 to 10 degree open stance also helps. If you look at MLB players their lead foot heel touches the batter box chalk line. When they stride it is usually linear or a straight line. Take a pencil or straw and tape it to the center of the helmet visor. Can they turn the head, as a right handed hitter towards the pitcher and be able to get a two eyed look. Think if you had a pair of binoculars against your eyes. If you can not turn your head far enough towards the pitcher it is not a good two eyed look. If they roll their shoulders away from the pitcher the right eye moves further away. Looking at the pencil or straw gives you a better idea IF they are turning the head far enough toward the pitcher. They will feel discomfort if their feet are even. Open their stance slightly and the neck/ shoulder discomfort goes away. Also see if the helmet actually fits correctly! Hold their chin and grasp the mask and see how much it moves. Wearing their hair the same way also helps keep the tighter. How well could you hit if the face mask was moving while hitting or running?

Howard