Lefty Middle Infielders???

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What are your thoughts or coaching philosophys when it comes to placing a lefty in your middle infield.

My friend said that he would put a lefty at 2nd base and they can take the throws from the catcher and make the tag. First off I told him I like my shortstop to take the throws from the catcher and I also came back with they would have to be on the left side of the bag and risk the ball getting kicked away from the runner sliding in.

So many other points to make on this...

 

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Texas A&M had a lefty 2nd base - seemed to work fine for them - a few College WS appearances.

 

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We have a lefty 2nd base person whom we absolutely love. If you have the right athlete who loves to work on things like glove flips and throwing effectively off of the back foot (just to prove people wrong ) it can be a very productive use of that lefty, especially if she is speedy and has really really good reflexes.

PS: I note that you seem to reserve the possibility that after 12U a lefty 2nd base person might work. IMHO, if you as a coach plant the thought at the younger ages that a lefty can't be a 2nd base person or a catcher (we have one of those too), that young lady won't be feeling too good about her prospects in those positions at 14U. And frankly, the quality of play in most 12U tournaments makes them very fertile fields for instilling confidence in the lefty playing a nontraditional position.

 

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I coached a JV team with 11 kids 5 were lefties. 3 of those 5 were my top 3 fielders. So I had to have them in non traditional positions. My oldest is left handed, but I taught her to throw right handed at a young age and my parents are left handed one thing about lefties is they learn to adapt to a right handed world. So although not ideal a good fielder is a good fielder.

 

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I've been chewing on this, and arguing about this for 3 years.

My older daughter, L/L, is 15u. She played a full season of SS at 11u. At 12u she got moved to CF by another coach, where she has been since.

She got moved, essentially, because coaches saw no future for her in the infield. Because she's a lefty. But this always led to this point by me (especially at the younger levels): are you the coaches developing players, or winning games?

If we are developing players, and she was "destined" to be a CF, fine. She loves it there now.

But I spent a season or two, 12u and 13u, where my daughter would have made more plays than the SS while my daughter was "developing" by standing around in the outfield. At the same time, the teams were "riding" one pitcher to try to win, while we were actively NOT developing a couple of other pitchers who had potential. So I kept asking (privately, or only when someone would ask me) if we're developing players we need to be using all three pitchers. If we're winning ballgames, we need to have players in the key spots who will make the most plays.

On the technical side of it: IMO there are several factors you should look at. My older daughter may still have the quickest release on her current team and is the 2nd fastest running. So depending on where she plays (this one is key) and how quickly she releases, are you (the random coach) sure that the time from bat-hits-ball to ball-hits-1B shorter with a right hander? Or do you just THINK it must be slower with a left hander? What weight to you give to how much ground a player can cover, or how quickly they can get to a ball?

Funny because my 13u daughter got moved from her "home" of 3b to SS last year. She does not have the lateral mobility my older daughter has, she detests "waiting" on the ball so she plays in 2-3 steps closer than most SS. She has a gun for an arm, meaning that every ball is a rope. But her pure release time is not nearly as fast as my older daughter. Yeah, she plays the position fine. But I was amused that she got as matter-of-factly moved into the position, despite a couple of limitations, as my old daughter got matter-of-factly moved out of it because of her "disability."

 

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If your a great coach, then a lefty at 2nd or SS should be no problem. Just like that RH 2nd basemen makes that shuttle to the right to the SS for a play at 2, then a lefty can do the exact same thing going to 1st.

 

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2B I can see working if she has quick feet. SS Im a bit skeptical espicially as they get older. Facing a quick slapper the time to turn her hips compared to a righty who could throw on the run is the diff between safe/out. Also lot of backhand tags on steals of 2nd and 3rd.

 

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I am so happy to see all these responses. I have a 10u who is a lefty and we left a team b/c the coach told us she would either pitch or play first.

Nevermind that her arm is like a gun. She is a strong athlete and her foot work is very good. She's played SS, 2nd and 3rd. She also catches because her throw-downs to 2nd are right on target and she's quick.

I teach my kids that if someone tells you that you have limitations, prove them wrong. So... she is perfecting her foot-work and lateral speed.

I would also like to add that my catcher in high-school was a leftly and my SS in college was a lefty. Both amazing athletes.

Shame on any coach who automatically pigeonholes an athlete because she's a lefty.

There is my peace. No hate mail please.

 

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I have a lefty SS who also plays 2nd and CF. Everyone tells me the same thing, that I'm nuts for putting a lefty there....until they see her play. I've also had a lefty catcher before and she was as good as any righty I've taught. It all depends on the athlete, not what hand she throws with.

 

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The 'no lefty middle infielders' is a baseball axiom that does NOT apply to softball.

We are playing with 60 foot bases and the throws are not as long. An 18 year old female athlete can make this throw with out much trouble even with a complete spin.

We have had a lefty on 2nd the last three years and she is unbelievable. She can cut ball off behind second and still make the throw yet can get to no man's land behind 1st and make a flip toss for the out. There is no penalty for her being a lefty and in fact makes make the infield significantly better because of her left-handedness.

Do not avoid a lefty at 2nd if she is your best athlete. You will not regret it.

 

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fairman:

Well stated. That bermuda triangle behind first base is a place for 2B lefties to shine.

 

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Just curious, how is it more advantageous to be left handed at 2nd on balls hit behind the 1st basemen? I'm sure I'm missing something but I don't see that at all.

I disagree that righties only in the middle infield is an old baseball mindset. But I don't think it's as critical. Covering steals as a lefty is more difficult, the infield is set up for right handed throws.

Again though, Lefties adapt because they have to, from scissors, tools to going out to dinner everything is set up for 90% of the worlds population. So if the kid is your best SS and happens to be left handed, she's still your best SS. I wouldn't however keep her there because she's good for being left handed.