stance for lefty batters?

[bniu]

My normal stance is the heel to toe box stance, where I am quite comfortable calling balls and strikes for righty batters. However, for some reason, I can never get comfortable with a lefty batter. How do y'all deal with lefty batters? I'm guessing since I rarely see lefty hitters at all, I'm largely out of practice on that side. A temporary solution I found was to use the scissors for lefty hitters and stay with the heel to toe for righty batters. Does that look strange to use two different stances?

[txump81]

I was very unconfortable with leftys last year. It just didn't feel right. As you see more leftys, the stance seems more natural. Now the ackwardness is gone. Keep pushing through. It will come in time.

[carolinablue]

I have went through the whole range of adjustments for lefties. Different stance, higher, farther back and on and on. I have come back to the same stance and positioning for both sides, I think it's as much mental as it is anything, it just doesn't feel the same. I have improved greatly on lefties however I still don't feel quite as comfortable as I do with right handed batters. As stated before, I think you have to just work through it and it will get better.

[kcfan102]

it feels awkward because you simply aren't used to it. Right handed batter generally out number left handed batters, so naturally you are used to looking at the plate a certain way. Just like anything, it takes practice. You can practice it at home though. Go into your garage, basement, or other place where you might have some room and practice getting into and out of your heel - toe - heel - toe stance. At pro school, myself and moblue put down some masking tape on our hotel room floor and we practiced getting into and out of our heel - toe stance. Get 75 reps a night and in a few days your left handed slot will feel just as good as your right handed one. Here is a picture of what we had in our hotel room.

[JaxRolo]

it feels awkward because you simply aren't used to it. Right handed batter generally out number left handed batters, so naturally you are used to looking at the plate a certain way. Just like anything, it takes practice. You can practice it at home though. Go into your garage, basement, or other place where you might have some room and practice getting into and out of your heel - toe - heel - toe stance. At pro school, myself and moblue put down some masking tape on our hotel room floor and we practiced getting into and out of our heel - toe stance. Get 75 reps a night and in a few days your left handed slot will feel just as good as your right handed one. Here is a picture of what we had in our hotel room.

Great advice!

[Fittske24]

The higher you move up, the more left handed batters you will see. This is because a lot of higher level hitters are becoming switch hitters. What I have noticed is that a lot of switch hitters that are not left hand dominate tend to crowd the plate.This is so they will be able to hit the outside pitch. Because of this, pitchers like to bust them inside. This is when proper stance mechanics matter the most. if you aren't aggressive enough in the slot, or your heel toe stance is weak... you will miss a lot of those pitches because you will simply not see the pitch into the mitt.

[Thunderheads]

ok ... if I may interject ...

firstly, ...I can see that while you probably see more righties, ....when you do move, it can seem awkward. But, that said ....think about it.... there is virtually no difference whatsoever, ....it's a mirror image. If you start to change your mindset, it'll become more natural.

I know how you feel, it does feel different, but I utilized the above thinking and it did help. Remember, ...you're made up of 2 equal halves.... ;)

[yawetag]

Remember, ...you're made up of 2 equal halves....

At the Magic House in St. Louis, they have a setup where you can see your face if the left and right were mirror images. It's amazing how it's not.

[Thunderheads]

Remember, ...you're made up of 2 equal halves....

At the Magic House in St. Louis, they have a setup where you can see your face if the left and right were mirror images. It's amazing how it's not.

My comment wasn't literal Andrew. And, I understand your comment, ..I've heard about that, and it's true, ...but in this circumstance...................well.....................oh just forget it! :lol:

[mazzamouth]

KCfan should you a great way.. at school and PBUC they told us that it is just not natural for us to stand like that.. so you really got to work hard to make sure your feet are right... they also told us that it is ok, for you to take a very quick peek at your feet just when your stepping in to make sure your feet are in the right spot.

[Pops]

I know this post is over a month old, but I finally got around to reading it today. There is one important factor that you all missed in your responses.

Try this little experiment (and don't read past the word STOP until you are done!). Look at some object about 20 feet away and then point to it. While keeping your finger still, close one eye and then the other. Which eye is actually pointing at that object? STOP.

Many people will discover that one eye is dominant over the other. They use that eye mainly for distance and may use the other for reading and close up work. I have a dominant left eye. When I'm in the slot position on a right hand batter, I see the ball cross the plate very clearly because of the angle. When I switch over to the other slot for a lefty, I get the same uncomfortable feeling that everyone describes. This is due to the change in vision angle of my left eye. It sees a tiny bit less in that small window between the catcher and batter. You can't move your head further to the right to compensate because then you can't see the pitcher. So the answer is just as everyone has mentioned...practice, focus, stay with it, and it will become more comfortable to adjust to the other slot.