Switch Pitching 101

Mizuki Akatsuka Rare switch pitcher and switch hitter from Japan. Rikkyo University in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, Japan. (freshman in 2017) Age 19 Pitches: fastball, off-speed, and breaking ball Velocity: 140 kph or 87 mph right-handed; 135 kph or 84 mph left-handed Dominant arm: right Glove: 6-finger custom glove like Pat Venditte Goal: Mizuki Akatsuka wants to be the first ever switch-pitcher, and switch-hitter to play in Nippon Professional Baseball, Japan has a college player that can switch-pitch, and also switch-hit POSTED ON  FEBRUARY 24, 2017   BY  僕は 野球 好き (REN) Mizuki Akatsuka. Ambidextrous pitchers are very hard to come by these days, let alone stay committed with it for quite a long time… but doing both switch-pitching, and switch-hitting at the same time? Now that is pretty much out of this world.  But, nope, not anymore ! Because in Japan, we have Mizuki Akatsuka (19 years of age) that can do all of that. Akatsuka is in college right now (first

Henry Knight switch hitting in the Mickey Mantle state tournament. (composite photo by Tim Knight) Switch hitters are rare in baseball, especially at the youth level,  since it takes extra work . Hitting is not easy. In fact, hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things to do in sports. Switch hitting takes coordination, balance,  and practice to develop the skill. Switch hitters need to take a lot of quality swings from both sides – facing right- and left-handers – to become good. What did Mickey do? "My dad taught me to switch-hit. He and my grandfather, who was left-handed, pitched to me everyday after school in the back yard. I batted lefty against my dad and righty against my granddad." – Mickey Mantle , Hall of Fame switch hitter Switch hitter vs Switch pitcher One issue for a switch pitcher is what to do when facing a switch hitter – do you throw right or left-handed?  Fortunately,  this situation rarely happens since switch hitters are