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 hit...
Learn about ambidextrous pitchers – from Little League to the MLB.