Why One of Baseball’s Most Useful Skills Is Trending Toward Extinction

CLEVELAND — Francisco Lindor is a natural right-handed batter who desperately wanted to switch hit as a child to be more like his heroes. His brother and his cousin were both switch hitters, as was his favorite player, Hall of Fame second baseman Roberto Alomar. 

Lindor pleaded with his father, Miguel, to bat left-handed. Miguel fought against it for years because Lindor was such a good hitter from the right side. Why intentionally make yourself worse by doing something so unnatural? It didn’t make sense. 

“That was the way my dad forced me to practice,” Lindor said. “If I did everything right, then I could hit from the left side.”

The Pulse

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