(This story was excerpted from Guts in the Clutch. See below)
By
Richard J. Noyes
Why are most screwball pitchers lefties? Does it have anything to do with the name of the pitch? 1960’s Red Sox pitcher Bill Lee, whose nickname was Spaceman, was once asked if he anticipated problems with his contract. He replied that he was willing to play kid’s games for nothing. Lee once put on a hilarious and impromptu water show during an extended rain delay. He slid, dove, and sloshed on the puddly tarp with all the sure-footedness of a drunken stork.
BO BELINSKY’S career record was way south of .500. But as an Angels’ rookie in 1962 he pitched a no-hitter which, along with his good looks, got him heavy notice in Tinseltown. Bo loved the nightlife and probably dated more starlets, including the bodacious Mamie Van Doren, than Howard Hughes in his prime. Belinsky’s nocturnal antics didn’t put any more hair on his fastball, but most anyone who pitches a no-no in the Major Leagues gets an automatic career extension, and it probably kept Bo around longer than he deserved.
Left-handed people make up about 10% of the population, but the incidence of alcoholism, criminality, genius, eccentricity, creativity, insanity, automimmune disorders, suicide, early death, (and pitching wildness) is distinguishable relative to right-handers.
And why do over 50% of all left-handed pitchers step crossfire and throw across their bodies while righties rarely do? The step to the left of the mound, and the unavoidable misalignment with the strike zone, likely contributes to the rough going many lefties have in finding it.
How come lots of righties bat left while nearly all left-handers hit from the left side? It appears, with scattered exceptions, that left-handedness means being a lefty through and through. Perhaps the dominance accounts for the fact that left-handers who switch-hit are nearly unheard-of.
Even the tools of other trades work against lefties. For example, screws (why does that word keep showing up?) thread to the right, forcing lefties to switch hands. It just ain’t fair.
Nature’s cruel blow also surfaces in the special kind of wackiness exhibited by a high percentage of left-handed pitchers: Lefties’ brains are wired differently. Something goes wrong in the early stages of development. An immutable baseball law holds that the minds of left-handed pitchers are a couple of bubbles off plumb. Lefties who can throw strikes have the last laugh, though, because their pitches typically have more late action than those of right-handers. The natural movement on the baseball can even work against them. I once saw a big-league first basemen handcuffed on a pick-off attempt by the extreme tail on a left-handed pitcher’s toss. He yelled: “Can’t you throw the freakin’ ball straight?”
“Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball.”
–Jacques Barzun
(Read more about lefties like Steve Carlton, Warren Spahn, Whitey Ford, Lefty Gomez, Babe Ruth and others in Guts in the Clutch, a full description of which can be found at http://gutsintheclutch.com/
Richard J. Noyes, former Associate Director, Center for Advanced Engineering Study, Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a consultant to public and private sector organizations. He also teaches mistake-free control to pitchers at all levels.
Noyes is the co-author with Pamela J. Robertson of Larceny of Love, a provocative print and eBook novel that traces the interwoven careers of three men in jeopardy and the unforgettable women in their lives. (One of the characters is a professional pitcher who suffers from sudden, extreme unexplained wildness.) http://larcenyoflove.com/
“Whenever dramatic storytelling about people you like is created around business, sports and film, I'm a happy reader. I'm sure you will be as well.” –Kevin Marcus (more)
Another recent print and eBook by Richard Noyes and Pamela Robertson: Guts in the Clutch: 77 Legendary Triumphs, Heartbreaks, and Wild Finishes in 12 Sports, with a Foreword by Drew Olson of ESPN. http://gutsintheclutch.com/
“The best compilation of fascinating sports stories I have read.” -David Houle, Emmy and Peabody Award-winning producer of documentaries on Hank Aaron and the Harlem Globetrotters.
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