Contributed by Auggie
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As a young baseball fan I would often bat opposite handed in the hopes of becoming a legitimate switch hitter. Then I had the bright idea “what if I could throw with both hands”? What an advantage that would be - simply switch hands depending on which side of the plate the batter was hitting from. Not to mention the arm strain you could save by switching it up. Why hadn’t anyone done this yet?
I immediately set out to improve the coordination in my ‘other’ hand by performing a multitude of daily tasks. It wasn’t easy but I was a determined young fool. Then one day while enjoying a hearty plate of macaroni and cheese I over shot my target and accidently performed rhinoplasty surgery on myself with a fork. I realized then what a daunting task it would be to develop the requisite coordination in this arm. If I couldn’t even feed myself then punching out Wade Boggs with a nasty slider down and away seemed like, well, too much work really.
Now I am happy to report there is hope of witnessing this phenomenon. A forward-thinking father realized that to develop these skills you need to start young, and so he trained his son to throw with both hands at a very early age as told in this story by ESPN’s Rick Reilly. I for one will be watching with interest.
Great article. I'm going to go work on my 8 year old. Greg Harris, formerly of the Bosox, apparently had this capability. He used to beg the manager (Joe Morgan?) to let him do it in a game-- never happened though.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing by the writing and life experiences, though, that Auggie himself was nearly an adult when Wade Boggs made it to the majors? Maybe Rico Petrocelli. JD..
Lets just say I carefully considered what player to use as an example so as not to reveal too much.
ReplyDeleteWith your left handed pitch, I would not need a boat cushion protector to play umpire.
ReplyDelete...looks like Ryer is back on his game.
ReplyDeleteA boat cushion would be overkill. From the left side I would have been like Jamie Moyer, but from the right side like Roy Halladay.
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