BAY BRIDGE SERIES
Switch-hitters both blessed and cursed
A's have 4 who can bat both ways; Giants have 3 in everyday lineup
Published: Friday, June 23, 2006 at 3:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Friday, June 23, 2006 at 2:35 a.m.
SAN FRANCISCO - Randy Winn said he sometimes thinks about abandoning switch-hitting.
"Not every day," he said, "just six days out of the week."
Winn admits that his major-league career has probably been more successful because he became a switch-hitter in the minors, but when he is having trouble keeping two swings sharp - like now - he longs for simpler times.
"You think about it when you are struggling," said the Giants outfielder. "If I only had one side to worry about, it would be so much better. Is it really easier? Probably not. But it seems like it."
Winn is not alone in his frustration.
Switch-hitters may be a relatively rare breed in the majors, but they are common around here.
The Giants have three switch-hitters in their everyday lineup: Winn, Ray Durham and Omar Vizquel. They have a fourth, Jose Vizcaino, on the bench.
The A's also have four switch-hitters on their roster: Nick Swisher, Milton Bradley (on the disabled list), Adam Melhuse and Bobby Kielty.
There are only 57 switch-hitters who have had at least 75 plate appearances in the majors this season, and nearly 15 percent of them will be in uniform for this weekend's A's-Giants series at AT&T Park.
If they were so inclined, they could gather in a conference room and swap horror stories. Most switch-hitters seem to agree that their special skill is a blessing and a curse.
"It's tough to keep both sides sound the whole year," Kielty said. "It's almost impossible, I think."
LEGACY OF THE MICK
Most switch-hitters can be split into two categories: those who were converted early in the minors (Winn), and those who started as children because their fathers were Mickey Mantle fans (Kielty).
Back in the '50s, Mantle was one of a few switch-hitters in the majors.
Perhaps because of his popularity, though, there was a rise in the number of switch-hitters.
"My dad grew up in the Mickey Mantle era, so he got me switch-hitting real young," said Kielty, who said he hit a home run as an 11-year-old in his first at-bat from the left side.
Players like Kielty, Melhuse and Swisher began switch-hitting as children.
Durham, Winn and Vizquel had made it to pro ball as right-handed hitters before they were asked by their clubs to try hitting left-handed, too.
The logic is simple. A player with speed can get more infield hits if he bats from the left side, because he starts off about six feet closer to first base. If the player doesn't have much power, there isn't much to lose by going to the left side.
Of course, it's not easy.
Vizquel was 21 and a veteran of five pro seasons when the Seattle Mariners made him a switch-hitter during instructional league in the fall of 1988.
"It was really difficult, because I had never tried to switch-hit before," he said.
"In the beginning, it looked like the ball was going to hit me all the time, so I was kind of stepping away."
He kept trying to hit left-handed all winter. In 1989, he made the Mariners' opening-day roster, so he found himself trying to learn in the big leagues. He hit .220.
"It's hard to face major-league pitching when you have only one year of switch-hitting," he said. "I always got frustrated. I wasn't one of those guys that hit for average. I was just happy when I made contact."
Vizquel said it took three years before he felt comfortable as a left-handed hitter.
Winn, who was asked to switch-hit after his first month in the minor leagues, said: "I went from having a good year the year before to not being able to hit a fastball down the middle. Many days I wanted to quit, but I kept after it, kept working. It's still a lot of work."
TALE OF TWO HITTERS
Most switch-hitters describe themselves as two separate hitters in one body, each of which demands time and attention.
Ironically, the problem is usually the right side, which is the natural side for most switch-hitters. The majority of pitchers are right-handed, so they take most of their at-bats in games as lefties.
"You really don't find the time for both of them," Kielty said. "You have to try to get swings from both sides, but you aren't going to get the same number someone would from one side of the plate. It turns into a feel issue. You just don't feel right."
Durham said he's gone as long as a month without seeing a left-handed pitcher, so he has to be extra diligent about getting as many right-handed swings as he could in batting practice.
"But batting practice is not the same as a game," he said. "You can get your timing down if they are throwing straight, but most lefties are crafty and throwing a lot of offspeed and breaking pitches."
Switch-hitters go through hot and cold streaks, like any hitter, except they can be going through both at the same time.
"Early in the year I was feeling great from the left and awful from the right," Kielty said. "Now the right is feeling better and the left not so good. It just goes back and forth."
Because most switch-hitters are naturally right-handed, their right hand is dominant. The dominant hand is on top when swinging right-handed, but on the bottom when swinging left-handed.
Vizquel said it takes work to keep the right hand from wanting to dominate when swinging from the left side.
Vizquel also said he noticed something strange after he finally got used to switch hitting: "For some reason I felt more powerful (from the left-side). I don't know why."
It is probably because the top hand of a swing is the one that supplies that power. If a natural righty swings from left side, he gets his naturally dominant hand on top.
The trade-off is that he might not have the same bat control. Melhuse, for example, said when he starts hitting in the offseason, he has an easier time "finding the ball" right-handed.
Durham is living proof of that. When he's in top form, he hits about the same from both sides. Last year he hit .290 from each side. This year, though, he has scuffled from the left side, hitting .192, but still hit .367 from the right.
"I've gone through a slump left-handed where I could barely hit the ball out of the infield," Durham said. "Then a lefty comes in and I get two hits, even though I haven't seen a lefty for two weeks."
SEPARATE AND UNEQUAL
Like Durham, most switch-hitters are more successful from one side or the other, which begs the question: Why bother? Wouldn't it be easier to just pick your stronger side and stick with that?
Former Giant J.T. Snow did just that after he struggled so much from the right side. He finally just gave up and became a left-handed hitter exclusively.
Durham and Winn said they considered the possibility, but quickly dismissed it.
"There are times when I've gone up there and had a couple good at-bats right-handed and I think maybe I should try to hit right-handed (against a righty)," Durham said. "Then I see they are throwing sliders and stuff and I say, no thanks. I'll stick to left-handed."
A switch-hitter never has to see a pitch break away from him - aside from the odd screwball. After years of watching every pitch break in, it would be difficult to adjust.
Melhuse said once in the minors he had an injury that didn't allow him to hit left-handed, so he hit right-handed against a right-handed pitcher.
"I wasn't even close," he said. "I was waiting to see if it's a breaking ball and the fastball was right by me. I wasn't even close to hitting the curveball."
Kielty, a rare switch-hitter who is better from the right side, said he has considered abandoning switch-hitting but has never gone through with it. He said he believes being a switch-hitter is a benefit for a bench player.
"It's helped sometimes to have a good at-bat when I've been off for two weeks," he said. "You can go up there and scrap out an at-bat that you haven't had in a long time because you don't see that nasty pitch, a slider breaking away from you."
Winn has had trouble from the right side all season, but throughout his career he's been fairly equal, which is one of the reasons he is viewed as a valuable big-league commodity.
"It's definitely helped my career and hopefully prolonged it," he said.
Vizquel, a potential Hall of Famer, said switch-hitting "is the difference between me being in the big leagues or not."
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