The reason is simple. Lefties carry their swings into their progress toward first base. It’s a much smoother transition to base running because their shoulders and hips are already rotating that direction. Righties after finishing their swing have to change directions.
@Affordable Sticks bro I play baseball and when you hit it cleanly yes I know you dont feel anything but not every "cleanly" hit ball is a hr, could be a fly out or a foul ball, so to hit it and know you got a hr, then to drop the bat all in one motion does take skill bro
its because when they swing the unconscious thought of going to first base after you hit the ball the left handed batter is already being taken to first base upon the completion of the swing whereas upon completion of the swing on a right handed batter it is taking him towards 3rd base and upon completion of the swing he has to turn back around to run towards 1st base. If they changed the rules and ran clock wise instead of counter clockwise the right handed batter would have that sweet left handed swing. IMO right behind Jr. from the left side would be Joc Pederson, and the best swing from the right side is Mike Trout, and Alex Bregman
There are some athletes that transcend the sport so much that even casual non-fans can see the absolute beauty on how they play. Barry Sanders did that for NFL, Michael Jordan did that for the NBA, and Ken Griffey Jr did that for the MLB.
Tony Gwynn anyone? Just because he wasn't a prototypical HR hitter doesn't mean he shouldn't be mentioned. The guy never struck out and rarely swung and missed.
None of those other lefty hitters swung like Griffey. Even if he was a righty - that swing is liquid smoke. It's the sweetest stroke from either side of the plate.
It was a great swing that looked effortless because it was all body/mass, it wasn't the throwing of the hands or "staying inside the ball". It was mechanically as close to perfection as humanly possible. Griffey's mechanics, Ruth's mechanics, Williams and others are not only not taught, they are shunned by today's swing gurus. But that will change.
The most smoothest was griffey hands down! And was probably the reason 80% of the others had a smooth swing.... but the most violent swing in my opinion was Gary Sheffield, he was aggressive af lmao
Top 5 Sweetest Lefty Swings #1. Ken Griffy Jr. #2. Barry Bonds #3. Will Clark #4. Ichiro Suzuki #5. David Ortiz *There is no such thing as a sweetest Righty swing because only lefty swings look sweet.*
Daryl Strawberry had one hell of a swing as well! Fans would come early just to watch his batting practice! Donnie Baseball as well! Both phenomenal lefty swings as well! ✌️
I've got Darryl Strawberry at #1. That time he hit the roof of Olympic Stadium on Monteal. He looked like a coiled snake then boom! Josh Hamilton is at #2. Watch the video of his 4-Homerun Day. Was like a man playing Wiffleball with boys. Even his jogs around the bases were fluidic. You could tell that he could fly if he wanted to.
I think a big part of how cool his swing looked is that he liked low pitches. He hit a lot of home runs off of low pitches which gave his swing that diagonal arch that makes it look like he’s just lifting the ball into the sky. Whereas if you watch those clips of Edmonds, he hit a lot of high pitches and it made his swing look awkward and less effortless
Will Clark was a badass baseball player in the late 80s early 90s. An Unorthodox stance but great hitter and overall ball player. Will the Thrill. Couldn’t let him go unknown
Griffey and Rickey Henderson are my 2 favorite players ever, and they have the best swings ever as well. But you know who had a DOPE swing and was so underrated? Daryl Strawberry. His swing was all you ever needed
I think it has to do with the viewing angle. we are always watching hitters from a camera angle off-set to the right so when we watch a righty swing their body is blocking more of the motion. when a left swings it is open to the camera and we have a much better view of it.
Griffey and Bonds were the epitome of sweet mechanical discipline. But one name that gets overlooked, and he had one of the sweetest looking swings for a lefty, and Yankees fans would agree,....Paul O'Neill.
The left hand swing is actually a right handed swing because the bottom hand and right front leg is initiating the stride and generating the power. Also you’re pivoting toward your right. So the left hand swing seems more fluid. Right handed swing feels more hacky because you’re using your natural off hand to generate power through the zone and your left side is pivoting away from first. Also the power when swinging thru the zone comes from the back side on a right handed swing vs on the left handed swing the power is generated front side.
Harold mentioned the differences in his swing from opposite sides of the plate. One switch hitter I can think of who did his best (within reason) to swing the same way from both sides of the plate was Chipper Jones. His swings were similar, although he hit for far more power from the left side of the plate. Eddie Murray was much the same.
Position the camera on the left side of the pitcher and switch 1st base with 3rd base, and righthanded batters would also appear to have that same 'fluid' motion and follow through after they swing the bat as lefthanded batters do because the momentum of their swing would take them in the same direction as 1st base. There is nothing anatomically special or different about lefthanded batters.
after watching left vs right swings, the "pretty" difference is is that all the great lefties finished their swings all the way around and almost back to the ground. all the righties seem to stop before finishing their swing motion fully. lefties look more like fluid golf swings, and righties are more like dudes chopping down a tree. more impressive power in the righties, but pure fluid power from mechanics from the lefties. its no comparison, lefties will always have prettier swings dues to their full follow through after contact.
Maybe it's because a prominent follow through from a righty turns their body way too far away from 1st base. The further a lefty turns his body the better it really is for him to take off to first. A lefties follow through doesn't matter, it will never effect his run to first, ever. A righty following through completely, all the way, will make his run to 1st awkward, and possibly dangerous. Possibly dangerous, not assuredly, because the twisting and fast turning of your body back towards first after a huge follow through could potentially risk injury to your ankles, knees, hips, and maybe back. Regarding Griffey, his swing and follow through is so perfect, he can swing and start running all in the same motion, easily. Idk, this is my addition to your observation.
The reason why lefties look smoother is the perspective of the camera and their bodies. The camera is always to the right of the pitcher, so you get to see their torso and their swing more head on. You only get to see right handed hitter's backs from a more direct angle.
Miggy's swing looked the closest to a left handed swing to me. When I played I was so jealous of lefties, I always wanted a lefty swing from the right side, my 3 brothers and mom were all left handed, so being the only righty and the only baseball player in the house seemed like a cruel curse.
It’s all about that initial move to first, it’s natural. It’s without pause or stutter or hiccups. It’s like a righty QB rolling out to his right as opposed to his left. Or viceversa. When they say poetry in motion this lefty batter motion is just that.
I was always as natural righthanded hitter. I started hitting from the left side when I was about 15. I hit for more power and average from the left side to the point I abandoned my righthanded at bats all together. I saw this ball better from the left side and had fewer bad habits.
Could also be that the camera placement during most at-bats is behind the pitcher's right shoulder. Switch that, and the "flipped" effect makes the righty swings seem less constrained
I think a lot of it is because they always film from over the pitcher’s right shoulder, so it shows a lot more of the front of a lefty hitter as he rotates to the baseball
I’m right handed but bat left handed. It just made more sense and felt more comfortable to bat left handed because my dominant hand/arm is pulling that bat through the swing instead of pushing when I tried batting right handed.
It is 100% the fluidity of a complete swing leading into the pivot to 1st base concluded by bat flip, all happening in a seamless singular motion unique to each left handed hitter.
Will Smith had a beautiful swing too. In my younger days I can switch from Will to Ken an to Bo and end them with my Jose Canseco swing. Left hand was the best swing
I can hit both sides. power from the right side base hits from left. I'm natural right side but I have to focus on mechanics and keep a level swing when I Bat left, I think that helps me slow down and make better contact but I'm more comfortable batting from right even though I would be more inconsistent LOL
The greatest left-handed hitter ever was babe Ruth. The greatest of the modern era was Ken Griffey Jr. Arguably the greatest hitter of either hand was Ted Williams though. And I think Barry bonds is in the conversation too. The balance of power and average is key when discussing greatest hitter. Barry bonds had a season with over 40 home runs and a batting average over 370. Tim Williams had seasons with 40 home runs and averages in the high 300s also. So did babe Ruth.
When you mirror the image your brain turns a righty into a lefty and the swing looks pretty. But when it's not mirrored, that same swing isn't as pretty. This leads me to believe it's something in our noggin. Albert looked smooth as a righty but flawless as a lefty and it was the same swing.
JD Drew has a great looking swing, too. I think the left handed batter’s momentum is going towards first, so it looks smoother. A righty has to stop twisting towards third and then turn to run across the plate towards first. That change in direction is just never going to be a smooth transition.
Everyone in the comments is wrong. Swinging left handed has a DIFFERENT motion. It has nothing to do with “smoother transition to first base” nonsense. It’s physically different.
I once had Harold Reynolds step in front of me at the batting cages (Baseball Tonight was filming a bit for the 2001 AS Game in Seattle at the expo center). Harold took some swings, he did ok.. then I stepped in and crushed the ball. I know it was mostly luck because Harold was a way better hitter than I ever was, but to this day I like to tell the story about the day I out-hit Harold Reynolds.
