Why can't lefties throw 100? (1 Viewer)

[Bojang0301]

Maybe I'm just having a misconception but it seems to me that the majority of left handers I've ever seen are finesse pitchers maybe topping out at 92/93. The only lefty I can ever think of to top 100 is Randy Johnson. Is there some sort of scientific reason for this or is it just that lefties come in far greater numbers than righties? I suppose all together its rare to see someone toss triple digits. I still think it's rare to even find a lefty throw >95mph.

 

[dparker713]

Maybe I'm just having a misconception but it seems to me that the majority of left handers I've ever seen are finesse pitchers maybe topping out at 92/93. The only lefty I can ever think of to top 100 is Randy Johnson. Is there some sort of scientific reason for this or is it just that lefties come in far greater numbers than righties? I suppose all together its rare to see someone toss triple digits. I still think it's rare to even find a lefty throw >95mph.

Aroldis Chapman - 105.1 mph

 

[shadyridr]

duffy

 

[Smack Tripper]

fewer lefthanded people = less likely to find one throwing that fast ?

Did Koufax get near 100?

Billy Wagner did, I believe there is another closer I'm forgetting who got up there.

EDIT TO ADD: Didn't Norm Charlton get it up there too?

 

[pollardsvision]

Maybe I'm just having a misconception but it seems to me that the majority of left handers I've ever seen are finesse pitchers maybe topping out at 92/93. The only lefty I can ever think of to top 100 is Randy Johnson. Is there some sort of scientific reason for this or is it just that lefties come in far greater numbers than righties? I suppose all together its rare to see someone toss triple digits. I still think it's rare to even find a lefty throw >95mph.

As others have mentioned, there are some lefties that throw 100, or very hard.The thought behind the question is valid though. On average, MLB lefties don't throw as hard as righties.I think the answer is purely one of supply and demand and nothing physical. The relative supply of lefties is very low compared to righties. Teams need lefties and they will sometimes make it to the bigs with less stellar stuff than a righty might have to have.

 

[pollardsvision]

Interesting, semi-related Fangraphs article on the "crafty lefty" phenomenon. http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/why-are-lefties-crafty/

It ends with a nice unanswered question.

Lefty starters, on average, throw 2 MPH slower and face many more batters that put them at a seeming "handedness disadvantage" (RH batters), yet lefty starters still post a higher K-rate and induce a higher % of swinging strikes.

Many reasons why that could be, but interesting.

If the question is "why don't lefties throw as hard as righties?", the answer could simply be "they don't have to". Not that we know why that is.

 

[pantagrapher]

I could just be misremembering this fact, but aren't lefties to only ones who have been susceptible to spontaneous arm fractures (e.g. Drabek, Saunders)?

 

[Don Quixote]

As others have mentioned, it's just a numbers thing. People who can throw 100 mph are freaks of nature. With 90% of the world right-handed, there are more freaks of nature that are righties than lefties (and you've got to be more of a freak of nature if you are a righty to stand out from other righties).

As I'm a lefty who was more successful as a pitcher growing up than I really should have been (no fastball to speak of; just threw sinkers and with control), I appreciate the crafty lefties out there.

 

[Bojang0301]

I could just be misremembering this fact, but aren't lefties to only ones who have been susceptible to spontaneous arm fractures (e.g. Drabek, Saunders)?

It happened to Zumaya. He's a righty.

 

[dparker713]

Maybe I'm just having a misconception but it seems to me that the majority of left handers I've ever seen are finesse pitchers maybe topping out at 92/93. The only lefty I can ever think of to top 100 is Randy Johnson. Is there some sort of scientific reason for this or is it just that lefties come in far greater numbers than righties? I suppose all together its rare to see someone toss triple digits. I still think it's rare to even find a lefty throw >95mph.

As others have mentioned, there are some lefties that throw 100, or very hard.The thought behind the question is valid though. On average, MLB lefties don't throw as hard as righties.I think the answer is purely one of supply and demand and nothing physical. The relative supply of lefties is very low compared to righties. Teams need lefties and they will sometimes make it to the bigs with less stellar stuff than a righty might have to have.

Left handers make up maybe 10% of the population, yet they are generally more than 25% of the pitchers in the majors.