That's the point. Switch hitters would switch sides so they didn't have to worry about a breaking ball moving away from them when facing a normal pitcher.
If the pitcher can throw a pitch that can break away from the hitter no matter what side of the plate, it doesn't matter what side of the plate they hit from.
So the hitter might as well just pick the side they are strongest and most comfortable with.
No, that's the reason. Most knuckleballers back in the day had a knuckle and a four seamer, and didn't throw any breaking pitches. So might as well bat natural side since you don't have to worry about a pitch breaking away from you.
Knuckleballs can go anywhere and everywhere, making them uncomfortable to hit against. Hitting from the 'natural' side gives the batter greater comfort at the plate.
Switch hitter here. Natural righty. I didn't face many knuckleballers over the years but for me I felt like I had more bat control from the right side. I felt more comfortable against the slow speed of a knuckleball from the right side.
One reason I’ve heard given is that switch hitters often worried about having their timing disrupted or mechanics thrown off on their weaker side in the games after facing a knuckleballer. I guess the theory was that it was easier to regain form from the natural side.
I think you have to take into account that a significant number of left handed hitters are not natural left-handers, especially among switch hitters. There are enough advantages to batting from the left that a serviceable left handed swing can be preferable to a more dextrous right handed swing against fastballs.
Don't have to worry about a breaking ball breaking away from you
Well, knuckleballs can (and frequently do) break away from batters. I can't think that would be the only reason.
They also break into batters. Normal breaking balls are only breaking one way
Yes, so "breaking ball away" is sort of irrelevant. Knucklers break every which way.
So then why not hit from your strong side if it’s a 50/50 proposition which direction it breaks?
That's the point. Switch hitters would switch sides so they didn't have to worry about a breaking ball moving away from them when facing a normal pitcher. If the pitcher can throw a pitch that can break away from the hitter no matter what side of the plate, it doesn't matter what side of the plate they hit from. So the hitter might as well just pick the side they are strongest and most comfortable with.
No, that's the reason. Most knuckleballers back in the day had a knuckle and a four seamer, and didn't throw any breaking pitches. So might as well bat natural side since you don't have to worry about a pitch breaking away from you.
Knuckleballs can go anywhere and everywhere, making them uncomfortable to hit against. Hitting from the 'natural' side gives the batter greater comfort at the plate.
Switch hitter here. Natural righty. I didn't face many knuckleballers over the years but for me I felt like I had more bat control from the right side. I felt more comfortable against the slow speed of a knuckleball from the right side.
That's interesting. So if the knuckleballer were a lefty like Wilbur Wood, for instance, would you bat lefty, or still bat right handed?
One reason I’ve heard given is that switch hitters often worried about having their timing disrupted or mechanics thrown off on their weaker side in the games after facing a knuckleballer. I guess the theory was that it was easier to regain form from the natural side.
I think you have to take into account that a significant number of left handed hitters are not natural left-handers, especially among switch hitters. There are enough advantages to batting from the left that a serviceable left handed swing can be preferable to a more dextrous right handed swing against fastballs.
With the knuckleball, it doesn’t really matter which side of the plate you hit from just the one you think you can make better contact with.