left or right hand use

Question
My grandson writes left handed. he is attempting to play baseball this spring. he is throwing with his right hand,catching with left but batting left handed. Where do we go from here ?
The coaches don't really know how to approach this.
He is only 7 years old,never really tried to play before.

Answer
Hi John,

Left or right-handed batting has the same mechanics. There should be no complications in teaching him the correct batting techniques.

I find it very interesting that he has the co-ordinations to throw and catch like a right-handed player but chooses to bat left-handed.  He is gifted.  What should be considered is having him develope BOTH batting skills.  Image, later on he can switch hit when the other team uses a left-handed pitcher.  A good coach should be able to use this to the team's advantage.

Here are the very best of switch hitters:  Spike Owen, Gary Pettis, Kevin Bass, Bill Doran, Andy Ashby, Roy Smalley, Gene Larkin, Mookie Wilson, Wally Backman, Howard Johnson, Lee Mazzilli, Jose Uribe, Chili Davis, Vince Coleman, Ozzie Smith, Tommy Herr, Willie McGee, Terry Pendleton, Jose Oquendo and Tim Raines.

So...encourage him, if you can, to try hitting from both sides of the batter's box.  He'll be a valued player as he gets older and stronger.  Team's will select him for his ability to adjust to the pitcher on any team.  

Whatever you do, don't force him to swing when he feels uncomfortable.  I gather he chose to throw right-handed but he felt more comfortable batting left.  Later on, try him with right hand batting. As his throwing arm gets stronger, he'll have more confidence to swing the bat that way too.  He'll need lots of encouragement though.  Switch hitters are usually not power hitters.  Lots of practice can cure this.

The switch hitters I've know have always been good place hitters.  Very rare in youth league baseball.  Just go slow and let him decide which way his bat will swing.

Best of luck,

JohnMc