Is there anything in the rulebook stopping a batter from stepping into the batter’s box to bat left handed, take a few pitches, and then walk around and step back in to bat right?
For a good switch hitter it might rattle the pitcher if the batter kept bouncing back and forth… or would it just be stupid and pointless?
I don’t think I have ever seen it happen in a major league game, hence the question.
There is no rule against it other than that the batter cannot do so while the pitcher is in his windup.
Moving to The Game Room.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
I seem to recall this exact scenario coming up when a switch hitter batted against one of the rare “ambidextrous” pitchers. The batter kept switching sides when the pitcher switched sides, until the pitcher finally put down his glove and held the ball in both hands, giving no indication of which hand he was about to use.
Wish I could remember where this came from, and if it actually happened or is an urban baseball legend.
MLB rulebook:
6.06: “A batter is out for illegal action when … (b) He steps from one batter’s box to the other while the pitcher is in position ready to pitch.”
Note the pitcher does not have to be in the wind-up, nor would I think even in the set position if runners were on base. I’d assume this means once the pitcher is on the rubber, the batter could not switch between boxes unless he asked the umpire for time.
Here’s a video of a well-known “switch pitching” incident.
It led to this rule change, which says that the pitcher must commit first.
I’m remember reading something like this happening in the minors. Since then, a rule was made that the pitcher has to declare which arm to use, then the batter can decide.
Also, John Kruk famously switched sides in an All-Star game batting against Randy Johnson.
It did happen in a minor league game in 2008 involving a Yankees’ minor league team. You can probably find the video on line with both of them jockeying for advantage. The rule then in existence (as cited above) would seem to require the batter to take his position first (unless it would be impossible for the pitcher to switch hands without committing a balk and I’m not sure about that. But the current Rule 8.01 (f) now requires a pitcher to choose first.
"A pitcher must indicate visually … the hand with which he intends to pitch… The pitcher is not permitted to pitch with the other hand until the batter is retired, the batter becomes a runner, the inning ends, the batter is substituted for …
It wouldn’t make much sense because the platoon advantage is very real. Any potential gains from “rattling” the pitcher would be more than offset by losing the platoon advantage.
I know that Larry Walker did so; I don’t remember Kruk doing it (though he might have). Walker even flipped his batting helmet around:
Ah you misremember (as did I). Here’s the Kruk video. Notice Kruk stayed batting left the whole at-bat.
Walker had made mention some noise about that incident in the press prior to the all-star game a few years later when he was to face Johnson for the first time, saying that he didn’t want to wind up looking like John Kruk. So of course the first pitch Johnson throws is in the same location as the one to Kruk and Walker does his whole backward helmet thing. I think that’s why I conflated the two stories.