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Anyone know the history of games involving two left handed starting pitchers and whats the % of over/under on these?
PEACE
PEACE
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Mcp
This won't answer your question, but it's good reading.....
I'll bet frankb03 has your stats for ya.....he answered this a few years back....put out a call for him....
Good reading re lefties...
Southpaws
Gerry Fraley
Why Left-handers Are Different
According to former catcher Tim McCarver, "they have a natural tailing action on every ball they throw"
THE WISDOM HAS BEEN PASSED ON from generation to generation: You win in baseball with left-handed pitchers.
Clyde King, a New York Yankees special assistant who has been in the game for 57 years, said he learned the lesson from Hall of Famer Branch Rickey. Gene "The Little General" Mauch, who managed 26 seasons in the majors, picked up the teaching from Hall of Famer Clark Griffith.
"Clark, one of the wisest men in baseball, once told me, `Give me all the left-handed pitchers, and I'll beat you to death,'" Mauch said. "This search has gone on since the first big league manager."
The Rangers are the latest club to join the trend. General manger Doug Melvin said the club needed to have more of a left-handed bent, and he kept his word by adding three left-handers for the rotation: Darren Oliver, Kenny Rogers and Justin Thompson.
Left-handers toil in a world made for right-handers. School desks, car ignitions and voting booths are built for right-handers. Nothing is built for left-handers.
To be right-handed is to be normal. The Latin word for right is dexter, meaning skill.
To be left-handed is to be different. The Latin word for left is sinister.
It all changes in baseball.
Most team sports look to fill positions. In baseball, handedness matters most. The game values left-handers overall and left-handed pitchers in particular.
"The good Lord smiled on me when he gave me left-handed genes," said left-hander Tommy John, who won 288 games in a 27-year career.
What makes left-handers so special, or so different?
Check the numbers
The more left-handed pitching, the better a team's chances.
Says who?
The standings.
Left-handed starters win more often than right-handed starters. In the American League over the past three seasons (1997-1999), left-handed starters had a winning record (608-581) and a 4.49 ERA. In that same span, right-handed starters had a losing record (1,773-1,893) and a 4.98 ERA.
"After a certain point in the draft, I'd tell our people, `Take all the left-handed pitchers you can get,'" former New York Mets general manager Frank Cashen said. "We'd corner the market if we could. A southpaw is a commodity."
Why southpaw?
Left-handers became known as "southpaws" in the sporting press of the 1890s. To keep the sun from blinding spectators in the most expensive seats, teams positioned their parks so that pitchers faced west. The left-handers' elbows pointed south.
How do they work?
There are practical reasons for left-handers' success.
The left-hander holds runners at first more effectively than right-handers because he faces the base from the stretch. The shorter lead decreases the possibility of a runner going from first to third on a hit.
The left-hander usually faces right-handed hitters. Those batters are less likely to take advantage of the hole on the right side, caused by the first baseman holding the runner, than left-handed hitters.
There is also the neutralization factor.
Left-handed hitters have advantages equal to what left-handed pitchers enjoy. The best way to stop left-handed hitters is with left-handed pitchers. Through the last generation, left-handed hitters annually hit about 25 points lower against left-handed pitchers than against right-handed pitchers.
Against the world ...
The word left carries a negative connotation in many languages.
In German, linkisch translates to left and clumsy, awkward or socially inferior. In Spanish, the word for left-handed, zurdas, also means wrong way. The Italian word mancino means both left-and dishonest.
... and the Earth
True or false: Left-handers cannot throw a ball straight.
True, says former major league catcher Tim McCarver.
"They've got a natural tail on every ball they throw," McCarver said. "I'm not talking myth here."
False, says former major league lefthander Tug McGraw.
It is all an optical illusion, McGraw said. Left-handers look different because they are the minority, McGraw said. Their pitches seem to move more than they really are.
Most baseball people agree with McCarver, with the reasons ranging from the force of the Earth's movement in the Northern Hemisphere to deliveries.
Some of the best left-handers of the last 50 years--Sandy Koufax, Sam McDowell, Warren Spahn--used an overhand delivery. Most left-handers have a low three-quarters delivery, releasing the ball from a lower point than right-handers.
Former major league manager and pitching coach Ray Miller said left-handers probably gain a "body lean" as they cope with a right-handed world. That gives left-handed pitchers the lower release point and allows left-handed batters to handle low pitches.
The lower release point gives the pitches more movement, making the left-hander more effective.
"A left-handed pitcher has an advantage because his ball moves," King said. "You don't know why, but it does. There's no answer. I've asked Mr. Rickey that question, and he could not answer it. It's the only question I asked him that he didn't answer."
The extra movement often leads to control problems for left-handers. Tommy Byrne, a left-hander, is the career leader for walks-per-nine-innings at 6.9.
More than usual
Left-handers make up about nine percent of the general population. They appear at more than double that rate on major league staffs.
Excluding position players given mop-up duty, a total of 571 pitchers appeared in the majors last season. There were 162 left-handers in that group, giving them 28.4 percent of the staffs' spots.
A colorful lot
In baseball jargon, "left-hander" means to be goofy, spacey, odd.
The designation probably began with left-hander Rube Waddell. He had four consecutive 20-win seasons (1902-1905) with the Philadelphia Athletics and a then-record 349 strikeouts in 1904. He led the A.L. in strikeouts from 1902-1907 with the A's and the N.L. in 1900 with the Pirates.
But Waddell's erratic behavior overshadowed his pitching. He liked to chase fire engines, lead parades and play marbles under the stands between innings of games. He was a man-child who probably was mentally deficient, but in baseball he became a "flake."
Other left-handed pitchers perpetuated the image: Nick Altrock, who became a baseball clown; Hall of Famer Lefty Gomez; Bill "Spaceman" Lee; and McGraw.
There have also been rational left-handers and erratic right-handers such as Dizzy Dean and Bobo Newsom, but the lasting image of left-handers is one of "flakes."
There is something different about left-handers, traits that affect their character and their pitching.
Dr. Martin Samuels, chief of neurology at Boston's Brigham and Women's Hospital, said a left-hander's brain "is wired differently." Left-handers' brains are more symmetrical, which leads to more communication between the two sides. That makes the left-hander more flexible and more able to deal with visual and spatial problems.
For baseball, that means a lefthander should be better than a right-hander for determining where a pitch should go and how the body should function in the delivery.
Because there are no brain surgeons in dugouts, baseball people accept what they see. There is something special about left-handed pitchers.
Baseball's BEST Left-Handed Pitchers
HITTERS GENERALLY PREFER FACING A PITCHER who throws from the opposite side. That's because hitting is a matter of hand-eye coordination and timing, and the faster and easier a hitter sees the ball coming out of a pitcher's hand and identifies its telltale spin to anticipate its movement, the better his chance of finding it with his swinging bat.
Even the best hitters fail at this about seven out of 10 times. But most fail less often when facing a pitcher throwing from the opposite side. That's why left-handed hitters usually prefer facing right-handed pitchers, right-handed hitters prefer facing left-handed pitchers, and managers constantly change personnel to create the most favorable matchups.
That's baseball by the book. But not everyone buys the book.
"I think one of the biggest misconceptions in baseball is that a right-hander has to face a right-hander and a left-hander has to face a left-hander," Baltimore Orioles first baseman Will Clark said. "If you're a successful pitcher, you have to face both. And if you're a successful hitter, you have to face both."
Clark, 36, has been a successful left-handed hitter by any measure. He ranked 10th among active players with 2,040 career hits at the start of the 2000 season, and his lifetime batting average of .302 includes a .290 mark against lefties,
"I wouldn't say facing left-handers is one of those things that you dread," Clark said. "Their job is to get you out, that's it. What left-handers present to you, a lot of times, is nothing that you haven't seen before, but they do a better job of presenting it to you."
And once the presentation is made, Clark said, it's up to the hitter to make of it what he will.
"My theory is that, once he lets it go, he's got no more control over it. Then it's my job," Clark said. "So, as far as left-handers go, it's the same principle as a right-hander. You try to take advantage of the mistakes. And if the guy makes a good pitch on you, do your best to get a hit. If you can't get a hit, foul it off or something,"
Of course, that often is easier said than done, particularly when facing these top left-handed pitchers of all time:
1. SANDY KOUFAX
W-L: 165-87; ERA: 2.76; SO: 2,396; IP: 2,325
Over a six-year period from 1961-66, Koufax was 129-47 with five consecutive ERA titles and four no-hitters. He won three Cy Young Awards, four strikeout titles and the National League MVP Award in 1963. His 382 strikeouts in 1965 are still a National League record. An arthritic elbow prematurely ended his career, and Koufax was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1972, becoming, at age 36, one of its youngest inductees.
2. WARREN SPAHIN
W-L: 363-245; ERA: 3.08; SO: 2,583; IP: 5,246
Durable and stylish with his delivery, Spahn is baseball's winningest lefty with 363 victories, all but seven of which came for the Boston and Milwaukee Braves. Spahn was a 20-game winner 13 times, including a stretch of six years in a row. He led the National League in wins eight times and in complete games nine times. Spahn still holds the N.L. record for innings pitched, despite serving three years in the military early in his career. He also threw two no-hitters and won the 1957 Cy Young Award during his 21-year career. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1973.
3. STEVE CARLTON
W-L: 329-244; ERA 3.22; SO: 4,136; IP: 5,217 Carlton won 329 games (second only to Spahn among lefties) and recorded 4,136 strikeouts (second only to Nolan Ryan's 5,714) by dominating hitters with a good fastball, outstanding control and an exquisite slider that was his nearly unhittable out pitch. Carlton was the first pitcher to win four Cy Young Awards (later matched by Greg Maddux and surpassed by Roger Clemens), had six 20-win seasons and struck out 19 in a game in 1969 setting a record for left-handers later matched twice by Randy Johnson. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1994.
4. LEFTY GROVE
W-L: 300-141; ERA: 3.06; SO: 2,266; IP: 3,940
Generally considered the greatest left-handed pitcher in American League history, Grove won 300 games despite not reaching the major leagues until age 25. He won 20 or more games eight times and led the A.L. in strikeouts the first seven seasons of his big league career. Grove was 31-4 for the 1931 Philadelphia Athletics, fashioning a 16-game winning streak in the process. He won the pitching Triple Crown (leading the league in wins, ERA, strikeouts) in back-to-back seasons in 1930-1931 with the A's. Grove was elected to the Halt of Fame in 1947.
5. WHITEY FORD
W-L: 236-106; ERA: 2.74; SO: 1,956; IP: 3,171
Ford was the money pitcher during the New York Yankees' championship run of the 1950s and early 1960s, setting World Series records that still stand for wins (10), consecutive scoreless innings (33) and strikeouts (94). His regular-season record gives him the best winning percentage (.690) of any 20th century pitcher. He won the Cy Young in 1961, led the A.L. in wins three times and in ERA and shutouts twice. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1974.
6. CARL HUBBELL
W-L: 253-154; ERA: 2.98; SO: 1,677; IP: 3,591
The New York Giants' ace of the 1930s, Hubbell led his teams to three pennants in a five-year span in which he averaged 23 wins and won two MVP Awards. Known for his top-notch screwball, Hubbell compiled a streak of 46 consecutive scoreless innings in 1933. He finished the 1936 season by winning 16 consecutive decisions and won eight straight to start the 1937 season--setting an all-time consecutive win streak of 24 games. He gained everlasting fame for his performance in the 1934 Ali-Star Game, when he struck out, in succession, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, At Simmons and Joe Cronin. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1947.
7. RANDY JOHNSON
W-L: 168-89; ERA: 3.26; SO: 2,814; IP: 2,338
The Big Unit could climb higher on this list before his career is through. At 36, Johnson already holds most of the career pitching records of the Seattle Mariners and is in the process of taking over the Arizona Diamondbacks' thin record book. Johnson last year became the first left-hander to win Cy Young Awards in both leagues, but the six-time Ali-Star still has not pitched for a pennant winner. He shares with Steve Carlton the record for most strikeouts in a game by a left-hander (19), which Johnson accomplished twice. Through late-May, Johnson was 186 strikeouts shy from becoming the 12th pitcher (second left-hander) in major league history to reach 3,000 lifetime whiffs. (Stats through May 29)
8. EDDIE PLANK
W-L: 305-181; ERA: 2,34; SO: 2,112; IP: 4,234
Plank ranks 18th on baseball's all-time wins list with 305 victories (third among lefthanders). He pitched more shutouts (64) and complete games (387) than any other lefthander. Plank pitched for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1901-17 and helped the team win six pennants while also posting eight 20-win seasons. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1936.
9. TOM GLAVINE
W-L: 194-117; ERA: 3.38; SO: 1,716; IP: 2,737
Atlanta's two-time Cy Young winner has been the backbone of the Braves' lengthy but ultimately unsatisfying dynasty. The six-time Ali-Star has appeared in 26 post-season games in his career but posted only a 10-11 record in October. He was the Series MVP of the only World Series the Braves won in the past decade (1995). He's a four-time 20-game winner--including three in a row (1991-1993) and is one of only four left-handers (Koufax, Carlton, Johnson) to win multiple Cy Young Awards. (Stats through May 29)
10. LEFTY GOMEZ
W-L: 189-102; ERA: 3.34; SO: 1,468; IP: 2,503
Gomez was a 20-game winner four times in the 1930s, helping the New York Yankees win seven pennants. He twice led the American League in winning percentage and ERA, and won three strikeout titles. He set a World Series record for winning percentage by going 6-0 in the Fall Classic. Gomez is one of three left-handers (Grove, Koufax) to win the pitching Triple Crown more than once. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1972.
--Ken Daley, The Dallas Morning News
COPYRIGHT 2000 Century Publishing
COPYRIGHT 2000 Gale Group
Don't make me go Cajun on your Ass! -
There is no definitive O/U trend in games with two lefties starting.Originally posted by MtrCtyPimp
Since 2004: 463/439
2008 season: 36/30Comment
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Playing Over with Home dogs with lefty starters do fairly well. More so with the total at 10 or less.
141/116Comment
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