Assume you were the manager/pitching coach/person with power on a baseball team.

If you had an excellent pitcher who was not a particularly good hitter, but he hit opposite-handed from his pitching (example: RHP Josh Johnson bats LH) would you just have him bat same handed as he throws to avoid the possibility of injury to the throwing arm?

 

With a pitcher like Carlos Zambrano, its arguably worth the risk because he's going to get his share of hits, but JJ is a pitcher and looks the part when he bats.

 

Thoughts? Opinions?

I don't think I would. It's rare, but pitchers have their moments with the stick, and you want to be able to take advantage of those moments. Plus, they probably wouldn't be able to bunt as well from the other side of the plate. The chances of them getting injured while batting are pretty slim, and if they wanted to, they could always just wear more gear to protect themselves.

JJ isn't a guy who has the ability to do much more than blindly throw the bat at the ball anyways. He strikes out in half of his at bats.

JJ isn't a guy who has the ability to do much more than blindly throw the bat at the ball anyways. He strikes out in half of his at bats.

That's true, but it only reinforces the opening posters thought, which I've never heard anyone mention and I think it's a good question. If JJ is so woeful, why not have him bat rightie? If he thinks he's a hitter lefty he's wrong. If he's athletic, which he obviously is, he should be able to bunt as effectively RH.

I have no problem with what the OP said. I was responding to the 2nd poster who said he's got a chance to do something as a lefty. Not really.

The thing is, given how bad of a batter he is, it's very unlikely he will get hit. I can't imagine another team trying to bean him on purpose, nor is there really even a need to work him inside. Pitchers will throw right down the plate and he will miss often. The risk isn't significant IMO and it's a non-issue.

Based on what I've seen, JJ is not only the best pitcher of the bunch but also has the best bat of the bunch since Olsen left. He occasionally can lay into a pitch and drive it deep. The oppo double he drove off the Teal Monster last year comes to mind. That isn't saying much, but it is what it is.

These guys are hitters as they come up and the learn to do it a certain way. Turning them around is more likely to cause injury than being HBP

When he bunts as alefty, isn't his left hand more exposed? Whereas if he got turned around, he's be more susceptible to injuries on bunts, which might be more common for pitchers.

He can hit with his hands tied behind his back for all I care.

 

So long as he continues his pitching ways... :cool

These guys are hitters as they come up and the learn to do it a certain way. Turning them around is more likely to cause injury than being HBP

Agreed, at one time most of these pitchers were the best player on their teams, when they weren't pitching the were usually somewhere in the field and most could hit. The problem for most is that even high school and college they use DH's and don't get enough opportunities to hit. Maybe the Marlins need to set an off-season hitting program for their starting pitchers.

Is JJ the worst hitting pitcher the Marlins ever had? Did have even have one at-bat before he got to MLB? It just looks like he want's to get the at-bat overwith as soon as possible. Of course his pitching is much more important but he could at least try to get a hit.

 

It boggles my mind that there aren't at least a couple pitchers that hit the every 5 day equivalent of 100 RBI's, 30 HR's and .300. Dontrelle might have been the closest I've seen. How do they hit .400+ in HS and college then forget everything they learned about batting when they get to MLB? I know the pitching they face is better but going from .400+ to 5 hits a season is such a steep drop off. Is being a good hitter more about practicing than raw talent? This would seem to suggest that.