Righty to Lefty slapper

[MadBandit22]

Have been teaching slappers for past 29 yrs many converted right handers. When they have the work ethic and drive to succeed, it becomes much easier. Maddie Daigneau is a senior at UMBC and was one of the leading hitters in NCAA her freshman year there. I converted her during her sophomore year in high school and she loves it. Justyce McClain that set all the school records at McNeese State this past season was also one of my slappers. If a girl is fast and wants to change, it certainly will be to her advantage. Loren Bauer switched to the left during her freshman year at the University of Arizona and became an All-American with 17 homeruns her senior year. All depends how bad they want it and how hard they are willing to work.

Ken Rice
Glendale, AZ

Thanks Ken. The girl in question is a good athlete with good speed. She doesn’t have great power but decent power. Two years ago she was a leadoff hitter. She strikes out too much to be a leadoff hitter but her speed is an asset and why coach put her there. IMO she should of batted 5th or 6th.
New TB coach suggested turning her into slapper. The girl is open to the change but she is going to be a major project for sure.
Honestly from what I’ve seen so far I would have her stay on the right side. I’m not going to interfere but I know I could get her hitting much better from her natural side. Not my daughter so just standing back and observing.
I had another coach who is a Mike Epstein certified hitting instructor take a look at her and he felt she just needed a couple of tweaks. The new org coach thinks she needs to start from scratch. Amazing how opinions vary from one coach to the other.

 

[Beeg]

Any coaches out there ever turn a righty with speed into a lefty slapper?
Daughters friend who is a yr older was just told by new coach it would be easier to teach her to slap lefty then fix all her mechanics as a righty.

My 2 cents. DD hits left and throws right. (Her choice since she was 3.) So my prospective is from watching all DD's slapping lessons.

Her last hitting coach was great in teaching slapping. He started teaching slapping when he turned his daughter from a righty to a slap hitter, I think around age 12 or 13. She got on base so often that she eventually got a scholarship to play ball at a college.

DD was a good hitter til 1st yr 12U. Playing against 2nd yr 12U where girls were much taller, her BA went right down. She would hit a good line drive and still her ball would get caught. She was tiny so didn't have enough power against larger and bigger girls, so we told her to slap only. She had been learning slapping for several years at that point but never used them in the games since her coaches didn't know when to call them. We cleared it with the coaches, who told her to do what she needed to do since they knew she's taking lessons from a good slapping coach. She started slapping and got on base almost every time.

Slapping is a lot more forgiving. She can see the ball better, plus she can make contact a bit later (toward the end of the plate), which is useful against a faster pitcher. Most of the opponents have no idea what to do with a slapper. She can also slap the ball to the ground if fielders are playing deep or slap it over their heads if they are playing shallow. Plus, even if the SS or 3rd baseman got the ball, she's usually on base before they get the ball to 1st. The only downside is that if you have an ump who knows nothing about slapping, he'd call strikes against her until the coach corrects him. Fortunately, that happened only a handful of times.

We just moved, and she's on a new team (2nd yr 12U). The coach was now turning a few righty kids to slapping (DD is their only lefty batter). It usually works with kids who are quick and have great eye control. I was impressed at how quickly some of the kids got the hang of it at practice. It's really repetition. I am a righty, and after years of watching DD slaps, I can hit left also. If an old klutz like me can learn it, a kid can definitely learn it a lot easier and quicker.

Another point, slappers can also slap bunt, which can be very useful. DD did it a few times, usually at the start of a game so the fielders were not ready for it.