The Curious Absence of Left-Handed Starting Pitchers in the GBC
Posted: Thu Jun 29, 2023 10:41 am
In our unusual two-headed GM arrangement here in London, I’m the guy that handles the position players, so it’s my job to construct that part of the roster. Over the years, I have embraced platooning – Casey Stengel would be proud. In our current Monarchs roster, I’m running out a traditional platoon at four different positions, not including catcher, where I have two RH players. I don’t have strong feelings concerning which positions should be platooned; it depends completely on the available talent.
My lineup versus RHP features five LH batters and a switch hitter who can’t hit left-handed pitching, so essentially six LH hitters out of nine. Against LH starters, we have only three left-handed batters, and only then because of the 27-man roster limitations. Trust me, I’d platoon every position if I could, unless I have Mickey Mantle in the lineup.
After the season had commenced, I looked at the batting stats. Of course, RH batters in a platoon will receive fewer plate appearances than their LH platoon mates. But what I saw was extreme. My short-side platoon hitters were rarely getting into the games, and then only to spell the lefties who were tired. I was confused.
In MLB in real life, and coincidentally in the BBA, LH starting pitchers make up 29% of the rotations. But in the GBC, less than 10% of starts are made by LH starters. No GBC team has more than one LH SP, and half have an entirely right-handed rotation. All my carefully curated efforts to ensure success against LH pitching have gone for naught, and my RH platoon hitters are an unhappy bunch.
The bullpen situation is somewhat less lacking in LH pitchers, with roughly 16% of relievers throwing from the south side, just over half of the normal 29%.
It’s pretty clear that clubs are not making a conscious decision to avoid left-handed pitchers. We are employing the talent that is available to us in the GBC. But it does raise some interesting questions.
Should we load up our rosters with even more left-handed hitters, and just write off the few games that we play against southpaws?
Should we welcome otherwise marginal LH starting pitchers into our rotations, or perhaps employ a couple of LH swing men who can make spot starts against teams like ours that feature batting orders laden with lefties?
My lineup versus RHP features five LH batters and a switch hitter who can’t hit left-handed pitching, so essentially six LH hitters out of nine. Against LH starters, we have only three left-handed batters, and only then because of the 27-man roster limitations. Trust me, I’d platoon every position if I could, unless I have Mickey Mantle in the lineup.
After the season had commenced, I looked at the batting stats. Of course, RH batters in a platoon will receive fewer plate appearances than their LH platoon mates. But what I saw was extreme. My short-side platoon hitters were rarely getting into the games, and then only to spell the lefties who were tired. I was confused.
In MLB in real life, and coincidentally in the BBA, LH starting pitchers make up 29% of the rotations. But in the GBC, less than 10% of starts are made by LH starters. No GBC team has more than one LH SP, and half have an entirely right-handed rotation. All my carefully curated efforts to ensure success against LH pitching have gone for naught, and my RH platoon hitters are an unhappy bunch.
The bullpen situation is somewhat less lacking in LH pitchers, with roughly 16% of relievers throwing from the south side, just over half of the normal 29%.
It’s pretty clear that clubs are not making a conscious decision to avoid left-handed pitchers. We are employing the talent that is available to us in the GBC. But it does raise some interesting questions.
Should we load up our rosters with even more left-handed hitters, and just write off the few games that we play against southpaws?
Should we welcome otherwise marginal LH starting pitchers into our rotations, or perhaps employ a couple of LH swing men who can make spot starts against teams like ours that feature batting orders laden with lefties?