Imagine being in one class and writing with your right hand and going to the next class and writing with your left. While that might seem like a disaster waiting to happen, this is the type of dynamic some of the hitters on the varsity baseball team use to benefit them at the plate.

The ability to hit from either the right or left side of the plate is called switch-hitting, which is a rare feat in today’s game. It makes the hitter immune to situational pitching late in the game. by eliminating the pitcher’s advantage by moving to the other batter’s box, thus increasing his comfort level and improving his vision from the once-tough sidearm pitcher.

From Mickey Mantle to Chipper Jones, switch-hitters have been giving their teams an offensive advantage for over a century.

Switch-hitting is a very valuable asset the Perry baseball team has this season: four players, including juniors Austin Bull, Jeremy McCuin, Brock Heffron and senior Kyle Huckaby all switch-hit.

“It gives us an opportunity to face an either right or left handed pitcher,” head coach Shane Hilstrom said, noting the advantage it gives his lineup in the ultra-competitive division the Pumas play in. “I like the versatility of it.”

McCuin, who plays both second base and shortstop, has been switch-hitting since last year.

“It makes it interesting,” McCuin stated. “It makes it easier to hit so I don’t have to go righty-on-righty and lefty-on-lefty.”

Bull, who also plays in the middle infield, is another great switch-hitter on the team who has been doing it since he was a child.

“[Switch hitting] is all about facing different pitches,” Bull said. “It makes you a more competitive aspect for your team.”

Having multiple switch hitters has benefited the team in several ways. Earlier this season an opposing coach, who started a left-hander made a pitching change to a righty. His frustration was clear when he saw hitter after hitter move to the other side of the plate.

Advantage Pumas.