Ludwick powering past Rickey, the best B/R-T/L ever
TOWER GROVE — Back before he was an All-Star and well before he began slugging his way into the records (yes, that’s right, do read on), Cardinals outfielder Ryan Ludwick once found his name inked into the leadoff spot. Manager Tony La Russa gave a simple reason for putting Ludwick’s punch in the No. 1 slot.
“I thought about Rickey Henderson,” he said, “to be honest with you.”
As Ludwick will tell you, it ain’t his speed that reminded La Russa of The Rickey. It ain’t the batting gloves, glowing with the color of smooshed lightning bug guts, either. What Ludwick and Henderson share is a simple line on the back of their baseball cards. It reads, in short: B/R, T/L.
Bats right. Throws left.
Henderson is the best B/R, T/L player ever.
Ludwick may just be having the best power season ever for a B/R, T/L.
According to a report this past spring in the Newark Star-Ledger, there have been 10 players who bat right and throw left to play at least 450 games in the majors. It is as Jason Lane said in that article, “not the best route to go.” Ludwick is still a hundred games shy of becoming the 11th, but already he’s made his claim to being the best slugger of the group. As mentioned in Sunday’s paper, Ludwick is the first B/R, T/L player hit 30 home runs and the first to drive in 90 RBIs. Only Lane and Henderson have hit more than 25.
But calling Ludwick’s season the best power year by a B/R, T/L takes more than just those triple-crown jewels.
Using Baseball-Reference’s Player Index, it’s possible to search through all of the B/R, T/L hitters — from Damon Hollins to Jimmy Ryan, Carl Warwick to Hal Chase – and see how they slugged or how their runs-created rank. Ludwick, with about six weeks yet to hit, ranks among the best ever. If he keeps his current pace, he will be the first B/R T/L to have at least 250 plate appearances and slug better than .600. The top five slugging percentages (min. 250 PA):
- Ryan Ludwick …. .612+ … 2008
- “Rickey gonna be Rickey” … .577 … 1990
- Hal Breeden … .560 … 1973
- Rickey gonna be Rickey … .516 … 1985
- Jason Lane … .499 … 2005
“My left eye is dominant, I guess,” Lane told the Star-Ledger about why he B/R T/L’s. “Growing up in Northern California, I loved Rickey Henderson. But I never put it together (that they were both in the throw left, bat right club) until I got further into the game.”
Henderson dominates most of the B/R T/L rankings, and will be representing the rare species (rightbattia leftus) in Cooperstown, certainly as a first-ballot Hall of Famer. (Can’t wait for the speech.) The top nine seasons by a B/R T/L in terms of “Runs Created” belong to Henderson. Twelve of the top 14 seasons in “Runs Produced” belong to Henderson. As far performance over a career, no B/R T/L is close.
But when it comes to a season, Ludwick is making a run at Rickey.
Consider:
** RUNS CREATED **
1.-9. Rickey Henderson … from 138 RC in 1985 (24 HR, 146 R, .314 BA) to 103 RC in 1984.
10. Cleon Jones … 100 RC … 1969
11. Ryan Ludwick … 99+ RC … 2008
Ludwick is about to become only the third B/R T/L to have 100 RC in a season, and with more than 120 RC this season he would move into the all-Rickey top three. Runs produced is also an all-Rickey rankings that Ludwick is elbowing his way into.
** RUNS PRODUCED (RBI + R - HR) **
1.-4. Rickey gonna be Rickey … 194-160
5. Hal Chase … 160
6. Rickey gonna be Rickey … 158
7. Hal Chase … 157
8t. Rickey gonna be Rickey … 155
8t. Cleon Jones … 155
11. Hal Chase … 153
12t. Rickey gonna be Rickey … 152
14. Ryan Ludwick … 144+
It’s the raw power numbers, however, where Ludwick is leading the B/R T/L pack. Already mentioned was slugging percentage, but look three others: ISO (isolated power, which is similar to a batting average for extra-base hits); OPS+ (on-base percentag plus slugging percentage compared to the league average — more than 100 is above average, less than is below); and just counting up the extra-base hits by a B/R T/L player.
ISO (min. 250 PA)
- Ryan Ludwick … .306+ … 2008
- Hal Breeden … .260 … 1973
- Rickey Henderson … .252 … 1990
- Brian Hunter … .248 … 1992
- Brian Hunter … .246 … 1994
OPS + (min. 250 PA)
- Rickey Henderson … 188 … 1990
- Ryan Ludwick … 157+ … 2008
- Rickey Henderson … 157 … 1985
- Rickey Henderson … 155 … 1992
- Hal Chase … 154 … 1916
- Cleon Jones … 151 … 1969
- Rickey Henderson … 150 … 1981
- Rickey Henderson … 148 … 1993
- Rube Bressler … 147 … 1926
- Rickey Henderson … 145 … 1987, ‘84
EXTRA-BASE HITS
- Jason Lane … 64 … 2005
- Rickey Henderson … 64 … 1990
- Rickey Henderson … 64 … 1986
- Ryan Ludwick … 62+ … 2008
- Hal Chase … 58 … 1915
Back in high school, Ludwick realized the rarity of batting right and throwing left so he attempted to make himself into a switch-hitter. He wanted to know what it felt like to see the ball as well from righthanders as he did batting righthanded against lefties. This past spring training, he said he wished he stayed with it.
It would fit into his ambidextrous life.
Ludwick writes with his left hand, throws with his left hand and kicks with his left foot (when, you know, chipping through extra points). Everything he does righthander. He eats righthander, plays tennis righthanded, golfs righthanded, et cetera. Asked how he could get through youth baseball without a coach or someone trying to get the lefthanded thrower to also be a lefthanded hitter, Ludwick joked:
“No one straightened me out.”
The records — at least those specialized ones above — sure show that.
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Derrick Goold said he was going to Mizzou for capital-J journalism, but after growing up in the Time Zone Baseball Forgot he was really drawn to MU sitting between two major-league cities. Goold joined the Post-Dispatch in 2001 after working for The Times-Picayune and Rocky Mountain News, covering sports from LSU to NHL and every level of baseball in between. 
Oops, sorry Maris was bat left throw right. there have been plenty of them around. There haven’t been many of the throw left bat right guys.
I grew up having to watch the Mets of the 1980’s and remember how rare Outfielder Mark Carreon was with his B/R T/L. He and Ricky are the only ones I can remember before Lud. Great article!
It seems to me that B/B T/L is about as uncommon, if not more so, as B/R T/L. In fact, Berkman is the only one that I can recall. Before Ludwick, I could only name two of the B/R T/L variety: Henderson and Jones.
Another dive into the realm of speculation: It has seemed to me for many years that it is much more common for Lefties to live an “ambidextrous life” - my sister and my wife being two exceptions (each has to be reminded from time to time that they have a right hand) than for us predominantly righthanded people. Stan the Man, when he autographed a baseball for me over 50 years ago, did it very neatly with his right hand. Terry Baker, the Oregon quarterback of the early 60’s passed lefthanded and threw a baseball righthanded as a third baseman (he attributed that to having to use his older brother’s glove). And I’m pretty sure that Pete Dawkins, the Army football star of the late fifties, was almost completely ambidextrous, though I think he threw a football lefthanded on those rare occasions when he threw one at all.
There’s a college pitcher who throws from both sides with considerable success. The New York Times profiled him back in the spring. I think he’s considered at least a draftable player, if not a top prospect.
In a book I read probably 25 years ago about the early history of the Mets, there was a passage that described Casey Stengel being harassed in his hotel room by a guy wanting a tryout. He was a pitcher who claimed to throw equally with either hand. I’m not sure if he ever got a major-league shot.
The great Paul Richards, who once managed the White Sox and later was both manager and GM with the Orioles, pitched both left and righthanded in high school. I don’t recall if he ever pitched one game lefty and another righty but he run into the same problem that the guy covered by the Times did. He was switch pitching in a game and came up against a switch hitter who would change sides of the batter’s box everytime Richards put his glove on the other hand. Instead of waiting on the umpire to settle it, Richards reportedly dropped his glove, stood with both feet on the rubber and waited on the batter to pick a box.
He made it to the majors as a catcher, however.
Another interesting insight from DG, this time about a player having a breakout season. Ludwick has worked through all sorts of adversity to get where he is today, and now he is getting his reward. He also plays the game hard and in the Cardinal tradition, much like the guys back in the 1930s and ’40s.
Back in the days when Rickey was the only BRTL on the All-Star Ballot, I seem to recall that there were a few pitchers (active in the ’80s) who were BRTL.
Also, former major league outfielder John Cangelosi was BRTL until he learned to bat left handed in the minors (I remember him from the ‘85-86 Sox; he also played for Pittsburgh, the ‘97 Marlins et alii).
Vida Blue was pretty famously ambidextrous. And he was a rare switch hitting left handed pitcher.
So Luddy is pretty much the third most accomplished BR, TL, behind the biggest crook ever in baseball and Rickey. Wow, strange company.