The scrawny kid usually gets a hit. He’s left handed but bats right. Batting right means his surest and strongest hand is nearest the bottom of the bats, and maybe this helps steady his swing. Batting right also means that as his bat leaves his shoulder, its tip seeking the ball, his left arm leads the way. It’s the arm he habitually uses to reach for things, and maybe that gives him a surer, truer swing. He’s only ten, none of this occurs to him, but he just accepts as fact that if the softball drops anywhere near his strike zone, he will connect. Continue reading “The Scrawny Kid on Base” →