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July 24, 2009

Strange But True!

Q. When are diamonds a left-hander's best friend?

A. When they're baseball diamonds, says Washington University in St. Louis engineering professor David Peters. Just look at the numbers. While only 10 percent of the population is left-handed, 25 percent of major leaguers are. Of the 61 pitchers enshrined in the National Baseball Hall of Fame, 13 are left-handed, or 21 percent, more than twice that in the general population. It's even more striking for position players: Of 128 in the Hall, 71 are righties, 59 are lefties and eight are switch-hitters — or close to 50-50! Among left-handers are some of the game's greatest: Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, George Brett, Barry Bonds.


 
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