In Good Company as a Lefty-Righty

All through youth baseball, high school ball and even junior college, I got some funky looks from teammates and friends when I strode up to the left side of the plate. Typically, the reaction went something like, "Wait, what the hell are you doing, Guido? I thought you were right-handed." To which I would respond with a shrug and say, "Look, this is the way I hit, OK? I don't know why, so just pitch the friggin' ball already!"

It turns out I wasn't as much of a freak as my friends thought (at least not within the confines of baseball). Some of the greatest hitters of all-time were Bats: Left-Throws: Right guys. Have a look-see:

• Ted Williams. Hall of Famer, two-time AL MVP (1946, 1949), 17-time All-Star, six-time AL batting champion, .344 career batting average, last player to hit .400 for a season (.406 in 1941)
• Ty Cobb. Hall of Famer, 1911 AL MVP, 11-time AL batting champion, .366 career batting average, 4,191 career hits
• George Brett. Hall of Famer, 1980 AL MVP, 13-time All-Star, three-time AL batting champion, .305 career batting average, 3,154 career hits
• Rod Carew. Hall of Famer, 1977 AL MVP, 18-time All-Star, seven-time AL batting champion, .328 career batting average, 3,053 career hits
• Wade Boggs. Hall of Famer, 12-time All-Star, five-time AL batting champion, .328 career batting average, 3,010 career hits

Not to mention some of today's stars:

• Jim Thome. Five-time All-Star, 2003 ML HR champion (47), 559 career homers
• Ichiro Suzuki. 2001 AL MVP, nine-time All-Star, three-time AL batting champion, five-time ML hits leader (on his way to a sixth), .333 career batting average
• Jason Giambi. 2000 AL MVP, five-time All-Star, 407 career homers
• Chase Utley. Four-time All-Star, four straight seasons of 100-plus RBIs (on his way to a fifth), .299 career batting average
• Prince Fielder. Two-time All-Star, 2007 NL home run champion (50), 140 career HRs in less than four full seasons