Will Pablo Sandoval Be the Next Red Sox to Ditch Switch-Hitting?
Pablo Sandoval wasn’t in the Red Sox starting lineup on Patriots’ Day, the likely result of his early season woes against left-handed pitchers like Baltimore starter Wei-Yin Chen.
Early on in the 2015 season, Sandoval is 0-for-13 from the right side and 13-for-32 from the left side, cumulatively resulting in a .289 batting average.
Deadlocked at 2-2 in the bottom of the eighth inning Friday night, the Orioles intentionally walked Hanley Ramirez with one out and a runner on second. With southpaw Brian Matusz on the mound, Baltimore opted to face Sandoval, and the Red Sox third baseman grounded into a rally-killing double play to end the inning.
Sandoval’s struggles hitting from the right side aren’t a new trend. He hit just .199 against lefties in 2014, and is a .267 lifetime hitter from the right side of the plate. Compare those numbers to a .317 average in 2014 and .305 career average from the left side and it’s clear to see Sandoval is a more productive player against right-handed pitching.
Will Sandoval consider hitting exclusively from the left side, as Daniel Nava opted to starting this spring training (though he bunted from the right side against Matusz in the ninth inning)? Shane Victorino also gave up switch-hitting and now bats solely from the right side.
The Red Sox made a $95 million investment in Sandoval this offseason, and he’s the starting third baseman for the foreseeable future. It’d be curious to invest that much in a player the team had concerns about going forward, but given the recent history of switch-hitters opting to focus exclusively on hitting from one side of the plate, it’s an intriguing situation moving forward.
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