St. Louis Cardinals: Baseball’s switch-hitting central

With four potential switch-hitters, the St. Louis Cardinals could resume an unequaled legacy of both-sides batters in 2020. Who makes up that history?

The St. Louis Cardinals will likely carry four switch hitters at various times in 2020, which is three more than they used in 2018, four more than 2014 (not counting pitchers Tyler Lyons and Pat Neshek), and equal to the record number of switch-hitting St. Louis Hall of Famers: Frankie Frisch, Red Schoendienst, Ozzie Smith, and Ted Simmons.

The Gateway City can claim one more Cooperstown switch-hitter in Cool Papa Bell, the Negro League superstar who played most of his first 10 years (1922-31) with the St. Louis Stars. That means that a third of the 15 switch-hitting Hall of Fame batters* played a plurality of their careers in St. Louis.

The current Cardinals are bucking a trend with a roster that includes both-sides batters Dexter Fowler, Matt Wieters, Tommy Edman, and eventually — if all goes well — hot prospect Dylan Carlson. Last year, just 56 major-league players hit from both sides of the plate and amassed more than 100 at-bats, an average of 1.9 per team and a 23 percent drop since 2010. The Pirates and Tigers led baseball with four 100-at-bat switch-hitters; six teams had none.

Fowler said he started switch-hitting as a newcomer in the Rockies organization. “I was goofing off in the cage and they came to me and was like, ‘Hey, have you ever switch hit?’ and I was like, ‘No,'” he said, quoted in a 2017 ksdk.com story. “They were like, ‘Well, you’ve got a nice swing.’

The next day they call me into the office and I think I’m in trouble and they’re like, ‘We want you to start switch-hitting’ and I was like, ‘All right.’” Fowler has better career splits hitting righty (.284/.803 OPS) than lefty (.250/.768) but has more home-run power (97 HR, 4,221 PAs) from the left side than the right (26 HR, 1,559 PAs).

The fifth overall pick by the Orioles in the 2007 June draft, Wieters hit just .237, .224 and .214 against righties from 2011 to 2013, generating a limpid .628 OPS as a left-handed batter in ’13 compared to a .282 average and .872 OPS swinging the other way. But in 2015, Wieters hit slightly better (.268/.746) left-handed than right-handed (.265/.728). Overall, he’s been better right-handed (.264/.787) than left-handed (.245/.702).

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In just 349 career plate appearances, Edman has also had more success hitting right-handed (.321/.964) than left-handed (.298/.810), although both splits are good. Jeff Carlson, legendary Elk Grove High coach, taught son Carlson to switch hit. The outfield prospect hit .299/.931 as a left-hander last year vs .274/.861 as a righty.

Carlson will likely begin the season the minors and Wieters will back up Molina, meaning the four switch-hitters will rarely take the field together. That was not the case with the 1985 Cardinals, who started five switch-hitters on a regular basis. Vince Coleman, Willie McGee and Tom Herr generally manned the top three spots in the order, with Terry Pendleton batting sixth and Ozzie Smith seventh or eighth. That was bad news for opposing managers looking for lefty or righty reliever advantages.

The Redbirds’ switch-hitting tradition stretches back even further. In 1934, the Gas House Gang Cardinals became the first World Series winner with three switch hitters — Frankie Frisch, Ripper Collins, and Jack Rothrock — in their regular lineup.

It took 31 years for a World Champion to employ as many (actually one more) righty-and-lefty starting hitters, with the 1965 Dodgers famously fielding an all-switch-hitting infield, with Wes Parker at first, Jim Lefebvre at second, Junior Gilliam at third, and Maury Wills at shortstop.

Frisch became the first switch hitter inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1947, while Simmons is the most recent, officially joining the Cooperstown immortals this year. Only 10 switch hitters, including pitcher Vida Blue, have won MVPs.

The Cardinals and the Braves are the only franchises with two switch-hitting MVPs, with Frisch (1931) and McGee (1985) winning with the Redbirds, and Pendleton (1991), who’d just left the Cards, and Chipper Jones (1999) winning with the Braves. At least twice, St. Louis has swapped switch-hitters (with various throw-ins), trading Garry Templeton to the Padres for Ozzie Smith in 1981, and Willie McGee to the A’s for Felix Jose in 1990.

Second base is by far the most switchy Cardinals position. Besides Frisch (with St. Louis from 1927-37), Schoendienst (1945-56, 61-63), Herr (1979-88) and Edman, there’s Miller Huggins (1910-16), who is also in the Hall of Fame, but as a manager, Jimmy Brown (1937-43), Jose Oquendo (1986-95), Luis Alicea (1988, 1991-94), and Aaron Miles (2006-08, 2010).

The Redbirds could easily field an all-switch-hitting lineup, minus the pitcher, with Simmons (1968-70) at catcher, Ripper Collins (1931-36) at first, Frisch at second, Pendleton (1984-90) at third, Ozzie (1982-96) at short, Coleman (1985-90) in left, McGee (1982-90, 1996-99) in center, and either Reggie Smith (1974-76) or Carlos Beltran (2012-13) in right.

Next. Ryan Helsley and Alex Reyes are closer underdogs. dark

Stick Cool Papa Bell in center, and that’s one lineup no righty or lefty pitcher would want to face.

* This doesn’t count switch-hitting pitchers. Beside the four ex-Cardinals and Cool Papa Bell, the other 10 switch-hitting Hall of Famers include three players who predated Frisch but were inducted after him: Roger Connor, who played from 1880-1887, George Davis (1890-09), and Max Carey (1910-29). The remaining seven: Dave Bancroft (1915-30), Negro League catcher Biz Mackey (1920-47), Mickey Mantle (1951-68), Eddie Murray (1977-97), Tim Raines (1979-2002), Roberto Alomar (1988-2004), and Chipper Jones (1993, 1995-2012). All-time hits leader Pete Rose (1963-86) is not a Hall of Famer.

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