Cross-dominance, also known as mixed- handedness, hand confusion, or mixed dominance, is a

motor skill A motor skill is a function that involves specific movements of the body's muscles to perform a certain task. These tasks could include walking, running, or riding a bike. In order to perform this skill, the body's nervous system, muscles, and br ...

manifestation in which a person favors one hand for some tasks and the other hand for others, or a hand and the contralateral leg. For example, a cross-dominant person might write with the right hand and do everything else with the left one, or manage and kick a ball preferentially with the left leg. It can also refer to mixed

laterality The term laterality refers to the preference most humans show for one side of their body over the other. Examples include left-handedness/right-handedness and left/right- footedness; it may also refer to the primary use of the left or right he ...

, which refers to a person favoring eyes, ears, feet, or hands on one side of the body. A person who is cross-dominant can also be stronger on the opposite side of the body that they favor; for example, a right-handed person can be stronger on the left side. Cross-dominance can often be a problem when shooting or in activities that require aim, although athletes can still achieve success in sports that require accuracy, like passing in

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

and shooting in basketball.

In baseball

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

a left-handed batter is about two steps closer to first base than a right-handed batter, one important advantage. Because curveballs and

slider Slider or Sliders may refer to: Arts * K.K. Slider, a fictional character within the ''Animal Crossing'' franchise * '' The Slider'', a 1972 album by T. Rex * ''Sliders'' (TV series), an American science fiction and fantasy television series * ...

s – the most commonly used breaking pitches in the game – curve in the direction of a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

's non-throwing hand, a batter who bats opposite the pitcher's throwing hand enjoys an advantage. Since most pitchers are right-handed, left-handed batters enjoy a second advantage over their right-handed counterparts.The advantage of batting left handed
/ref> However, right-handed throwing is more valuable in the infield. Every fielding position can be played by a right-handed thrower, although left-handers are considered more valuable pitchers and have a slight advantage at first base owing to the fact that they do not have to turn around to place their foot on first when stretching to catch a throw, and because their gloved hand is closer to the runner on pick-off plays. Conversely, left-handed throwers are almost completely absent at the highest level at the other infield positions and at

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

. Switch hitting exists so a batter can hit from the side opposite every pitcher's throwing arm, but it has gained some criticism because a batter will always be more dominant from one side of the plate than the other; the switch hitter may be less reliable from one side. So, many baseball players are trained to be simply cross-dominant, batting solely left-handed and throwing solely right-handed. There are a few position players, such as

Rickey Henderson Rickey Nelson Henley Henderson (born December 25, 1958) is an American retired professional baseball left fielder who played his 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine teams from 1979 to 2003, including four separate tenures with hi ...

and

Cleon Jones Cleon Joseph Jones (born June 24, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left fielder. Jones played most of his career for the New York Mets and in 1969 caught the final out of the "Mira ...

, who bat right and throw left, but this serves as a substantial disadvantage. Henderson batted right despite his natural inclination to do so left-handed only because he was taught to do so by right-handed teammates.Bats: Right Throws: Left
/ref>

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cross-Dominance Handedness

In baseball

See also

References

External links