It is one of the most beloved games on the planet, and is one of the few that always gets coverage on prime-time news. The World Series always makes the news throughout the world, even if it is just a two minute spot on the Red Socks finally winning or my Toronto Blue Jays… oh who am I kidding, they’re not going to be in the World Series.But according to David A. Peters, Ph.D., the McDonnell Douglas Professor of Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis, the game may be engineered towards a very small planetary population: the left hander.A devoted St. Louis Cardinals fan, Peters is a mechanical engineer who specializes in aircraft and helicopter engineering. However, unlike many Americans (and other baseball fans around the world), his interest in the sport takes on a whole new spin. "Ninety percent of the human population is right-handed, but in baseball 25 percent of the players, both pitchers, and hitters, are left-handed," he says. Peters has looked in to the game of baseball, and has found that it looks like the game is designed from top to bottom to favor the southpaw. As a result, the desire for left handers in your team continues to grow, as these reasons become apparent. "A right-handed batter facing a right-handed pitcher actually has to pick up the ball visually as it comes from behind his (the batter's) left shoulder. The left-handed batter facing the right-handed pitcher has the ball coming to him, so he has a much clearer view of pitches." Then, Peters says, consider the batter's box. After a right-hander connects with a ball, his momentum spins him toward the third-base side and he must regroup to take even his first step toward first base. In contrast, the left-hander's momentum carries him directly toward first. "The left-handed batter has a five-foot advantage over the right-handed batter," says Peters. "And that means the lefty travels the 90 feet to first roughly one-sixth of a second faster than the righty. That translates to more base hits for the left-hander, whether singles or extra base hits because lefties are getting to the bases more quickly." There are more positions favorable to a left hander then just the batting cage though. The left handed pitcher is able to watch first base to ensure no one steals. First base and right field also favor the lefty, allowing them to throw the ball more quickly across the diamond to second, third and home. Looking away from the players, Peters also points to a bias in the way that the field is designed. Right field in most parks, especially if you look at venues like Yankee Stadium and Fenway Park, is usually shorter due to the fact that the majority of hitters are right handed. And Peters brings everything again back to the familiarity aspect. "Because only 10 percent of the population is left-handed, kids grow up and mature in baseball seeing a left-hander just 10 percent of the time they bat," he says. "So, it can be hard for both lefties and righties to face a southpaw. It's why some left-handed batters look dreadful matched against a lefty." Posted by Josh Hill. Source: http://www.physorg.com/news134671379.html