Estimates are that 7-10% of the population are left-handed. But more than 20% of professional baseball players are left-handed (the figure is closer to 30% for non-pitchers.) On the other hand, among the 32 seeded players at the US Open tennis tournament, only two are lefties (about 6%.) Explain.
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Cheap Talk 
9 comments
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September 9, 2009 at 10:47 am
Matt
I can explain for baseball. A pitcher would rather face a batter of the same handedness because his breaking pitch will break away from the batter, making it harder to hit than a pitch breaking towards the batter. Thus, the batter would rather face a pitcher of opposite handedness. Even natural righties who are relatively ambidextrous or simply very good athletes can train themselves to bat left-handed, giving them an edge when facing the more common right-handed pitchers. This is why some are switch-hitters, and others throw with their right but bat with their left. There is a disproportionate number of lefties even among pitchers, who usually cannot train themselves against their natural handedness, for a different reason. I think it is related to selection of pitcher versus other positions on the diamond. Lefties cannot play any of the infield positions except first because of the throwing angle. Their choice of non-pitcher positions is limited, so they are more likely to become pitchers.
September 9, 2009 at 11:49 am
Thorfinn
Among the Yanomamo, a violent Amazonian tribe, the frequency of left-handedness in the baseline population is a lot higher, as being left-handed confers some advantage in combat (in that case, either handed-ness is advantageous as long as it is the less common one).
September 9, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Brij
A Vast Left-Handed Conspiracy (from Washington Post)
“six of the 12 chief executives since the end of World War II will have been left-handed: Harry Truman, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, the elder Bush, Clinton and either Obama or McCain. That’s a disproportionate number, considering that only one in 10 people in the general population is left-handed.”
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/07/03/AR2008070303202.html
September 9, 2009 at 1:24 pm
el chief
Tennis players are both pitchers and hitters, so there is no advantage to being left handed.
September 9, 2009 at 2:28 pm
osssobucco
Lefties bat from the right side of the plate so they are a step or so closer to first base, and every base after that! This is probably the main factor.
September 9, 2009 at 8:57 pm
jeff
Yes to all. Here are some further thoughts.
1. An implication of this is that in baseball, the average “raw talent” of left-handers will be lower than that of right-handers and yet they will still have similar average results. So for example, right-handed pitchers will throw on average faster then left-handers but there should be no difference in their winning percentage, strikeouts, etc. I have never seen the data but it would be cool to check this.
2. As el chief pointed out, tennis is a symmetric game so whatever advantage a lefty would have over a righty, a righty would also have over a lefty. With one exception. Games begin with a serve from the “deuce” court (the right side of the court as you face the net.) From this position a lefty’s serve slices into his opponent, while a righty’s serve slices away from his opponent. Since games begin here, a majority of points will be played here and this gives righties a slight edge. (thus the 6% lefties in tennis?)
3. Zero sum games with these interior mixed equilibria can have funny comparative statics. What would happen if there was a sudden injection of a large number of very talented left-handers into the population? In baseball, the effect could easily be to *reduce* the number of left-handed players.
September 9, 2009 at 11:00 pm
Matt
Your prediction #1 is definitely true. Righties typically throw harder than lefties. Left-handed pitchers often have longer careers as well because the drop-off in pitch velocity that comes in the 30’s does not reduce their value by as much as it does for righties. It is not uncommon for lefty relievers to extend their careers into their late thirties playing the role of a lefty specialist, who is only called upon to pitch in late innings or key situations against a tough lefty batter, or against consecutive lefties. So there are even asymmetries in the specific roles played by lefties and righties on a pitching staff. Different roles tend to have different average stats because some roles require pitching in more difficult situations than others. There would be a lot to control for if you were going to test what you suggested.
September 10, 2009 at 4:23 pm
ed
I would think lefties would have an advantage in tennis, simply because lefties would have lots of practice facing righties, but righties wouldn’t have as much experience facing lefties.
But I guess this advantage is outweighed by other things (like starting with the deuce court.)
September 10, 2009 at 8:32 pm
Erik
I’ve found in one on one sports, particularly martial arts (and even more in weapons based martial arts), being left handed is a big advantage once you a have a grasp of the basics and are facing poor to above average opponents. I think this is related to the idea that average and even above average opponents aren’t used to lefties.
On the other hand, once you get near the top ranks, the best competitors likely have faced enough lefties that they know all the unexpected angles a lefty can come from. Also as a lefty, any instruction you receive is likely to be from right handers, so you have to translate it into a mirror image. Often there is a lack of top level coaches who can teach a lefty the more subtle aspects of the game.
Therefore I’d expect under representation of lefties in the top ranks of a one on one sport at tennis, but that you’d see a lot of left handers doing well in a pick up game on the weekend