Jun 22, 2022 4 min read

Wild Things infielder Chris Eusay is part of dying breed in baseball – he’s a switch-hitter.

Switch-hitting has been a coveted skill throughout baseball history, but the number of batters who can swing it both ways has dwindled in recent years. The art of batting from both sides of the plate would figure to be at a premium in this age of defensive shifts and advanced analytics. However, a look at the Frontier League rosters on opening day this year showed fewer than a dozen switch-hitters.

So what in the name of Mickey Mantle, Pete Rose and Chipper Jones is going on? The explanation for why this skill hasn’t soared in popularity is simple. It’s much harder than Mantle, Rose and Jones made it look.

“It’s definitely hard, but I think it has opened some doors for me,” Eusay said. “You get to see the ball longer from the left side. I have more power from the right side but I’ve drawn more walks from the left side. I have a better eye from that side.”

Eusay, a natural right-handed hitter, said he began trying to hit lefty as a sophomore in high school. It came at the suggestion of his father, who was his high school coach.

“My first year of switch-hitting was obviously a struggle. The second year was so-so,” Eusay recalled. “The third, it started to click.”

Eusay played two years of college baseball, where his coaches did not allow him to switch-hit.

He transferred to Southeastern Oklahoma for his third year of college ball and went back to switch-hitting. He batted .304 the first season of swinging from sides and was a .291 hitter in his final year of college ball.

The number of switch hitters in the major leagues peaked in 1989, when 25 percent of all batters qualified for the batting title hit from both sides of the plate. That number has dwindled drastically in recent decades. Eusay said he has noticed the sparse numbers of switch hitters.

“If you possess the ability to be a capable hitter on one side of the plate, then stay on that side. But I’m all-in about switch-hitting. I was only 5-3 as a freshman in high school (he’s now 5-11) and being a switch-hitter was something that got me in the lineup.”

Eusay believes he is somewhat unique among switch hitters in that he doesn’t know from which side of the plate he is a better hitter.

Eusay said his left-handed swing is not a mirror image of his right-handed swing, unlike players such as Rose or Jones.

“I have two completely different swings,” Eusay said.

Minor developments

Four former Wild Things are currently playing in the affiliated minor leagues: pitchers Ryan Hennen, Austin Kitchen, James Meeker and Sean Kealey.

Hennen, the Frontier League’s Rookie of the year and Pitcher of the Year last season, is in the Kansas City Royals system with Class A Columbia. The lefty has pitched in only four games, all in relief, and has a 1-0 record with a 2.03 ERA. Hennen has struck out 19 in 13.1 innings.

Kitchen, a former Mt. Lebanon High School standout who was signed by the Colorado Rockies last year before playing in a game with the Wild Things, is in Class A with Spokane. He has pitched in 13 games (3 starts) and has a 3-1 record with a 3.15 ERA and 33 strikeouts in 40 innings.

Meeker, who played three seasons for the Wild Things before being signed late last season by Milwaukee, is pitching for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers, the Brewers’ Class A affiliate in Appleton, Wisc. Meeker has pitched in 17 games and has a 4-2 record, three saves and a 5.01 ERA. He has struck out 23 and walked only four in 23 1/3 innings.

Kealey was signed early last season by St. Louis and is currently with the Cardinals’ Class AA affiliate in Springfield (Mo.). He has pitched in 14 games in relief and has a 1-2 record and 5.89 ERA. Kealey has struck out 28 in 18 1/3 innings.