Local lefties carry on a proud tradition

According to Lefthandzone.com, the slogan adopted by left-handed people reads, “Everyone is born right-handed. Only the greatest overcome it.”

While this statement was obviously made in jest, the list of famous left-handers is quite lengthy considering the fact that lefties make up just 13 percent of world population.

The list includes Benjamin Franklin, Julius Caesar, Henry Ford, Helen Keller, Oprah Winfrey, Steve Forbes, David Letterman, Jay Leno, Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Isaac Newton, Bill Gates, Robert DeNiro, and Michelangelo.

Five of our last eight presidents have been left-handers — Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and Barack Obama.

Throughout the years, many left-handers have displayed their athletic talents in a variety of venues, including Pele, Mark Spitz, Bruce Jenner, Gale Sayers, Larry Bird, Bill Russell, Dorothy Hamill, John McEnroe, and Jimmy Connors.

Arguably no sport has been dominated by left-handers quite like baseball, particularly on the pitcher’s mound.

Several local high school baseball teams have benefited this season with the help of solid left-handed pitching.

St. Charles East’s Wes Benjamin (4-0), Dan Ditusa (4-0), St. Charles North’s Phil Warner (2-1), and Marmion’s Tim Tarter (4-0) have combined for a 14-1 record.

Over the past two seasons, Benjamin, Tarter and Warner have compiled an impressive 33-5 mark.

Streamwood, which was unbeaten until Batavia’s Michael Rutas no-hit them Monday, features a pair of left-handed pitching standouts in Villanova-bound Josh Harris and Dalton Lundeen.

The importance of having a top-notch left-handed pitcher or two on your staff isn’t lost on St. Charles East coach Dave Haskins or St. Charles North coach Todd Genke.

“I think left-handers do have an advantage to a certain extent,” said Genke, whose teams have featured lefty aces Zach Hirsch and Danny Jimenez in recent years.

“They can help intimidate baserunners with their pickoff move to first base,” added Genke. “And there’s the old adage that you just don’t see many left-handers.”

Haskins always welcomes having left-handers on his roster.

“Nothing against the righties on my staff but I love having left-handers,” said Haskins, himself a lefty.

“Left-handers, especially at the high school level, can shut down running games. Runners just can’t get good reads off of them. And they generally throw that tailing fastball on the outer third of the plate to right-handed hitters.”

That tailing fastball comes in handy when you consider that most high school batting orders include at least six or seven right-handed hitters.

“Those are two huge advantages,” said Haskins, whose Class 4A regional championship team of a year ago included lefties Benjamin, Tommy Konrad and Tommy Laudadio. “That’s why they’re a sought-after commodity.”

Genke feels there are additional advantages.

“When I batted in the minors, the pitch that made me nuts was the cutter from a left-hander,” said Genke, who was a right-handed pitcher/batter.

“It’s a tough pitch to handle,” added Genke. “There’s something about the velocity of a pitch thrown by left-handers. For some reason, the ball seems to get on batters quicker.”

Benjamin, who has been the Saints’ ace the last 2 years, enjoys any advantage he can get when he takes the mound.

“Teams face righties most of the time,” said the Kansas-bound senior. “They don’t see the tailing fastball that goes away from right-handed hitters.”

It certainly doesn’t hurt that Benjamin (6-3), Tarter (6-6), and Warner (6-5½) all enjoy some leverage over the batters.

“I think my height is sometimes an intimidation factor,” said Warner, who worked on increasing his endurance during the off-season. “I’m throwing on more of a downhill plane which can be hard to track.”

Being left-handed doesn’t necessarily mean that the pickoff moves come naturally.

“Coach Haskins implemented a series of pickoff moves last year,” said Benjamin. “We work on it every day. We feel that a big part of the game is holding runners where they are.”

“You have to find the pickoff move that works best for you,” said Warner, who is joined on the North Stars’ staff by fellow lefty Josh Loynachan. “Coach (Terry) Ayers had us working on pickoff moves all day sometimes at practice.”

Living in a right-handed world isn’t always easy.

You try sitting in a chair fit for a right-hander and write a paper, or use right-handed scissors with your left hand.

Even simple things like shaking hands, putting on a belt, and buttoning a shirt can pose challenges for left-handers.

“I’ve conformed to living in a right-handed world,” said Benjamin.

“It has never bothered me even when my freshman coach called us left-handers ‘wrong-armers,’” said Warner.

Here are a few more little-known facts about left-handers:

Ÿ Lucky Day is Tuesday.

Ÿ Left-Handed Day is August 13.

Ÿ They tend to be creative, visual thinkers.

Or as another left-hander, W.C. Fields, once said, “The right half of the brain controls the left half of the body. This means that only left-handed people are in their right mind.”

While left-handed people are more prone to have allergies and suffer from insomnia and migraines, they also tend to be intellectual and good-looking.

Perhaps that explains why I’m right-handed.

Ÿ You can reach Craig Brueske at csb4k@hotmail.com