The lefty specialist: necessary or not?

October 11, 1:08 AMMLB ExaminerAlex Brown

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The left-handed specialist – every team has one.  These pitchers usually are on the roster to face the opposing team’s tough lefty hitters, and nothing else.  But are these guys doing their job?  To find out, I’ve looked at the stats of the best, and worst lefty specialists.

Javier Lopez of the Red Sox is a typical lefty specialist, and one who excels in his role.  This year he held lefties to a .182 batting average in 131 plate appearances.  Don’t let him face any righties though, as they hit .311 off him in 2008. 

J.C. Romero spent most of 2008 as the lone lefty in the Phillies bullpen, and there’s a reason for that (no, not just the lack of capable lefty hurlers).  He held left-handed hitters to a paltry .102 batting average, and an even more impressive .123 batting average against on balls in play.  He has experience as a setup man and may place slightly above your average one-batter pitcher.

Scott Schoeneweis of the Mets had stats similar to Lopez.  Lefties hit .178 against him in 2008, but righties swung .333 off him for the year.  His splits have always leaned in this direction.

Scott Downs, who pitches out of the Blue Jays bullpen, was terrific against batters of any handedness.  Lefties and righties both hit under .230 against him, with left handed batters coming in at .194. 

Ron Mahay signed a lucrative free agent deal with the Royals this past offseason.  He had moderate success in getting lefties out, as they hit .255 off of him.  However, much cheaper options were available to fill this role.

Jack Taschner of the Giants was highly coveted by teams in the pennant races at the trade deadline, mostly for his reputation as a lefty specialist.  However, lefties hit .279 against him in 2008, making him far from a lock to get that important out.

Randy Flores has filled the lefty specialist role for a World Series winner – the St. Louis Cardinals in 2006.  This year, he gave up a .314 batting average to left-handers!  This was only made worst by his .316 mark when facing righties.

Joe Beimel of the NL West winning Los Angeles Dodgers posted a stellar 2.02 ERA out of the bullpen.  However, lefties hit .278 against him, meaning he failed in many situations but was bailed out by other relievers.

So, is it important to have a good lefty specialist in your bullpen?  Answers would probably vary depending on who you talked to.  As illustrated above, teams can make the playoffs with subpar lefties , like Beimel.  Sometimes, a good lefty is integral to a team’s success, as is the case with Lopez and Romero.  Ultimately, I believe that this role is overrated – it’s much better to have a pitcher like Downs, who can face hitters from both sides of the place with about equal success.  Of course, those kinds of pitchers are few and far between in MLB.