Boston Red Sox outfielder Shane Victorino is going to pick a side of the plate and stick with it, abandoning switch-hitting to become an exclusively right-handed bat for the team in 2015.
Red Sox manager John Farrell broke the news before Saturday's Spring Training contest against the Pittsburgh Pirates. The move is both for performance purposes and to protect the veteran outfielder after he felt some discomfort batting left-handed this spring.
"I think with all the work he’s been doing in the cage swinging left-handed, some of the tightness that he has, (he) felt it was as a result of the left-handed swing,” Farrell said, per RedSox.com. “That gets alleviated (swinging right-handed), and I think that has a chance to free up his mind, as well. That’s the plan going forward with him — he’s going to hit right-handed.”
Victorino didn't switch hit for the first time in his career in 2014, as he played through a litany of various injuries. It appears that will now be a permanent arrangement for the 11-year pro.
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