Our son is ambidextrous. We are staring him in T-Ball...how do we know which glove to buy or.......?

Question

Our son is ambidextrous and we are staring him in T-Ball right now. My question is how do we know which glove to buy him or which side should he hit from. We bought him a right handed glove, should we just buy him a left handed glove too and see which one feels better for him?

Answer 1

You've had alot of good ideas for the glove issue, so I'm going to address the batting issue...  As a former pitcher and catcher, HATED pitching to lefties as a right handed pitcher.  As a catcher, left handed batters are harder to have a quick pick off move to 1st, but it's easier to throw the runner out trying to steal 2nd if the batter is a righty.  I know that it's many years down the road, but many coaches in middle and high schools teach the drag bunt or swinging bunt (esp in softball, but in baseball as well) that is much easier if you are already a lefty.  

My suggestion, encourage him to be a switch hitter.  He'll still have a dominant side with a better swing, but will be a better hitter because it will give him a different view of the ball.

I know lots of people who are right handed but play ball left handed and are left handed batters and vice versa.

Edit:  I agree with Kevin C

Answer 2

Try both for him.....then take the other back. Or sometimes people can do both so maybe if he can than he can use both! So if anything happens to one, he can still use the other.

Good luck!!!!

Answer 3

If you can afford to keep two gloves around, do it. Let him play both ways and see which is most comfy for him! Same for hitting, let him try both and see which works out best. Here's to a great season!

Answer 4

if you can afford him get both i played softball and im ambidextrous and i switch hands and sides that i batted with all the time if you cant get both play catch and watch which side he favors if he throws with his left hand get him a right hand glove if he throws with his right hand get him a left hand glove. me personally i switched hands every inning lol

Answer 5

Play with him out in the yard. He will favor one side over the other. See how he likes to hit and catch. This is what we did for my friend's son.

Answer 6

I would because he may do better with a left glove he just needs to see for himself.

Answer 7

Does he favor one hand for sports? My son writes with his right hand, but he tends to be lefty for all sports. I was teaching him to switch-hit, though, because it's more valuable if he does high school or college sports. (He's now given up baseball for martial arts, so it's a non-issue for us).

I had a dickens of a time trying to find anything other than gloves for righties in his size. In fact, I never was able to. You might have to special order.

Answer 8

You should definitely buy him a left-handed glove so that he can have more options and decide for himself which one he prefers...   and it would help encourage his ambidexterity.

Answer 9

Take him outside with a ball. Tell him to catch the ball with just one hand. The hand he uses to catch with is the hand that needs the glove. You can also have him make a small diamond with his fingers, out in front of his body. Tell him to slowly bring his hands to his face. The eye the hands go to is his dominant eye, so again the glove needs to be for that side of his body.

Answer 10

all the other answers were great, so I will point out something a little different.  As he grows up, being a left hander has distinct advantages in baseball, especially if you are a pitcher.  I would teach him to bat as a switch hitter and teach him to field/throw as a left-hander.