Bayou-Picayune Podcast, S02 EP17: Why lefties are called southpaws

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Did you know baseball stadiums used to be constructed so that the pitcher was pitching from east to west.

This was why, in the olden days when baseball was played during the daylight hours, you would see shadows coming over the field from behind home plate. Then in the later innings, the pitcher would still be in the sunlight, and the shadows would be between the batter and the pitcher. (This presented a disadvantage for batters who had to pick up the ball as it came in from light to shadows.)

This is how the term “southpaw” came to be used for left-handed pitchers, because, with a pitcher on the mound throwing from east to west, his arm would be coming from the south side. (I suppose you could have called right-handers “northpaws” for the same reason.)

Anyway, when the World Series used to be played in the daytime, there was a sense of poetry that stirred in the hearts and souls of baseball fans in the late innings of the game.

As the shadows lengthened over the field, baseball fans couldn’t help but feel that the sun was setting on yet another season for their blessed, blessed game.