A leftist rule

The Cannon Falls Baseball Program announced in the middle of March that they will no longer allow left-handed players to play. The coaches claim this new adaptation has been in the works for a couple of years now, but it won’t apply until the 2024 season. Players, parents, and fans are all demanding answers to why this sudden change in who is allowed to participate. They have also raised some concerning questions and some individuals are even taking action.

When asked why this new rule has surfaced, one of the baseball coaches stated that “Left-handed players just simply aren’t needed anymore. The majority of plays in the field are made at first base, so the third basemen, shortstop, and second basemen are always throwing to their left—an unnatural direction for someone left-handed to throw.” The coach continued to state that “a lefty would have to turn and spin awkwardly in order to make the play, which costs the team valuable time when trying to get an out.”

The coaching staff has assured the baseball community that this won’t go into effect until the 2024 season, so current left-handed players in baseball can still play in the 2023 season, as it is already underway. 

While the coaches and a few of the players have accepted this new rule addition, many of the community members and other baseball players have not.

Jonathan Banks, a senior on the varsity baseball team who is left-handed, said that “I think this is extremely unfair to left-handed players. While I am thankful that I get to finish out my baseball career, it is saddening that future left-handed players won’t get to participate in baseball in the upcoming years.”

Some of the members of the community have attempted to protest this rule, which they consider to be an atrocity, by chanting outside of the school “lefties matter too.” 

Similarly, members of the baseball team who are right-handed, but against the new rule, have come together to protest as well. Numerous players can be seen at school and practice with their right hand duct-taped behind their back as a symbol to prove that left-handed people are just as valuable as right-handed individuals.

While the coaching staff may have thought this rule to be flawless, individuals have pointed out there are some major errors—raising some crucial questions about the new regulation. Preston Schoenfelder, a sophomore in the baseball program, is one of them. Schoenfelder is a player who is right-handed when he throws in the field, but bats left-handed. This notion has brought controversy to the new rule. “I am kind of stuck in the middle,” Schoenfelder stated, “I am unsure if the regulation will apply to me or not, and right now myself and other players like me are waiting for an answer.”

After hearing about this problem, the Bomber baseball coaching staff revealed that they will be meeting to discuss the future participation for players who are both right and left-handed, like Schoenfelder. “There will be many factors we will be discussing,” a coach stated, “we will either be allowing players like Schoenfelder to only play in the field, and not bat on offense, or eliminating those players altogether.” What the coaches decide will be released sometime in April.

Meanwhile, players like Schoenfelder and lefties alike are soaking up what could be their last year of baseball.