Analysis of Data from Reichler's (1979) the Baseball Encyclopedia: Right-Handed Pitchers are Taller and Heavier than Left-Handed Pitchers 1,2

Abstract

In 1989 Coren concluded right-handed Major League pitchers whose careers began up to 1975 are significantly taller and heavier than left-handed pitchers. His source of data, Reichler's 1979 edition of The Baseball Encyclopedia, however, lists heights and weights for pitchers whose careers began through 1978 and for individuals who pitched but who almost always appeared at a different position or positions. Coren did not indicate why he did not analyze all of the relevant data in Reichler nor did he explain how he decided that an individual's usual position was that of pitcher. Further, there is evidence from Topp which suggests that the era during which the pitchers began their careers should be considered when comparing their heights and weights because relatively recent rookies (from 1980 through 1986) are taller and heavier than rookies who began their careers 50 and 100 years prior to that era. Classifying an individual as a pitcher if he pitched in at least 50% of the games in which he played at a position, using all relevant data in Reichler, and considering the era during which dextral and sinistral pitchers began their careers, we found strong corroborative evidence for Coren's 1989 findings.