Opposite field

The opposite field refers to right field for a right-handed batter and left field for a left-handed batter. Most batters will tend to be natural pull hitters, meaning they will hit most pitches, towards the field on the side of home plate where they are standing; this is how one hits a ball with power, and most home runs are hit to the natural field. However, when a pitch is thrown on the outside part of the plate, an attempt to pull it will often result in a weak ground ball. Instead, a smart batter will push such a pitch towards the opposite field, where it is more likely to fall for a hit. Derek Jeter, for one, is a master of slapping such pitches to the opposite field for base hits.

Some contact hitters will also deliberately hit any pitch to the opposite field by using an inside-out swing. Even if a ball hit in this manner will not go as far as one hit with a full swing, this forces the defense to position its players in a much more conservative fashion, opening up larger gaps between players. In contrast, a player who insists on pulling every pitch while going for maximum power, what is known colloquially as a "dead-pull hitter", will often face a defensive shift that reduces his chances of hitting the ball safely.

For decades, only the very strongest hitters could hit a home run to the opposite field. This changed in the 1990s, as the spread of new exercises to build strength and anabolic drugs (until these were banned) allowed many more such homers.