Oakland A's call up pitcher Pat Venditte

[Lose Remerswaal]

why is this threadworthy?

He's ambidextrous.
 

 
The A's purchased the contract of Pat Venditte from Triple-A Nashville on Friday, according to MLB.com.
Venditte, who has a 2.37 ERA in 417 2/3 innings over eight minor league seasons, throws a fastball, slider and changeup from both sides and uses an ambidextrous glove with two thumb holes. He ranks fourth among Pacific Coast League pitchers, having allowed a .162 opponent batting average -- including just .092 against left-handed batters

 
I don't have to tell Red Sox fans who the last ambidextrous pitcher was in the major leagues.  I just hope they let this guy do it regularly.

 

[grimshaw]

There was no doubt in my mind it would be an Oakland A.  Love that the Sox will see him first. 
IIRC, I believe the pitcher first decides which arm he will throw with before the batter decides which side of the plate they will bat on.

 

[75cent bleacher seat]

Question?  Is he allowed to switch any time he chooses? Or is he committed once a batter begins an at bat?  Does a switch hitter have the option of changing which side of the plate he bats from?

 

[z-factor]

Question?  Is he allowed to switch any time he chooses? Or is he committed once a batter begins an at bat?

He has to pick one side for each batter, then the batter gets to choose.  I believe this rule was made because there was a long (and somewhat comedic) standoff in the minor leagues between Venditte and a switch hitter.
 
2015 Official Baseball Rule 5.07(f) (formerly 2014 OBR 8.01(f)):
 
A pitcher must indicate visually to the umpire-in-chief, the batter and any runners the hand with which he intends to pitch, which may be done by wearing his glove on the other hand while touching the pitcher's plate. The pitcher is not permitted to pitch with the other hand until the batter is retired, the batter becomes a runner, the inning ends, the batter is substituted for by a pinch-hitter or the pitcher incurs an injury. In the event a pitcher switches pitching hands during an at-bat because he has suffered an injury, the pitcher may not, for the remainder of the game, pitch with the hand from which he has switched. The pitcher shall not be given the opportunity to throw any preparatory pitches after switching pitching hands. Any change of pitching hands must be indicated clearly to the umpire-in-chief.

 

[75cent bleacher seat]

He has to pick one side for each batter, then the batter gets to choose.  I believe this rule was made because there was a long (and somewhat comedic) standoff in the minor leagues between Venditte and a switch hitter.
 
2015 Official Baseball Rule 5.07(f) (formerly 2014 OBR 8.01(f)):
 
A pitcher must indicate visually to the umpire-in-chief, the batter and any runners the hand with which he intends to pitch, which may be done by wearing his glove on the other hand while touching the pitcher's plate. The pitcher is not permitted to pitch with the other hand until the batter is retired, the batter becomes a runner, the inning ends, the batter is substituted for by a pinch-hitter or the pitcher incurs an injury. In the event a pitcher switches pitching hands during an at-bat because he has suffered an injury, the pitcher may not, for the remainder of the game, pitch with the hand from which he has switched. The pitcher shall not be given the opportunity to throw any preparatory pitches after switching pitching hands. Any change of pitching hands must be indicated clearly to the umpire-in-chief.

 
Thanks for the clarification Z

 

[Doooweeeey!]

Saw it posted on MLB that there were provisions for the batter and pitcher to be able to switch sides once each during the at-bat, but it looks like that language was struck.
 
http://m.mlb.com/news/article/3051858/
 
And how funny the language about injury to one arm?  Warm-up tosses?  Okay, but you can't use that other arm the rest of the game..!  
What a hoot! 

 

[kelpapa]

He has to pick one side for each batter, then the batter gets to choose.  I believe this rule was made because there was a long (and somewhat comedic) standoff in the minor leagues between Venditte and a switch hitter.
 

I could have sworn Greg Harris did this with the Sox, but according to Wikipedia, I'm wrong. He only pitched with his left hand in one inning with the Expos in his final appearance.

 

[Darnell's Son]

cwright wrote about Venditte and other switch pitchers for SoSH.com a couple weeks ago.

 

[Rice4HOF]

I could have sworn Greg Harris did this with the Sox, but according to Wikipedia, I'm wrong. He only pitched with his left hand in one inning with the Expos in his final appearance.

Cheryl nails the story as I remember it as well. Boston thought it would make a mockery of the game so wouldn't allow him. The Expos did and were seen as much more progressive than the Red Sox.

 

[kelpapa]

That article was a good read; I hadn't seen it before it was linked here.
 
I was pretty young when Harris was with the Sox, and I remember my Dad explaining the glove to me. I must have confused that with him actually pitching from both sides in a game.

 

[VORP Speed]

Pretty cool watching this guy throw a couple innings tonight. It looks like he used to throw more overhand when he was in the NYY system and now he's been converted to LOOGY/ROOGY sidearm mechanics. Kind of annoying that they made the rule so that the pitcher has to declare his side first, then batter can react. You couldn't go ahead and give the advantage to the once in a generation switch pitcher instead of the run of the mill switch hitters??

 

[HriniakPosterChild]

What rule lately has ever been made to give an advantage to pitchers? Chicks dig the long ball, man.

 

[Max Power]

Having the pitcher select first does give him the advantage. He'd choose to pitch lefty to Sandoval and Nava every time.

 

[moondog80]

What are the pitch count/usage ramifications here?  Could he have like 120 appearances by pitching only righty for one game and then only lefty the next?  Or are there core muscles that get equally tired no matter which arm you use?  And would that be worth having him give up the 100% platoon advantage? 

 

[sittingstill]

Great pair of images from Barry Chin with the Globe story.
 

 

[barbed wire Bob]

Great pair of images from Barry Chin with the Globe story.
 

Nice inverted W.

 

[Twilight]

Nice inverted W.

Beat me to it. That's what I thought, too, but maybe it's not as bad as it looks because he's leaning forward to get into his sidearm throwing position? If he straightened up it might look better.
 
Images are fantastic--his motion is so similar on both sides.

 

[barbed wire Bob]

Beat me to it. That's what I thought, too, but maybe it's not as bad as it looks because he's leaning forward to get into his sidearm throwing position? If he straightened up it might look better.
 
Images are fantastic--his motion is so similar on both sides.

Here is a video of him throwing room both sides.
http://m.athletics.mlb.com/oak/video/topic/8878760/v39982483/sfoak-venditte-retires-one-as-righty-and-lefty

I'm not a pitching expert but, to me, but it looks like he is putting a lot of stress on the elbows. He might be the first pitcher to have TJ surgery on both arms.

 

[LogansDad]

Or, he'll be the first pitcher to have TJS surgery and keep pitching.

 

[soxhop411]

 

[Infield Infidel]

Considering the plumbing at the Coliseum that might be an advantageous trait to have in a player.

 

[Marciano490]

Good thing he pitches by the bay then.

 

[TampaSoxFan]

I didn't realize he had a submarine delivery.

 

[singaporesoxfan]

Not sure if the Yogi Berra reference was intended

 

[David Laurila]

I recently asked Howard Ulman, who wrote the story for the AP, about headlines. I did so because the Globe had just run erroneous headlines in the sports section on consecutive days. Howard told me the papers themselves write the headlines, not the AP writers. Pretty ironic that this happened to one of his stories shortly thereafter.  

 

[theapportioner]

The Celebrated Amphibious Pitcher of Alameda County.

 

[lexrageorge]

Cheryl nails the story as I remember it as well. Boston thought it would make a mockery of the game so wouldn't allow him. The Expos did and were seen as much more progressive than the Red Sox.

Further confirmation that people that constantly complain about the current Red Sox management never really lived through the incompetence and ineptitude of the earlier regimes.  They made Bobby Valentine look like a genius.
 
EDIT:  Thanks phrenile.  

 

[phrenile]

Further confirmation that people that constantly complain about the current Red Sox management never really lived through the incompetence and ineptitude of the earlier regimes.  They made Bobby Valentine look like a genius.

You'll need a better example, since Bobby Valentine was in the previous paragraph doing the exact same thing.
 

A natural righty, Harris began throwing batting practice and warm-ups with both arms while with Texas in 1986, hoping to keep his arm fresh. To make this process easier, Harris designed a six-finger mitt with two thumbs, and brought his design to Mizuno, the Japanese glove manufacturer. Mizuno produced the special glove immediately, and Harris wore it for the rest of his career. Harriss manager in Texas, Bobby Valentine, never allowed him to switch-pitch in a game. Bobby said hed let me if I could master three things: Being able to throw 25 strikes in 30 pitches, which I could do, having a curveball, which I already had, and throwing 80-plus mph, which I could. However, Valentine refused to give Harris a chance to showcase his skills, calling the idea a great distraction.

After leaving Texas and having a stop with Philadelphia, Harris joined the Red Sox in September 1989. He stayed with Boston until 1994, and reportedly made constant pleas to be allowed to switch-pitch while with the Sox. However, the Red Sox flatly refused his requests: (General manager) Lou Gorman said it would be a mockery of the game, Harris said. I told him it was typical Boston too conservative and nobody ever wants to try anything new.

 

[LogansDad]

The Celebrated Amphibious Pitcher of Alameda County.

CAPAC,,,, I love it, an amphibious palindrome. 

 

[phrenile]

DLed with strain in one shoulder (right):

https://twitter.com/Joelsherman1/status/609465991874150400

 

[singaporesoxfan]

If lefties are southpaws, is Venditte an equatorpaw?

 

[bob burda]

CAPAC,,,, I love it, an amphibious palindrome. 

With apologies to Mark Twain.

 

[oumbi]

Nice inverted W.

Or M.
 
https://www.google.com/search?q=university+minnesota+logo&espv=2&biw=1628&bih=1012&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0CCAQsARqFQoTCNTVv7WTkMYCFQ0JkgodjBwAdQ

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

The agate type had him  listed as SHP.  I like that

 

[KiltedFool]

It's spreading, the Indians drafted a switch-pitcher.

 

[Rovin Romine]

It's spreading, the Indians drafted a switch-pitcher.

 
I don't see why this isn't happening more.  Saves wear and tear on the arm(s) and gives a platoon advantage - plus possible more frequent use/longer outings.  If switch hitting does not make a mockery of the game, I don't see why switch pitching would.  

 

[Fred not Lynn]

 
I don't see why this isn't happening more.  Saves wear and tear on the arm(s) and gives a platoon advantage - plus possible more frequent use/longer outings.  If switch hitting does not make a mockery of the game, I don't see why switch pitching would.  

Well, the guy tops out in the mid 80 mph range...if you had more switch-pitchers hitting 90+ from at least one side, you'd see more switch pitchers in professional baseball.

 

[cwright]

Well, the guy tops out in the mid 80 mph range...if you had more switch-pitchers hitting 90+ from at least one side, you'd see more switch pitchers in professional baseball.

 
I feel sort of weird quoting myself, but I think he throws harder than that.  From my switch-pitching article:
 

Perez can reach the low-90s left-handed, sometimes touching 94 mph. As a right-hander, he does not have the same velocity, but still reaches the low 90s.
 

http://sonsofsamhorn.com/baseball/pitching/profiles-pitching/a-history-of-switch-pitching/

 

[Fred not Lynn]

 
I feel sort of weird quoting myself, but I think he throws harder than that.  From my switch-pitching article:
 
http://sonsofsamhorn.com/baseball/pitching/profiles-pitching/a-history-of-switch-pitching/

I was talking about Venditte, sorry for the confusion. Point still stands - admission to pro baseball for anyone throwing less than 90 is very difficult, but...not impossible.

 

[NortheasternPJ]

 
I don't see why this isn't happening more.  Saves wear and tear on the arm(s) and gives a platoon advantage - plus possible more frequent use/longer outings.  If switch hitting does not make a mockery of the game, I don't see why switch pitching would.  

 
Isn't this a simple question of the individuals with the skill set? How many people can throw at a major league level period, never mind with both arms?
 
IMO switch hitting is a much easier skill to acquire. As a lefty and do many things primarily with my right hand (insert jokes here) I could hit fine lefty, not great righty but it works. My right hand is absolutely useless throwing a baseball. 

 

[cwright]

I was talking about Venditte, sorry for the confusion. Point still stands - admission to pro baseball for anyone throwing less than 90 is very difficult, but...not impossible.

 
Ah, okay; sorry for the misunderstanding.  That makes sense.

 

[KiltedFool]

Most switch hitters started doing it at a fairly young age.  Switch pitching is the same, it's not something someone wakes up one morning in college and decides to do to improve their chances of getting drafted.  If these few examples of switch pitching are seen as successful, fathers will start seeing if their kids can adapt to throwing with either hand to emulate.  If switch pitching is seen as viable and not just a novelty, there will be more of them, as it's seen as another route to the majors.

 

[Rovin Romine]

 
Isn't this a simple question of the individuals with the skill set? How many people can throw at a major league level period, never mind with both arms?
 
IMO switch hitting is a much easier skill to acquire. As a lefty and do many things primarily with my right hand (insert jokes here) I could hit fine lefty, not great righty but it works. My right hand is absolutely useless throwing a baseball. 

 
I'm right dominant and would look ludicrous trying to throw with my left hand (even to play catch).  Come to think of it, I don't know if I've ever tried to throw a baseball with my left hand.  On the other hand, like you, I've adapted to doing some activities lefty.  
 
As Kilted Fool points out, this may be a matter of early training.  For example, in most martial arts you have to learn to do pretty much the same activities with your non-dominant side leading.  Most people, even people who are not naturally athletic, manage that just fine.  In baseball, there are ML players who grew up with a dominant hand but became switch hitters or even opposite side hitters.  Plus there are some completely "naturally" ambidextrous athletes out there.
 
I have to think that even if a ML switch-pitcher had a non-dominant "side," say, 5mph slower with less control, he might still gain a significant advantage if he used that side against particular hitters who had a drastic L/R splits.   

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

I broke my right arm in college, got pretty good throwing a frisbee left-handed.  Not the distance, but similar accuracy.
 
Dammit, I should have been a pitcher!