Pat Venditte the First and Only Switch Pitcher in Baseball?
Written by Jay on June 24, 2008 – -
If you are a baseball fan, particularly a New York Yankees fan, you should know who Pat Venditte is. And if you don’t, Pat Venditte is the only professional pitcher who is recognized for being a switch-pitcher.
Wait, what? A switch-pitcher? Don’t you mean a “switch-hitter?”
As most of you guys already know, a “switch-hitter” is a term in baseball in which a batter can hit from both sides of the plate. But like I said, no, I didn’t mean “switch-hitter,” I meant a “switch-pitcher.”
Pat Venditte is ambidextrous but he takes it way past batting, he can throw effectively both right-handed and left-handed. Now, that is what you call talent! I mean, it’s unheard of in professional baseball… until now.
Venditte was drafted by the New York Yankees organization and he currently plays in the minor leagues. In Venditte’s first minor league appearance, there was a usual incident before he faced his last batter of the inning. It’s funny because he was facing a switch-hitter and apparently both of them kept switching sides to get the better match-up.
The conclusion: The umpire ruled in favor of Pat Venditte so the switch-hitter had to choose one side to bat from and then Venditte would have the option of which arm to throw with. While there still has been no official ruling by Major League Baseball, it seems it will be the other way around; pitcher chooses which arm to throw and then the batter chooses which side to bat from.
Venditte also has a custom-made glove so it can be wore on either hand whenever he needs to make the switch.
Honestly, I think it’s pretty unbelievable what Pat Venditte can do on a professional level. I couldn’t believe it until I saw the video below:
Hey, I might not be able to throw like Pat Venditte, but I bet you I can kick from both sides better than he can!
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Tags: baseball, new york yankees, pat venditte, sports
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