Oakland's ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte makes MLB debut

[Auggie]

BOSTON — No more novelty. No more sideshow. No more talk of a circus act, dog-and-pony show or publicity stunt. Pat Venditte is a major-leaguer, deservedly so, and made baseball history Friday night.

He pitched left-handed.

And then he pitched right-handed.

Venditte is the first full-time ambidextrous pitcher since the 1800s and pitched two scoreless innings for the A’s in Friday night’s 4-2 loss to the Red Sox. The switch-thrower made 28 pitches and proved he could get outs from either side while showcasing his custom-made two-thumbed glove.

http://www.sfgate.com/athletics/article/A-s-switch-pitcher-Venditte-debuts-with-2-6310489.php

[malthaussen]

1. Somewhere, Tony Mullane is smiling.

But I've always wondered... what happens when a switch-pitcher faces a switch-hitter?

-- Mal

[Brother Buzz]

2. 2015 Official Baseball Rule 5.07(f) (formerly 2014 OBR 8.01(f)) covers this situation:

2015 Official Baseball Rule 5.07(f) (formerly 2014 OBR 8.01(f)) covers this situation:

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.

[malthaussen]

3. Interesting. So the rule favors the hitter.

Wonder if the advent of Mr Venditte had anything to do with this rule. Probably not, since there have been switch-pitchers at other levels of baseball.

-- Mal

[Brother Buzz]

4. Yes, and the fans

In 2009 it was called The Pat Venditte Rule after this matchup:

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[malthaussen]

6. From a managerial standpoint...

... you'd think they have the left/right splits for both hitter and pitcher, since neither can be equally good at both, and in that case pick the matchup that works best, even if it meant, say, going righty against righty. It's very cool, though, and I hope Mr Venditte keeps hurling them for a good few seasons.

-- Mal

[Brother Buzz]

7. Thing is, Venditte is damn good with either arm

I understand they are keeping separate records for both arms so we should better indication by the end of the season which is actually better.

[Auggie]

5. To some degree it also favors the bullpen

You might save a lefty/righty specialist for later in the game

[malthaussen]

8. I'm a little old-fashioned, in that I think left/right differentials are overrated...

... but it is a manager's job to squeeze out every drop of advantage he can, even if it only amounts to a few extra hits a season. So having a good swich-pitcher in the bullpen is definitely an advantage.

-- Mal

[hughee99]

11. There's been at least one major league player do this already.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greg_A._Harris

He didn't pitch lefty much, but he did have the special glove for it, and he did do it in a game.

[Brother Buzz]

9. Pat Venditte is MLB's First Amphibious Pitcher

A genuine undoctored headline from the East Oregonian. I suspect it wasn't a mistake, rather the editor was having fun honoring Yogi Bera with a hat tip.

"He hits from both sides of the plate. He's amphibious." - Yogi Berra



http://thebiglead.com/2015/06/09/pat-venditte-amphibious-pitcher-according-to-newspaper-headline/

[KamaAina]

10. He'll be a holy terror against the Rays

[El Supremo]

12. He's on th DL with a right shoulder strain.

But his left is still OK.

[Auggie]

13. It's been a disastrous season for the A's. Thank goodness Oakland has the Warriors.