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Switch Hitter Versus Switch Pitcher

submitted by Kevlar

1 decade 4 years 7 months 3 weeks ago

Switch hitter Ralph Henriquez of the Brooklyn Cyclones squares off against switch pitcher Pat Venditte of the Staten Island Yankees in this comedic ballet of minor-league baseball blunder.

(Remaining description via Hardball Talk)

The New York Yankees are going to pitch Pat Venditte in Tuesday's split-squad game against the Atlanta Braves at the specific request of manager Joe Girardi.

Venditte is a 24-year-old reliever who was 4-2 with 22 saves last season in 49 appearances split between Class A Charleston and Tampa. So why all the fuss over the 45th-round draft pick out of Creighton University?

Put simply, Venditte is one-of-a-kind, a "switch-pitcher" who is equally adept at throwing with his left or right hand. He is the only such talent in professional baseball, and Girardi is intrigued. Frankly, who wouldn't be? Venditte wears a specially made six-fingered glove that includes two thumbs, and his minor league teammates have been known, according to one report, to call him "octopus."

Not only that, Venditte appears to be a lot more than some circus act. He compiled a 1.87 ERA and a 1.069 WHIP last summer, striking out 87 while walking only 11 in 67.1 innings. His talent also caused an unintended comedy routine of sorts to break out in 2008 when he was matched up against a switch-hitter (see video), which led to new rules being put into play by the Professional Baseball Umpire Corporation.