Switch PITCHER vs. Switch Hitter

Any baseball fan has heard of and probably seen a switch hitter in action, but very few have seen, let alone thought about, a switch pitcher. Pat Venditte, an ambidextrous pitcher from Creighton recently drafted by the New York Yankees in the 20th round of this year's MLB Draft, has set out to change your line of thinking.

After the draft, Venditte was immediately sent to begin his pro career with the Class-A Staten Island Yankees. All was going well for Venditte who, on 39 occasions in college, struck out batters from both sidess of the mound in a game.

That is, until he met his apparent arch-nemisis, switch hitter Ralph Enriquez of the Class-A New York Mets-affiliate Brooklyn Cyclones. In classic fashion, with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, Enriquez enraged Venditte by continuously switching sides of the plate before the first pitch. Venditte countered by switching glove hands and sides of the mound. After an official time out, some warm-up pitches and a consultation with the rule book, everything ironed out.

Watch the highlight and full video of the at-bat here.

Venditte's father encouraged his son's ambidextrous pitching from the beginning. He uses a six-fingered glove that has two webs and switches hands depending on whether he's facing a lefty or righty hitter. As a toddler, Venditte's father traced his hands and requested a special glove from Mizuno (a baseball equipment company) and continued to do so as his son's hands grew.

Notes about Venditte:

• The Yankees wanted Venditte so badly that they actually drafted him in the 45th round in 2007, but he decided to stay in school.
• He throws 10 mph harder from his right side, up to 90, though has effective off-speed pitches with his left arm.
• He is a reliever rather than a starter.
• Being able to pitch from both sides does not limit pitch count, meaning he could be perfect for long relief or late inning substitutions in various situations.