Pat Venditte is the only professional pitcher who throws both right- and left-handed. Today, Joe Girardi and the Yankees got their first look at the switch-pitcher.
After warming up with four pitches from the left and four from the right, Venditte allowed one run on two hits in 1-1/3 innings against the Braves in relief of CC Sabathia. Venditte walked a batter and didn’t strike out any.
Nick Swisher and CC Sabathia reactions: (via LoHud)
Swisher said he and the other outfielders were talking to one another when Venditte was on the mound in the sixth.
“We were like, he’s about to switch, he’s about to switch right now!” Swisher said.
Sabathia had no idea Venditte could pitch with both hands. When he came out of he game, Sabathia saw a left-handed pitcher coming in from the bullpen. Then he saw a right-handed pitcher on the mound.
“I was like, maybe that guy got hurt,” Sabathia said.
He also got to face a switch hitter, which allowed home plate umpire Mike Reilly to enforce The Pat Venditte Rule. Yes, the Professional Baseball Umpire Corporation made a rule for this guy.
According to Wikipedia, when Venditte walked on to Creighton’s baseball team in 2005, the team’s head coach only allowed him to pitch with one of his arms, “fearing the spectacle would become a ‘circus.’
I found that amusing.
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