Switch Pitching

Being a big baseball fan, this story really caught my attention. I was listening to the radio on the way home from work yesterday, and they were talking about Yankees minor league pitcher Pat Venditte appearing in a minor league game agains the Braves and pitching both right handed and left handed. I'm sure that most people are familiar with the concept of "switch-hitting", where a hitter can bat either left-handed or right handed depending on the pitcher. In recent years, however, the number of switch hitters in the major leagues appears to be dwindling. It is very difficult to put in the practice hours to be an expert hitter from both sides of the plate. Even more difficult than switch hitting is switch pitching. But, that is what Pat Venditte is able to do as he attempts to work his way up the major leagues with the Yankees. Venditte has a special six finger glove so he can easily switch from a right handed pitcher to a left handed pitcher between batters. According to Rick Reilly of ESPN, only 3 pitchers have appeared in a Major League game and pitched with both arms. What is remarkable to me is that he has the ability to pitch proficiently with both arms. From a Motor Learning and Biomechanics perspective, that is very difficult to do; to achieve optimal neural activation of the muscles and movement coordination pattern of his non-dominant arm. Most people I know, including myself, look rather clumsy and uncoordinated when trying to throw with their non-dominant arm. Also, in order for him to be a proficient left handed and right handed pitcher, he has to put in twice the amount of work that a normal pitcher would. That includes rotator cuff exercises for both arms, drills using both arms, warming up both arms, practicing with both arms, etc. It really is a remarkable achievement and hopefully he will be able to progress and pitch in the Major Leagues.

Article and video from mlb.com of Pat Venditte