Switch pitcher

Pat Venditte pitching right-handed for the Staten Island Yankees in 2008 and left-handed for the Oakland Athletics in 2015

In baseball, a switch-pitcher is an ambidextrous pitcher who is able to pitch with either the right or left hand from the pitcher's mound.^[a]

History

Professional baseball

19th century

Four 19th-century pitchers are known to have thrown with both hands:

• Tony Mullane, whose major-league career spanned 1881–1894; listed as both as switch pitcher and switch hitter.^[1]
• Larry Corcoran, whose major-league career spanned 1880–1887; listed as a right-handed pitcher and switch hitter,^[2] but pitched four innings alternating between his right arm and left arm on June 16, 1884, due to injury.^[3]
• Elton "Ice Box" Chamberlain, whose major-league career spanned 1886–1896; listed as a right-handed pitcher and right-handed batter,^[4] but pitched four innings left-handed in a minor-league game on May 9, 1888.^[5]
• George Wheeler, whose major-league career spanned 1896–1899; listed as both as switch pitcher and switch hitter,^[6] he "threw left-handed a handful of times".^[7]

20th century

No pitcher in the American League or National League is known to have switch pitched in a game during the 20th century until Greg A. Harris of the Montreal Expos did so in a game in 1995.^[8][9]

A 1940 newspaper article noted that Jimmy Brown, who played in the major leagues between 1937 and 1946, primarily for the St. Louis Cardinals, recounted that he learned to throw with either arm at a young age after breaking his right arm, and was a switch pitcher during high school.^[10] Brown played exclusively as an infielder during his major-league career.^[11]

Switch pitcher Larry Kimbrough, whose career in Negro league baseball spanned 1942–1948, was a natural left-hander, but learned to throw right-handed as a child while recuperating from an injury.^[12] He stated, "I could throw them as hard left-handed as I could right-handed, with a better curveball left-handed."^[12] Independent accounts verifying that Kimbrough operated as a switch pitcher during his baseball career are lacking, but Kimbrough himself claimed that he earned a complete game victory in 1943 pitching from both sides.

A 1944 newspaper article noted that Cal McLish, then a right-handed rookie pitcher with the Brooklyn Dodgers, could throw with either arm,^[13] but there is no record of McLish ever doing so in a major-league game. McLish claimed to have thrown one pitch left-handed during a game in Venezuela.^[14]

Right-handed pitcher Jorge Rubio, who pitched for the California Angels during 1966–1967, claimed that he had experimented as a switch pitcher in high school and could throw with "the same speed left-handed", but less control. Following the 1967 season, he pitched some games left-handed in winter league baseball to rest his right arm, and continued doing so into spring training.^[15]

Harris, a natural right-hander, felt by 1986 that he was capable of pitching with either arm in a game.^[16] He did not throw left-handed in a regular-season game until September 28, 1995, the penultimate game of his career.^[17] Pitching for the Montreal Expos against the Cincinnati Reds in the ninth inning, Harris retired Reggie Sanders pitching right-handed, then switched to his left hand for the next two hitters, Hal Morris and Eddie Taubensee, who were both left-handed batters.^[18] Harris walked Morris, but got Taubensee to ground out.^[18] Harris then went back to his right hand to retire Bret Boone to end the inning.^[18]

21st century

Pat Venditte, a major-league pitcher during 2015–2020, regularly pitched with both arms.^[19][20] Venditte was drafted by the New York Yankees in 2008, and pitched for six different major-league teams as a relief pitcher, appearing in 61 total games while compiling a 4.73 earned run average (ERA).^[21]

Anthony Seigler, drafted 23rd overall by the Yankees in the 2018 Major League Baseball draft,^[22] was both a switch pitcher and switch hitter in high school.^[23] He chose to play professionally as a position player, primarily as a catcher, and as of 2024^[update] is still active in the Yankees farm system.^[24]

College baseball

Newspaper articles in 1947 noted that freshman Roy Gibbons^[b] of the Texas A&M Aggies was a switch pitcher.^[25][26] Gibbons was later ruled ineligible as a college player, due to prior professional experience in the Arizona–Texas League.^[27] Baseball-Reference.com indicates Gibbons played for the Tucson Cowboys, but detail is lacking.^[c] There is no mention in newspapers of the era of Gibbons pitching ambidextrously for Tucson.^[30]

The Atlanta Braves drafted switch pitcher Brandon Berdoll of Temple (Texas) Junior College in the 27th round of the 2003 Major League Baseball draft,^[31][32] although he never played professionally.^[33]

Matt Brunnig was a switch pitcher for the Harvard Crimson baseball team, debuting as a freshman in 2003.^[34] He was able to pitch over 85 miles per hour (137 km/h) left-handed and over 90 miles per hour (140 km/h) right-handed.^[31] Brunnig only pitched with both arms in the same game a few times. In college, he pitched more from the right side as a starter and pitched some relief as a lefty although he did start one game left-handed. When playing the outfield after a start, he would typically play the position with the other arm to rest the arm he just pitched with.^{[citation needed]} He apparently was pitching only right-handed as a senior in 2006.^[35]

The aforementioned Pat Venditte pitched for the Creighton Bluejays baseball team, only pitching right-handed during his freshman season of 2005, then began switch pitching during his sophomore season of 2006.^[36]

Ryan Perez of Judson University in Elgin, Illinois, made national headlines in 2014 playing collegiate summer baseball with the Hyannis Harbor Hawks of the Cape Cod Baseball League. Perez took home the league's annual all-star game MVP award after a dominating performance pitching from both sides.^{[37][38][39][40]} Perez played professionally in the New York–Penn League during 2015–2016 and in the Mexican League in 2018, apparently pitching only left-handed.^[41]

Dutch-born switch pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje, who played high-school baseball in Florida, was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the 18th round of the 2022 Major League Baseball draft, but he opted not to sign and enrolled at Mississippi State University.^[42] He made his collegiate debut with the Bulldogs baseball team in February 2023.^[43]

Training methods

Switch pitchers are commonly taught to throw ambidextrously at a young age. For instance, Venditte's father trained him in ambidextrous throwing from the age of three and Brunnig's father taught him from age five.^[20]

Major-league right-handed pitcher Yu Darvish throws with his left hand when training to keep both arms strong and balanced, but does not pitch left-handed in games.^[44]

Switch pitchers and switch hitters

There have been various instances of switch pitchers pitching to switch hitters, which can result in delay or confusion as both players may try to gain an advantage. Hitters traditionally feel they have an advantage by batting from the opposite side of the plate from the pitcher's throwing arm (e.g. batting left-handed when facing a right-handed pitcher), and pitchers traditionally feel they have an advantage by throwing with the same arm as the batter hits from (e.g. throwing right-handed to a right-handed batter).

In a minor-league game in the Western Association on July 23, 1928, shortstop Paul Richards was called in to pitch for the Muskogee Chiefs against the Topeka Jayhawks.^[45] Richards pitched both right-handed and left-handed, including facing a switch hitter. This briefly resulted in the pitcher and batter switching hands and batter's boxes, respectively, several times until Richards broke the stalemate by alternating hands with each pitch, regardless of where the batter positioned himself.^[46] The batter walked.^[47]

In 2008, while with the Staten Island Yankees, a Class A affiliate of the New York Yankees, switch pitcher Pat Venditte opposed switch hitter Ralph Henriquez of the Brooklyn Cyclones.^[48] When Venditte switched his modified glove to his left hand in order to pitch right-handed, Henriquez switched to batting left-handed, and a series of changes continued for several minutes until the umpires and managers conferred, and decided to allow only one change of side by each player during the at bat.^[48] Henriquez struck out.^[48] This indecent prompted the Professional Baseball Umpires Corporation (PBUC) to issue a new rule about switch-pitching,^{[citation needed]} which has also been adopted by Major League Baseball.^[49] Switch pitchers must indicate which hand they will use to pitch, "by wearing his glove on his non-throwing hand and placing his foot on the pitching rubber."^[49] The pitcher must continue using this hand for the duration of the at bat, with exceptions allowed in the event of injury or the use of a pinch hitter.^[49] Following the pitcher indicating his choice, the batter can then select which side of the plate to bat from.

Notes

References

• v
• t
• e

Baseball positions

Pitchers

by role	Starter Ace Opener Reliever Middle reliever Long reliever Setup man Closer Left-handed specialist Swingman
by style	Power Control Ground ball Fly ball Switch

Defensive
players

by type	Pitcher Catcher Infielder Outfielder Utility player Position player
by number	Pitcher (1/P) Catcher (2/C) First baseman (3/1B) Second baseman (4/2B) Third baseman (5/3B) Shortstop (6/SS) Left fielder (7/LF) Center fielder (8/CF) Right fielder (9/RF)

Offensive
players

by role	Batter Runner Batting order (1–9) Designated hitter Pinch hitter Pinch runner Leadoff hitter Cleanup hitter
by style	Clutch hitter Contact hitter Power hitter Switch hitter

Non-players

• Umpire
• Manager
• Coaches
• Bullpen catcher
• Official scorer
• Batboy
• Ball boy/girl
• General manager

Related

• Captain
• Battery
• Injured list
• Phantom ballplayer
• Platoon system