The 'Venditte Rule'
Former Yankees farmhand Pat Venditte, the only switch pitcher in baseball, was promoted Friday by the Oakland Athletics and will join the team in Boston for a series against the Red Sox.
If Venditte makes his debut this weekend, things could get interesting, especially if the righty-lefty faces a switch-hitter, like Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval, or catchers Sandy Leon or Blake Swihart.
With Venditte able to throw with either arm, he will have to declare whether he will pitch right-handed or left-handed at the start of each at-bat. Venditte won't be allowed to routinely change arms like he once could. A minor-league confrontation with a switch hitter led to the "Venditte Rule."
The incident caused the Professional Baseball Umpire Corporation to issue a new rule in July 2008, commonly known as "Venditte Rule":
"The pitcher must visually indicate to the umpire, batter and runner(s) which way he will begin pitching to the batter. Engaging the rubber with the glove on a particular hand is considered a definitive commitment to which arm he will throw with. The batter will then choose which side of the plate he will bat from."
The rule allows the pitcher and hitter to change positions once in every at-bat.
The Yankees selected Venditte in the 20th round of the 2008 draft, and he proved to be a reliable arm in their farm system, getting promoted to Triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre twice but never earning a call-up to the majors.
Last season Venditte was 0-1 with a 0.82 earned run average with the Double-A Trenton Thunder.
He became a free agent after the 2014 season and was signed by the A's.
Baseball historians say Venditte is the only routine switch-pitcher since dead ball era pitcher Tony Mullane, who last pitched in 1894. Venditte uses a double-webbed, six finger glove.
