Ambidextrous Pitching Revolution

Venditte: Pitcher or Pioneer?

Staten Island's ambidextrous hurler could spark baseball revolution

By Benjamin Hill / Special to MLB.com

There are two sides to every story. This saying holds extra meaning if the story in question involves ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte.

Several weeks ago, Venditte enjoyed a brief moment in the national spotlight thanks to the comical nature of his professional debut.
Read the Story

Pat Venditte as a switch pitcher for Creighton University.

Young baseball players, inspired by Venditte, are turning to switch pitching...

Switch Pitcher Aiden McNasby featured on KCRA 3 News

report by Del Rodgers, May 24, 2011

Young pitcher slings it with both hands

Aiden McNasby, 8, is a lefty -- and righty -- in Roseville West Little League

by Kayla Nix / Roseville Press Tribune 5/25/11

Eight-year-old Aiden McNasby has quite a unique trait — he can pitch right-handed and left-handed.

As a toddler, Aiden would pick up things with both hands and eventually learned to throw with both.

“I was born throwing two pitches, pitching with both hands,” Aiden explained Saturday, dressed in his Pirates uniform for a Roseville West Little League game.

Even older players are turning to switch pitching...

Chuck Mellick aspires to be the first pitcher in history to pitch more than 90 miles an hour with both his right and left-hand fastball. A practitioner of Whole Brain Power, Mellick is drawing the attention of the sports world with his phenomenal pitching skills at 38 years of age (in 2008).

Read more about switch pitcher Chuck Mellick

[Note: Ryan Perez is a switch pitcher who can throw 90 mph with both arms. Read more ]

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Ambidextrous Baseball Players in High School
Interesting stories and videos of high school baseball players who switch pitched in games.

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Comments

Pitchers Glove Rules - Size and Color

What are the rules on a pitchers glove? According to the official baseball rules, a pitchers glove can be up to 12 inches in size , of any weight , and any color except white or gray as long as it is not distracting. The Akadema ABX-00 glove, pictured above, is 12 inches, solid black and is not distracting according to local umpires. Little League Rules Gray glove is not allowed for pitching White glove is not allowed for pitching Little League Rule 1.14: Each fielder, other than the first baseman and the catcher may wear a glove not more than 12 inches long nor more than 7 3/4 inches wide, measured from the base of the thumb crotch to the outer edge of the glove. The glove may be of any weight. Little League Rule 1.15 (a) : The pitcher's glove may not, exclusive of the piping, be white or light gray, nor, in the judgment of an umpire, distracting in any manner. (source: Little League Baseball Rules Regarding Bats and Gloves ) Off

Fastball Velocity - How fast do kids throw?

How fast does a Little League pitcher throw? The average fastball is between 50-60 mph for a pitcher in the Majors division of Little League (11-13 yo). Pitchers in the Little League World Series throw fastballs 60-70+ mph. Only a few pitchers touched 70+ mph in 2015 and 2016. One man-child hit 81 mph on the radar. This velocity is almost unhittable from 46 feet and extremely rare for a 13 year old. #18 RHP Carlos Gonzalez - Panama 79-81 mph fastball 105 mph MLB equivalent reaction time #18 RHP Jaekyeong Kim - South Korea 75-76 mph fastball #19 RHP Ryan Harlost - Mid-Atlantic, Endwell, NY 71-74 mph fastball Threw a complete game to win the 2016 Little League World Series Loreto Siniscalchi , a 6'1" pitcher from Canada, threw in the mid 70s and completely dominated the hitters from Japan. He led Team Canada to its first victory over Japan in 18 years. Big right-hander Isaiah Head from Kentucky threw 70-73 mph fastballs. His record was 3-0, 12 I

Baseball Glove Options for Switch Pitchers

Custom made Mizuno ambidextrous glove Looking for a glove for a switch pitcher? Before spending hundreds of dollars on a custom glove, please think about age of the player and how much time they will spend pitching. Here are glove options for ambidextrous pitchers, based on age: Age 3-5 Kids don't pitch at this age. They should be learning the proper way to throw. Young kids should try catching the ball with two hands. Use tennis balls or foam balls for throwing. Forget about the low quality plastic glove - it's in the landfill within a year. Gloves are awkward for young kids. If they learn two hand catch when they are young and continue with the skill, they will do well fielding balls when they are older. Learning to throw with both arms is easy at this stage. If a child can throw with either hand when they are three-years-old, it doesn't mean that they are talented or ambidextrous - it just means that they are a typical kid. Gloves: Buy a small leath

Switch Pitching 101

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