Switch Pitching 101

George Louis Wheeler born George Louis Heroux Born: August 3, 1869, Methuen, Massachusetts Team: Philadelphia Phillies (1896-1899) Height/Weight: 5' 9", 180 lb. Bats: Both Throws: Both, ambidextrous Wheeler, primarily a right-handed pitcher, threw left-handed on a handful of occasions to become one of the few known " switch pitchers " in MLB history. George Wheeler  Baseball Stats by Baseball Almanac George Wheeler's stats - Baseball-Reference

Moxie Manuel, White Sox Mark Garfield Manuel Born:  October 16, 1881 in Metropolis, IL Big League Teams: Washington Senators (1905), Chicago White Sox (1908) Height/Weight: 5' 11", 170 lb. Bats: Right Threw: Both, ambidextrous pitcher Ambidextrous pitcher Moxie  Manuel played for the Washington Senators in 1905, and the Chicago White Sox in 1908. Moxie Manuel  began his professional baseball career with the  1903   Vicksburg Hill Billies , going 12-14. The next year, he went 21-11 for Vicksburg. In 1905, Moxie went 22-18 for the Baton Rouge Cajuns and New Orleans Pelicans and made his major league debut with the  Washington Senators . He told a reporter that he pitched with his left hand against left-handed batters, making him an  Ambidextrous Pitcher . Source:  The Big Book of Jewish Baseball  by  Peter Horvitz  and  Joachim Horvitz Ambidextrous pitcher keeps 'em all guessing Moxie was a right-handed batter, but he told a reporter in 1907, &q

Cole Critchfield DOB:  7/16/96 (age 18) High School:  Star Valley High School (Class of 2015) Afton, Wyoming Dixie HS, St. George, Utah HS Team:  Dixie Flyers , 2012 Summer Team: Caesars Baseball Club 2013 Team: Jackson Giants - American Legion Jackson, Wyoming Height / Weight:  6-2, 175 lbs. Positions:  1B, P, 2B, SS, OF Bats: Left Throws: Both, switch pitcher    plays 1B left-handed Dominant Hand: Left Velocity:  81-85 mph Glove: Akadema   ambidextrous glove (see video) Other sport: Basketball (guard), football Cole Critchfield pitching  video - throws right-handed, then left-handed to a catcher Dixie  High School (St. George, UT)  Baseball  Home - MaxPreps.com Highlights - Laramie Rangers vs. Jackson Giants at Casper - Legion Baseball 5/12/13 Cole Critchfield pitching right-handed, strikes out seven batters. Read more Ambidextrous pitcher Cole Critchfield warms up lefty and righty. More videos Summer League Jackson Gia

Roland Ryan Knoxville West High School  (Class of 2018) Position:  1B, Pitcher Bats: Right Throws: Both - natural right-hander Roland Ryan Pitching in High School Knoxville West High School Ambidextrous Pitcher Roland Ryan starts left handed and takes a win, 13-4, then takes the mound right handed to earn a 5-4 win against Gibbs HS. The 6'3" 210 lb pitcher has more movement from the left side, but more velocity on the right. Watch video A natural righty, Roland Ryan plays first base right-handed and bats right-handed.  Watch video Roland Ryan Baseball Profile | Perfect Game USA velocity: 75 mph in 2015 ---------- Roland started throwing left-handed after injuring his dominant right arm "Roland hurt his right elbow last summer and has not been able to throw, per Doctor's orders, for over six months. He has since learned how to throw lefty. He has been working with Knoxville pitching coach Eric Hill since September refining his left han

Yikes! My glove broke. While throwing long toss at the UW, the middle lace on my son's Akadema ambidextrous glove snapped. Over time, the laces connecting the glove fingers, become worn and stretched, especially in the center of the glove near the pocket. Fortunately, the middle lace on the Akadema ambi glove is easy to replace with one foot of black rawhide. It took about five minutes to re-lace the middle fingers using a $6 glove lacing kit and a pair of scissors. How to Relace the Akadema Ambidextrous Baseball Glove Broken rawhide lace - between the middle fingers. Tip: Take a photo of the glove before removing the old lace. Start relacing the glove.  A lacing tool guides the rawhide through the holes Pulling the new lace through holes using a lacing tool Lacing is almost complete - in five minutes Tie the knot, then trim off the extra rawhide. Relaced Akadema Ambidextrous Glove - ready for use How to Relace a Glove - instructions with

Tanner Kilmer High School:  Lawrence High School 2010 Colleges:  Pratt Community College | Emporia State University Hometown:  Lawrence, Kansas Height/Weight:  5'11", 175 Positions:  LHP/ RHP , 1B Bats:  Right Throws:  Both, but primarily throws left-handed How Tanner got started throwing with both arms Tanner first started using both hands at a young age after having corrective surgery. Tanner was born with two thumbs on his right hand, and when he was 11 months old, his parents decided to have the extra part of the thumb removed.  Tanner, who was wearing a cast, started rolling balls around with his left hand. His father knew the premium baseball teams put on left-handed hurlers and sought to develop Tanner's south paw as he grew up playing the game. "We just kind of let it play out for a while," Wilson Kilmer, a former  pitching coach at Kansas University,  recalled. "Once he started doing some stuff left-handed, I wanted to try to bring that alo

Rich Brady Philadelphia, PA High School:  Holy Ghost Prep 1993 College:   Rider College Positions: RHP/LHP, 1B, 3B Bats: Right Throws: Both How Rich Brady got started throwing with both arms "I was 7, (throwing a baseball) with my uncle," Brady recalled. "I'm lefthanded, but I threw righthanded. So I guess he figured I could throw lefthanded if I worked on it." Rich Brady was a successful switch pitcher for Holy Ghost Prep, a small high school in Philadelphia. Found on Newspapers.com Ambidextrous Pitching Highlights Red-hot Holy Ghost Moves Past Bristol to top of Bicentennial , May 14, 1992 | Philly.com In the win over Morrisville, Rich Brady pitched 4 innings, righthanded, for the win, and hit a home run when he moved to first base after pitching, playing lefthanded. The ambidextrous junior is now 6-0 overall, 3-0 with each arm. Read more Holy Ghost Prep Pitcher Switches Arms in Rout of Lower Moreland , April 22, 1993 | Philly.com

RYAN PEREZ      BHP       BHP = Both Hand Pitcher (ambidextrous) Born:  October 27, 1993 City:  Hampshire, Illinois High School:   Westminster Christian ,  2012 College:  Judson University , Eagles ,  Elgin, Illinois Height:  6-2 Weight:  190 Positions:  RHP/LHP; IF Bats:  Switch hitter Throws:  Both, ambidextrous Pitches | mph: FB 89; CH 80; CB 86; SL 78 (source:  Perfect Game  2011) Ryan Perez is a sophomore switch pitcher who plays for Judson University -- a four-year Christian College near Chicago. The Judson Eagles, led by Rich Benjamin, compete in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference of the NAIA. Perez uses a six-finger ambidextrous glove, from Akadema, for switch pitching. He throws a fastball in the upper 80's with both arms and touches 90 mph.  Learn more about ambidextrous pitcher Ryan Perez --- College Pitching Stats for Ryan Perez Judson University Stats  - 2014  Sophomore 2.43 ER

Pete Taraskevich Hometown:   Sunrise, Florida High School:  American Heritage HS  College:   Cumberland University (Class of 2010) Height/Weight: 6'0"  229 Bats: Left Throws: Both (ambidextrous) Glove:  In high school, used two gloves for pitching Draft:   Selected by the Twins in 27th round of MLB Draft in 2003 Taraskevich eats, golfs and bats left-handed (.408), shoots baskets and bowls with both hands and writes right-handed.  He has always tinkered with the two-handed special delivery in fall and summer league games. At a national showcase in December, he was rated the fourth-best pitcher and the 12th-best prospect overall. (Sun Sentinel) How he got started throwing with both hands His rare skill began at 11, when he would throw a tennis ball for hours against the wall of his home in Sunrise, Florida. His father, Steven, a physiology professor at Nova Southeastern and a former high school pitcher, told him to switch hands or he'd become "the y