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Tanner Kilmer ambidextrous pitcher

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 along, but I didn't force it. I got him a glove for both hands - whichever way he wanted to go - and we worked on both sides a lot." (LJWorld.com)

He prefers to throw left-handed, but he bats and bowls right-handed. Tanner also plays first base left-handed.

What the coach said ...
"He's a coach's kid," Stoll explained. "His baseball IQ is off the charts. He understands how to pitch; he knows how to set people up and understands the value of hitting locations."


LHP in College

Tanner Kilmer is a left-handed pitcher from Pratt Community College and a native of Lawrence, Kan. He compiled a career record of 6-1 for the Beavers and last season had a 4.21 earned run average in 56.1 innings pitched. He was named All-Metro at Lawrence High School. 
Kilmer will join the Emporia State Hornets (NCAA, Division II) in 2013 as a left-handed pitcher.


Switchpitcher  Whoa’ indeed: LHS soph ambidextrous

By Benton Smith | Lawrence Journal-World

When coaches and fellow players hear about Tanner Kilmer's unique baseball talent, they usually have the same response: Prove it.
There is reason for skepticism among Kilmer's baseball compadres. Switch-hitting is something that plenty of players have pulled off. Switch-throwing, on the other hand, is seldom seen.
Note: It's not clear if Tanner Kilmer was a switch pitcher in high school.
"I'm usually just all lefty," he said, pointing out that if he hopes to pitch right-handed in the future, he'll have to work at it more because the right arm has fallen a bit behind the left when it comes to the velocity and movement on his pitches.


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