Switch Pitching 101

Recent news about ambidextrous pitcher Aubrey McCarty from Georgia.  Entering his senior season in HS, McCarty received 15 offers to play college baseball. McCarty signed to play baseball at Vanderbilt in 2014. Following his senior year, he was drafted by the Giants, but decided to attend Vanderbilt University (Vandy) in the fall. In the summer he plays for the Waynesboro Generals in the collegiate league. Five Questions: Aubrey McCarty   The News Virginian, 9 July 2015 By Brian Carlton It started when he was a kid, growing up in Georgia. Aubrey McCarty is naturally left-handed, but his father, who worked in a rodeo, did things with his right hand. So when he showed Aubrey how to be a calf-roper and other tricks of the trade, it was all done using the boy’s non-dominant hand. As he grew up and got involved in baseball, McCarty just started playing around and throwing from both sides as a pitcher. Soon, he was striking out batters from both the left and right s...

Ambidextrous Pitcher Becomes Talk of Bangor Baseball Team The Pocono Record (Stroudsburg, PA) 19 Apr 1950 Bangor - The talk of this Slate belt community is youthful George Miller, an ambidextrous pitcher. Miller reportedly throws equally as well with his left or right arm and is counted on to spin a magic web against North Atlantic league opposition this season. Miller is also regarded as a top flight hitter. ...

Switch pitcher Reliever effective as right-hander and left-hander By Eric Olson The Associated Press The Salina Journal (Salina, Kansas) 28 Apr 2006 Omaha, Neb. - Pat Venditte Sr. came up with the idea when he was tossing a ball to his 3-year-old son in the backyard. Wouldn't it be neat if he could get Pat Jr., a natural right-hander, to throw equally well with his left? Neat, indeed. Now "Little Pat," as his dad calls him, is the only active switch pitcher in Division I baseball and one of the few ambidextrous hurlers in the history of the sport. Read More ..

Late J. Allsman Was Ambi-Dextrous Hurler Alton Evening Telegraph (Alton, Illinois) 9 Dec 1943 Lou Krepel, veteran Alton umpire, today recalled that James Allsman, who died recently, was the only ambi-dextrous, baseball pitcher he has seen in 35 years of officiating. Allsman, who was six feet, three inches tall, was equally effective with either arm, Krepel asserts. Krepel described Allsman as a "chip off the old block," saying that W. B. Allsman, the father of "Jimmy," was a great pitcher  in the '90's. The older Allsman hurled for the independents in the old City League, Krepel recalled. ..

Donald Holst Clausen was born April 27, 1923, on his father’s dairy farm in Ferndale, California. He played semi-professional baseball in his youth — profiles noted he was an ambidextrous pitcher — and attended several colleges in California and Utah before his military service in World War II. Don Clausen Multi-sport Athlete Clausen graduated from elementary and high schools of Ferndale, where he was an honors student and lettered five sports: tennis, track, basketball, football and baseball as well as being the drum major of the school band. Don Clausen pitched for the Crescent City Merchants in the 1950s. ... Crescent City Nine Wins Over Arcata Chiefs The Times Standard (Eureka, CA) 24 Jul 1954 An explosive fourth inning barrage that netted the Crescent City Merchants seven runs sent the Arcata back to their teepees ... Crescent City also employed two twirlers with starter Orv Olaen giving way to another righthander, Don Clausen, in the seventh. ...

Your browser does not support iframes. Pat Venditte throws a double bullpen with the Athletics. First left-handed, then right-handed. ..

Yankees' Venditte uses both arms The Call-Leader (Elwood, Indiana)  31 Mar 2010 Kissimmee, Fla. (AP) - Ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte threw with both arms for the New York Yankees on Tuesday, giving up one run in 1 1/3 inning during a 9-6 split-squad loss to the Atlanta Braves. Making his first appearance for the Yankees, Venditte took over for CC Sabathia with two outs in the fifth inning and tossed four warmup pitches with each hand. Venditte switched back and forth, depending on whether he was facing a righty or lefty, and gave up two hits and a walk The 24-year-old reliever, who uses a six-finger glove, pitched for two teams in Class A last season and went a combined 4-2 with 22 saves and a 1.87 ERA . If he makes the majors, Venditte wouldn't be the first pitcher to throw as a left-hander and right-hander. Greg Harris, who pitched from 1981-95, was a righty throughout his career. He pitched from the left side for two batters in his second-to-last game. Saba...

The Washington Herald.  (Washington, D.C.), 25 Sept. 1911.  Chronicling America: Historic American Newspapers . Lib. of Congress. < http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045433/1911-09-25/ed-1/seq-10/ > A Philadelphia baseball fan, possessing an inventive mind, has just patented an ambidextrous baseball glove, which, he maintains will be in great demand some of these days. The glove can be worn on either left or right hand, and is said to possess qualities unexcelled in other baseball armament. The patent described the improvement as follows:  "The object of my invention is to produce a baseball finger glove adapted to be worn with equal facility upon either the right of left hand. " Read more Fort Wayne Daily News (Fort Wayne, Indiana) 15 Dec 1911 A Philadelphia fan possessed of an inventive turn of mind has patented an ambidextrous baseball glove, which, he maintains, will be in great demand some of these days when the p...

Show of hands - Venditte's unique skill poses challenge for all Indiana Gazette (Indiana, PA) 21 Jun 2008 By Bill Konigsberg, AP Sports Writer New York - Ambidextrous pitcher Pat Venditte can confound hitters - and umpires - when he's own the mound. The umps working a New York-Penn League (short-season Class-A) game Thursday night between the Staten Island Yankees and the Brooklyn Cyclones had nothing to go by when Venditte made his professional debut, less than two weeks after getting drafted in the 20th round by the Yankees. He pitched the ninth, and after retiring two batters and allowing a single, a switch hitter stepped to the plate for Brooklyn, That's hardly unusual. But it becomes intriguing against Venditte, a switch pitcher. ... "The reason he's not as fast from the left is he drops his arm from the left side to get more movement, he throws a sweeping slider," he said. "The coach at Creighton thought it was more difficult ...

Manitowoc Herald-Times 21 May 1923 Baseball History Records Three Twirlers Who Could Use Either Hand in Playing. Followers of baseball ofttimes have heard about the type of hurler who could pitch a fast ball with either hand and make it curve. However, few have been in action, and these freak hurlers are seldom seen in organized ball.  Read the News Article Actually, there were a number of good ambidextrous pitchers,  but they played in local leagues - not in pro baseball. List of Ambidextrous Pitchers >> ...

View Original View Original Sculpture:  Digital and Leather  on  Other . Size:  11 H  x  9.1 W  x  7.5  in AMBIDEXTROUS BASEBALL GLOVE Genuine leather, Ink-jet print on leather Issei Watanabe Tokyo, Japan ...

Columbus Team Buys Ambidextrous Pitcher News-Journal (Mansfield, Ohio) 23 Sep 1936 Columbus, Ohio - Ambidextrous moundsman Garland T. Mitchell became a member of the Columbus Red Birds of the American association today on an outright purchase from the Asheville club of the Piedmont league. Mitchell does most of his pitching with his right arm, but is able to turn in a credible performance as a southpaw pitcher. Read Article .

Athletics Sign Ambidextrous Pitcher - James Haley  The Salem News (Salem, Ohio) 26 Sep 1963 Athletics Sign Ambidextrous Pitcher - The Kansas City Athletics have signed a pitcher who has two chances of making good - one with each arm. James Haley, right of Canton, Ga., is shown signing in Atlanta with Mercer Harris, the Athletics' Georgia scout. The 185-pounder won 10 games in the East Cobb League this summer - 8 right-handed and 2 left-handed. He struck out 18 batters right-handed last week and four days later struck out six left-handed in a relief stint. Read Article . James D. Haley Position :  Pitcher Bats:  Left,  Throws:  Left Height:  6' 3",  Weight:  185 lb. Born :  1945 Record: 4-4  1964 Burlington Bees, Class A, Kansas City Athletics-AL James Haley - Baseball-reference.com .

A number of talented ball players were called into military service including a switch pitcher. Dodgers' McLish Headed for Navy Naugatuck Daily News (Naugatuck, Connecticut) 3 Jun 1944 New York, June 3 (UP) Baseball's only ambidextrous pitcher is humming Anchors Aweigh these days, as he warms up with either arm. Because before the moth is out, 18-year-old Cal McLish probably will be doing boot training in Uncle Sam's Navy. To be more exact, McLish's name is Calvin Coolidge Julius Caesar Tuskahoma McLish. And he played only one game for the Brooklyn Dodgers before he passed his physical. But he won that game with a five-hit performance. While tying out for the Dodgers, he proved himself by giving Dixie Walker the works. The young rookie burned a right-handed pitch past Walker, and Walker never saw it. Then, he wound up again and tossed such a sizzler that Dixie stepped out of the box to recuperate. Walker stepped up again. This time the innocent...

Was there ever an ambidextrous president who could throw with both hands? Yes , President Harry S. Truman from Missouri was ambidextrous and could throw well with both hands. He used to throw out the first ball on opening day for professional baseball. Harry Truman in the news,  Statesville Record, NC 18 Apr 1949 President Harry Truman throws out the first ball on opening day photo: Getty Ambidextrous Harry to Hurl Opening Ball  The Dixon Telegraph (Dixon, Illinois) 18 Apr 1949 The finest presidential pitcher since William Howard Taft has both arms in dandy shape for the 1949 season. H. Truman, P., was scheduled to throw out the first ball today as the Washington Nationals square off with the Philadelphia Athletics. ... Ambidextrous President Truman is believed to be the only right and/or left handed pitcher in big league history. Read More

Old Time Baseball Players Plan Reunion Ralph "Peck" Jones, ambidextrous pitcher in 1912 Wilmington News-Journal (Wilmington, Ohio)  3 Aug 1954 One year, the Clintons, a semi-pro team, won 22 and lost one, the loss coming to the Corn Hatters of Columbus. Pictured is the 1912 team. .