Switch Pitching 101

Nicknames: Eddie, Ed,  Kickapoo Ed, Chief Ed Summers pitched for the Tigers Born: 5 Dec 1884 in Ladoga, Indiana Died:  12 May 1953 in Indianapolis, Indiana College: Wabash College, Crawfordsville, IN Team: Detroit Tigers 1908-1912 Batted: Both Threw: Both (primarily pitched Right-handed) Height: 6'2" Weight: 180 lbs Win-loss Record: 68-45 (.602) ERA: 2.42 Strikeouts: 362 Ed Summers, was one of baseball’s first knuckleballers. The ambidextrous Summers is recognized in one article as the " Father of the Finger-tip Knuckleball ". During his baseball career, Summers was commonly nicknamed Kickapoo Ed (after the Kickapoo   tribe in Indiana).  In his 1908 rookie season , Ed Summers emerged as the Tigers' best pitcher, finishing with a 1.64  ERA  in 301  innings pitched  and a 24–12 win-loss record. The following year, Summers threw 282 innings – finishing with a solid 19-9 record and 2.24 ERA.  He tallied...

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...

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. ...

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 .

Switch pitchers - Iowa Clark Egdorf ,  South O'Brien HS 2004,  Paullina, Iowa Egdorf became used to throwing both ways in Little League and switch pitched in high school.  He played left field right-handed and batted left-handed. Colleges: Iowa Lakes Community College and Loras College. Stephen Kenkel ,  IKM-Manning HS 2011,  Manilla, Iowa Kenkel used a  custom ambidextrous glove TPX $400.  Switch hitter in high school. Austin Stuber , Lenox HS 2010, Lenox, Iowa Pitcher for the Vikings at Missouri Valley College, Marshall, MO, NAIA Alex Urbanek , Roland-Story HS 2014, Story City, Iowa Throws a fastball, curveball and change-up with both hands. High school ambidextrous pitchers from the state of Iowa ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ -- Complete list of Switch Pitchers  >> ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ ------ -- .