Switch Pitching 101

Jason Matthew Vargas Born: February 2, 1983 in Apple Valley, CA School: Apple Valley HS (Apple Valley, CA) MLB Teams: Mariners/Marlins/Mets Position: Pitcher Height/Weight: 6' 0", 215 lb. Bats: Left Throws: LHP in the MLB, ambidextrous throw when young When Jason Vargas was only 5 or 6, he threw with both hands. He started out throwing right-handed, then switched to being left-handed at an early age. In the big league he is only listed as LHP. Determined Vargas Vies for Mets’ Rotation By BEN SHPIGEL Published: February 15, 2007 Growing up in Apple Valley, Calif., about 90 miles northeast of Los Angeles, Vargas was ambidextrous. About age 5 or 6, he picked up a ball in his left hand. Read more Vargas gets shot as Silva’s replacement MAY 12, 2009 As a youngster, he originally threw the ball right handed, but switched to being a southpaw before he started organized baseball. “I remember it a little,” he said of his ambidextrou...

Ed Head - Ambidextrous Pitcher Edward Marvin Head Born: January 25, 1918 in Selma, Louisiana High School: Ouachita Parish HS, West Monroe, LA Team: Brooklyn Dodgers 1940-1946 Position: Pitcher Height: 6' 1", Weight: 175 lb. Bats: Right Throws: RHP in MLB; LHP in high school Ed Head was a southpaw in high school, but switched to his right after breaking his arm in a bus crash in 1935. Here is the story: Ed Head wasn’t the first—or last—Louisiana high school pitching standout who went on to big league stardom. But he is the only one who was a lefthander in high school and a righthander in the big leagues. For the first 17 years of his life, Head was a southpaw. But his left arm was crushed in a head-on collision of two school busses on a narrow country road near the Arkansas state line in 1935, when Head and his teammates were on their way back to Bastrop after a baseball game. The doctor in Mer Rouge wanted to amputate, but Head vetoed that motion ...

Japhet Monroe Lynn Born:  December 27, 1913 in Kenney, TX Position : Pitcher  Throws:  Right  (ambidextrous thrower) Height:  6' 0",  Weight:  162 lb. Bats:  Right,  Throws:  Right  (ambidextrous thrower) Debut:  April 25, 1939 Teams  (by GP): Giants/Cubs/Tigers 1939-1944 Red Lynn was 25 years old when he broke into the big leagues on April 25, 1939, with the Detroit Tigers.  The following report indicates that Red Lynn was ambidextrous. Although he only pitched right-handed in games, he sometimes threw batting practice left-handed. 1943 Los Angeles Angels Pacific Coast League (Triple-A) The Angels had outstanding pitching. None of the seven pitchers who worked more than 100 innings had an ERA higher than 3.08. The big winner was Japhet Monroe (Red) Lynn , 21-8, 2.47 who led the PCL in victories. He won his first nine decisions of the season. Lynn, a 29-year-old Texas-born right-...