ESPN's Rick Reilly is Cramping My Style

Ok so I don't want to toot my own horn here too much, but seriously Reilly... Pat Venditte?! Dude I was all over that EXACTLY three years and one day ago, when my ambidextrous boy Pat was still in college. Here's me on 5/5/2006...

I always wondered about this. I knew there wasn't any active switch-pitcher in the major-leagues, but I was curious as to whether or not it would be possible and also whether or not it would be in accordance with the rule book. Although Division I baseball doesn't necessarily follow the same rules as the MLB, I'm still happy to have learned that there is such a thing as a switch-pitcher.

"Pat Venditte Jr., isn't your ordinary college pitcher. He's the only active switch-pitcher in NCAA Division I. Venditte employs his ambidextrous abilities as a reliever for Creighton University. In a game last week against Kansas, Venditte retired six batters, three right-handed and three left-handed, and he recorded a strikeout with each arm. Through Wednesday, Venditte had a 2.51 ERA in 46 2/3 innings. " [via MLB.com]

...and here's Reilly on 5/6/2009...

His name is Pat Venditte, he's 23, and he's pro baseball's only ambidextrous pitcher. This living piece of history is more than a YouTube star; he's throwing almost daily for the Charleston RiverDogs, the Yankees' Single-A club. And he's not just throwing: He's blowing through hitters like a Cub Scout through Skittles. At one point in April, the closer's ERA was 0.00 in 6 1/3 innings, and he hadn't blown a save in five games. [via ESPN.com]

...so, ESPN, why aren't I working for you yet? In case you're still curious, here's a video from the CBS Youtube Channel:


Picture courtesy of Iblogtoblog.com