Switch-hitter encounters switch-pitcher leading to some confusion

A switch-hitter picks which side of the plate he’s going to hit from in most instances based on whether he is facing a right-handed pitcher or a lefty. But that relatively simple decision was seriously challenged Sunday in Dunedin, Fla., where the Blue Jays hosted the Pirates. 

Toronto pitcher Pat Venditte is the extremely rare ambidextrous pitcher who uses a special glove that allows him to switch pitching arms from batter to batter.

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Antoan Richardson, a switch-hitting outfielder for Pittsburgh, originally thought Venditte was going to pitch to him right-handed in his ninth-inning at-bat. Richardson then realized Venditte was pitching left-handed. So he went back to retrieve the correct batting helmet.

Then umpire Bob Davidson decided to have a little fun with the situation telling Venditte he could switch back again, which Venditte jokingly did. Richardson once again became confused and went back for his original batting helmet before Venditte finally assured him he planned to pitch with his left.

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The at-bat ended a few moments later when Venditte came inside a little too much and hit Richardson with a pitch. He later induced a double play to get out of the inning and record a save in the Blue Jays’ 3-2 victory in the Grapefruit League.

There is a rule in place for pitchers with this unusual skill set. The pitcher has to indicate to the umpire, batter and any baserunners which hand he will use against each particular batter and he is not allowed to switch pitching hands in the middle of the at-bat unless he suffers an injury.

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Kyle Ringo is a contributing writer to Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @KyleRingo