The Oakland Athletics are up to their usual tricks.
The unofficial masters of sabermetrics went about acquiring two arms for the price of one when the big league club called up career minor-leaguer Pat Venditte on Friday. The 29-year-old ‘switch-throwing’ — yes, you heard that right — Venditte spent the first seven years of his career in the Yankees farm organization before signing with the A’s this offseason.
Venditte is a pitching coach’s dream. Thanks to a custom, reversible glove…
The glove of #Athletics switch-pitcher Pat Venditte, which fits both his hands. He'll throw both RH & LH today. pic.twitter.com/5riF0PWSUB
— John Hickey (@JHickey3) February 20, 2015
… he can decide which side he wants to pitch from prior to every single at-bat. In fact, Venditte’s off-the-charts versatility forced the MLB to put in a new rule for switch-pitchers after this incident in 2008.
WATCH:
Two arms are better than one.
[h/t: Today’s Knuckleball]