Pat Venditte Update

You may recall that back on March 6, I wrote a piece here and embedded a video about Pat Venditte.  You probably don't remember the name, but he's the career minor league pitcher who throws with both his left and right arm.  He's done pretty well in the minors, with a 2.37 earned run average, but has been there for seven years, no major league team willing to take the risk on bringing up such an offbeat and unlikely pitcher.

Until now.  Pat Venditte, just a few weeks short of his 30th birthday, is being promoted to the major leagues by the Oakland A's.  His ERA this year in Nashville has been an impressive 1.36.  (Note his glove in the picture below -- it's not the traditional webbing of a regular glove between the thumb and forefinger.  His is made so that he can switch hands with it.)

If Venditte works out for the A's, there are big advantages for a team.  First, they don't have to make as many switches, to have a right-handed pitcher go against a right-handed batter, and vice-versa.  They can just leave Venditte out there, flipping his glove.  And also, he can help put less stress on a team's bullpen since -- throwing with both arms -- he can pitch more innings than most relievers, being able to throw an equal number of pitches with each arm before strain sets in.