The two sides of Pat Venditte
ByIn the annals of River Ave. Blues history, no post has garnered more page views than a June 2008 video of Pat Venditte facing off against a switch-hitter. The video is lives on via YouTube, and Venditte, a legitimate switch-pitcher, is still going strong. While his nearly 24 years of age make him a bit old for the Class A Sally league, in 11.2 innings this year, he hasn’t allowed an earned run and has 21 strike outs. Stunningly, he hasn’t walked a batter.
Today, Rick Reilly of ESPN The Magazine profiled the ambidextrous hurler. Who knows what the future holds for Venditte? The Yanks may push him out soon to find out what they have, but as a Minor League sideshow attraction of a potential MLB reliever, Venditte and his six-fingered glove certainly make for an interesting story.
i love it. he can come in the 7th and be the LOOGY and then pitch the 8th as “TEH RIGHTY 8TH INNING GUY!!11!1!”©®™
Love it.
Wilhelm! Hire this man!
“What the hell did you trade Jay Buhner for?! He had 30 home runs, over 100 RBIs last year! He’s got a rocket for an arm… You don’t know what the hell you’re doing!”
Buhner was a great prospect, sure, but my baseball people loved Ken Phelps’ bat. They kept saying “Ken Phelps! Ken Phelps!”
Venditte is awesome. Would love to see him get a promotion and to start facing guys closer to his own age.
With the way he has owned short season and low A the Yanks might as well push to see what they have
I saw Venditte last year with the SI Yanks. It was awesome!!! I was with someone who hadn’t heard of him, and they bugged out when he mixed it up…
I agree…push him a bit, see what we have, maybe we can see him in the Bronx within the next 2 – 2 1/2 years.
bring him up now …. can’t be worse than the crap Girardi is parading out now
Considering that he turns 24 next month and has never pitched about A ball, he probably can be worse than the crap Girardi is parading out there right now. You’d be surprised.
how are away his he about?
What? I thought yesterday was the day to get really drunk by 2 p.m.
you don’t know about seis de mayo??
IETC
+1
we should call Venditte “the Stranger”.
Can we give out a second “Axl Award” this week?
IETC
I wonder how long he stays in Low A this year.
Yesterday I posed the question of what arm can skyrocket through the system, a la Edwar and Joba. It would be beyond awesome if Venditte dominates all levels and is up in Trenton/Scranton in a few months. Does anyone think this is a possibility?
If you’re looking for the video of the switch-pitching Venditte pitching for Staten Island against a switch-hitter, it’s really entertaining, since the umps had no idea what to do. YouTube video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-2oD8KzxS14
Doesn’t he have like 79 mph from the left side and high 80s from the right? That’s not good enough no matter what side ya throw from.
It’s mid-80s from the left and around 90 from the right. That’s good enough if you have good breaking pitches. See, for example, Mike Mussina 2008 or Jamie Moyer’s entire career.
They’re the exception. Similarly, most balding 5′8 white guys who swing from the heels don’t become MVPs.
5′6″
Frankly, I don’t see the hesitation on the organization’s part to push him. He’s going to be 24, he’s a low round pick, and he is what he is (no higher ceiling to patiently develop). If he can hack it in AAA by late summer, he might be a useful, surprising addition to the major league bullpen.