ESPN E:60 feature on Pat Venditte

August 19, 2009 by Mike Axisa 42 Comments

I really hope the kid makes it to the big leagues. It would be so awesome.

Andy In Sunny Daytona

I thought the different arm angle from either side was pretty interesting. Much lower on the left.
- 27 this year
  
  yea, I think that is just to give him a greater advantage lefty on lefty because he doesn’t throw hard at all. 86 is pretty slow but dropping the arm angle would make it tough for lefties.
27 this year

One thing I don’t get about the video is why are curtis granderson and carlos pena interviewed about this kid. They never faced him at any point and honestly I have no idea what Venditte has to do with them.
- Johan Iz My Brohan
  
  I was wondering that too, but either way it’s cool that they know about him. Venditte really deserves to make it to the majors.
  - 27 this year
    
    I think if they really wanted to get stars opinions, it would make more sense to go a Yankee player like Jeter or Arod.
    - Andy In Sunny Daytona
      
      I can’t believe that ESPN didn’t ask Brett Favre about him, or ask Pat Venditte what he thought about Brett Favre.
      - Klemy
        
        Or Peter Gammons! LAWL
      - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside
        
        I can’t believe that ESPN didn’t ask Brett Favre about him…
        
        http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pk_3Ji-4690 (safe)
- Makavelli
  
  Marketing approach maybe?
  
  Perhaps they thought they’d need some stars to be interviewed from majors that people would recognize?
  
  When they do tv specials on rockstars, movies, or anything they always interview people who had nothing to do with it and that make you scratch your head as to why they’re contributing…
  
  Who knows though.
http://twitter.com/JamalG Jamal G.

You know who has a 155 tRA+ and is worth 1.2 WAR in the Florida State League (High-A)? Pat Venditte.
http://myspace.com/lincolnsworld Link

I think he will be a September callup next year just for the experience. It does not seem that his stuff is good enough to consistently get big league hitters out.
- http://bronxbaseballdaily.com Matt ACTY/BBD
  
  Eh, let’s see how he does in Trenton and/or Scranton before using a 40 man spot on him.
Neil

ETA for the Pat Venditte show looks to be 2012
- jsbrendog
  
  won’t he be like 28 by then?
  - jsbrendog
    
    check that, 27. he was born in ’85
    - Stryker
      
      so? coke got his shot in the majors at 26 years old.
YankeeFan

I actually didn’t know he threw that hard from the right side until watching this video last night. Throwing 93 is not too shabby. He should be in Trenton already to see if he can actually make it. Don’t understand the point of just letting him continue to dominate A ball hitters.
- Andy In Sunny Daytona
  
  I saw him pitch a few times this year, I think that 93 would be the absolute hardest he could throw, if at all.
Makavelli

The glove he has on when on the mound seems to be a normal glove (at first glance). What if the next batter is batting from the opposite side, does he run and grab the other glove? Or maybe I just didn’t see it well enough and it’s a glove that he can use with both hands?
- http://www.secondavenuesagas.com Benjamin Kabak
  
  It’s not a normal glove. He’s talked about this before. Take a look right here.
- Tampa Yankee
  
  Its a special glove made for him with 6 fingers that fits both hands.
  - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside
    
    I believe he’s wearing the Antonio Alfonseca model.
    
    http://www.instantrimshot.com
- Makavelli
  
  The 6 fingered man!
  
  “My name is Inigo Montoya…you killed my father, prepare to die…”
  - Bill R
    
    hahaha
sam

its not about his stuff its about the million$$$ they could make on marketing.
I could hear it now, he comes into the 8th inning of a blowout game and the crowd stands up and sings “Wild Thing”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wPe2GoG2QB8
http://twitter.com/Hopjake Jake H

I really liked the piece on him. He can relieve himself which is nice.
- Klemy
  
  You show me a man who cannot relieve himself and I’ll show you a liar.
  - AndrewYF
    
    So everyone who suffers from constipation is a liar?
    - Bryan
      
      +1!
A.D.

Seems like he has better stuff as a righty, and righties are hitting a bit worse off him at high A.

Would the Yankees make him comvert, or let him sink/swim as a ambidextrous pitcher
jack

me and my friend were discussing him the other day and we got to thinking if he was a starter (hypothetically) could he throw 100+ pitches with each arm meaning he could easily throw complete games every start?
- http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside
  
  Yeah, he probably could throw complete games every time out.
  
  As long as you don’t mind giving up 12 runs per CG, that is.
- Klemy
  
  Assuming that his Jamie Moyer pitches from the left can get enough people out!
RCK

The switch pitcher is so cool! I really want him to make it to the majors, but I’m trying not to get my hopes up since everyone says he’s just not that good.

Someone in that piece made a good point that a small-market team might be more likely to bring him up just for the novelty.
Januz

It would be cool if he made the major leagues, and it is not out of the question, because there is a dire need for someone to get out lefty batters (Particularly in Yankee Stadium).
Stryker

i know baseball is a business, but i really hope the yankees don’t push this kid as some marketing phenom just because he pitches with both hands. the majority of yankees fans will see right through the novelty factor if the guy doesn’t perform up to snuff. like someone said in the video: ‘a guy with his stuff as a righty doesn’t get a shot in the bigs. a guy with his stuff as a lefty doesn’t get a shot in the bigs.’

as of now he’s proving a lot of people wrong with what he’s done in charleston and tampa…but let’s see him do it in trenton and scranton before we get excited about him.
- Klemy
  
  +1
- Januz
  
  The Yankees will NOT treat Venditte as a “Freak Show Exhibition” just to make money, they have never been about that. They (Along with The Tigers and Cardinals), do not wear “Third Jerseys” designed to maximize profitability, and they believe in conducting themselves as professionals to the extent, they require suits and jackets on road trips, and they do not allow their players to look sloppy and ragged like Boston.
  - http://twitter.com/tsjc68 tommiesmithjohncarlos a/k/a Ridiculous Upside
    
    Judge: Do you have any evidence to present?
    Lionel Hutz: Well, your Honor, I have plenty of conjecture and hearsay, those are kinds of evidence…
Simon B.

Maybe ESPN just had Pena/Granderson record a bunch of stock quotes to fill up what ever feature they’re working on.
Brandon

Heh. Last I heard about Vendittes velocity was that he sits at low 80’s from the left side and could barely touch 91 from the right. Looks like his velocity has increased since then. Hits 86 from the left and hits 93 from the right. For those saying something about the 86 mph from the left meaning he’ll do terrible from the left side in the majors, Jamie Moyer has something to say about that. The guy starts, or did start, and throws mid 80’s. That said, I’d like to see his velocity increase like 1 or 2 ticks from the left, or the Yankees drop his arm angle on the left side. But, really, it doesn’t matter. He is answering all questions by continuing his greatness in Tampa. But I believe a big test will be how he does in AA then in AAA.
Hank Herz

check this out guys:

patvendittefanclub.com