A’s switch-pitcher Venditte able to spin batters his own way

It’s been said that only the great ones cause the rules of the game to be changed.

Pat Venditte isn’t a baseball immortal by any means, but the Oakland Athletics switch-pitcher did inspire the creation of a new rule that’s named for him.

You read that right. Switch-pitcher.

The only ambidextrous pitcher in professional baseball, Venditte virtually always throws right-handed against right-handed batters and left-handed against left-handed batters to gain the platoon advantage.

The eighth-year pro pitched two perfect innings for the A’s to finish Friday’s 5-3 Big League Weekend exhibition loss to the Cubs at Cashman Field. Venditte, who didn’t pitch in Oakland’s 3-1 loss to Chicago on Saturday at Cashman, retired four batters with his left hand and two batters with his right.

When Venditte, who uses a custom-made, six-finger Mizuno glove with two thumb holes, made his pro debut in 2008 for Single-A Staten Island, some high comedy took place when he faced switch-hitter Ralph Henriquez.

When Henriquez entered the right-handed batter’s box, Venditte switched his glove to his left hand. Henriquez then decided to bat lefty, so Venditte switched his glove back to his right. This went on for about five minutes until Henriquez was ordered to bat righty. He then struck out on four pitches to end the game.

The next day, the “Pat Venditte Rule” was created. It states that the pitcher must declare which hand he’s using by stepping on the rubber, then the batter must declare which side he’s batting.

“That neutralizes the switch-pitcher, because I do have to declare first,” said Venditte, 29. “The original rule was that we could switch (once), but now there’s no switching at all.”

Venditte still can force switch-hitters to bat from their weaker side.

Greg A. Harris is the only modern-day player to pitch with both hands in the big leagues. A natural right-hander, Harris retired two batters right-handed and one left-handed in an inning of work for the Montreal Expos in the next-to-last game of his 15-year career in 1995.

“But Greg didn’t rely on it. For me, it’s what I have to do,” Venditte said. “I can’t just go out there as a lefty or a righty.”

Venditte has been throwing with both hands since he was 3, when his father, Pat Venditte Sr., thought being ambidextrous might give his son a better chance to advance.

“He thought it was just kind of a way for me to have an advantage, to kind of set me apart in the game,” Venditte said. “Luckily, he did that because I don’t have overpowering stuff, so this really helps me compete at this level.”

By age 5, Pat Venditte Sr. had his son punting footballs with both feet and throwing footballs and writing with both arms to help develop motor skills from both sides.

Pitching for his high school team in Omaha, Neb., Venditte would start one day as a right-hander and the next day as a left-hander.

A natural right-hander, Venditte didn’t start switching arms in the same game until his sophomore year at Creighton University.

“The left hand took a long time to develop. I was a sophomore in college before I saw big strides,” he said. “I was a reliever in college. That’s when I started going for matchups.”

Drafted by the New York Yankees in the 20th round in 2008, Venditte has put up impressive numbers in the minors, compiling a 2.46 ERA with a better than 4-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio (431-103) in seven seasons.

Venditte uses the same sidearm delivery from both sides and throws the same arsenal of fastballs, changeups and sliders in the mid-80s.

He signed with the A’s as a minor league free agent and has allowed two runs on two hits in four innings in four appearances in his first full big league camp.

“He’s good from both sides. There’s movement and velocity,” Oakland manager Bob Melvin said. “He doesn’t look like a guy who throws well from one side and can barely get by on the other. He’s probably equally as good.”

Besides inspiring a new rule, Venditte also has inspired a new sign that Melvin uses when he’s summoning his switch-pitcher from the bullpen.

“Both hands,” Melvin said, making air quotes with his fingers. “The umpires know now if there’s two guys out there in the bullpen, I give them both hands.”

Venditte is praying with both hands that he eventually makes it to the majors, though as a nonroster invitee, his chances to open the season with the A’s are slim.

“When you don’t throw particularly hard, you have to have great results all the time. There’s not a lot of room for error,” he said. “If I have those results, I think I’ll get my chance.”

■ NOTES — Kyle Hendricks threw the first five of seven perfect innings for the Cubs (3-8), who didn’t allow a baserunner until Oakland’s Matt Olson reached on a leadoff double in the eighth. The A’s (7-5) finished with three hits. ... The total attendance for Big League Weekend was 18,382.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0354. Follow him on Twitter: @tdewey33.