inor League Career
On June 19, 2008, in his first minor league appearance with the Staten Island Yankees against their crosstown rivals the Brooklyn Cyclones (the respective Yankees and Mets affiliates are the only two minor league teams in New York City), Venditte pitched a scoreless ninth inning for a Yankees win. The appearance is notable because there was an unusual incident before Venditte faced the last Cyclone batter; the batter, Ralph Henriquez, is a switch-hitter, and upon choosing to bat left- or right-handed (with Venditte subsequently choosing to pitch with the same hand), Henriquez would then go to the other side of the plate (and adjust his shin guard--which is worn on the front leg when a batter takes his stance) to regain the advantage. After this had happened several times the teams appealed to the umpiring crew, which ruled that the batter must first select from which side of the plate he intended to hit, and that the pitcher would then be allowed to declare with which arm he would pitch. Venditte subsequently struck out a very frustrated Henriquez (who slammed his bat against the dirt in anger) to end the game.[10] Venditte completed the season with 23 saves in 30 appearances with a 0.83 ERA. His performance earned him a spot on the New York-Penn League All-Star team and the Minor League Baseball Yearly Award for Best Short-Season Reliever.[11]
For the 2009 season he was assigned to the Charleston RiverDogs of the Single A South Atlantic League.[12]
Though Venditte is considered a fan favorite and has excellent minor league numbers, he is not considered a top prospect because of his age and underwhelming fastball velocity.[13]
He was promoted to the Tampa Yankees of the Florida State League on the 26th June 2009.[14]
| Year | Team | League | W | L | ERA | GP | SV | H | R | ER | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Staten Island Yankees | New York-Penn | 1 | 0 | 0.83 | 30 | 23 | 13 | 5 | 3 | 10 | 42 |
| 2009 | Charleston RiverDogs | South Atlantic | 2 | 2 | 1.47 | 28 | 20 | 24 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 40 |
| 2009 | Tampa Yankees | Florida State | 0 | 0 | 3.65 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 14 |
Pitching style
When using his right arm, Venditte delivers over the top and can throw a curveball as well as a fastball reaching up to 94 mph. His left-handed delivery is side-armed in which he throws a slider and a moderately slower fastball. Venditte uses a custom made six-fingeredglove with a thumb-hole on each side allowing him to easily switch back and forth.[15] He generally pitches with his right arm against right-handed batters and left-handed against left-handed batters which minimizes his opponent's advantage when strategically ordering batters in the line-up based on which side of the plate they hit from.[4] Furthermore, by splitting his pitches between his arms, he is able to pitch longer than traditional pitchers before becoming fatigued.[4]
On July 3, 2008, the Professional Baseball Umpire Corporation issued a new rule to limit the number of times a switch-pitcher and switch-hitter can change sides during one at-bat.[16]
[edit]The Pat Venditte Rule
The Professional Baseball Umpire Corporation (PBUC) released its official rules for dealing with ambidextrous pitchers. These guidelines were reached after PBUC staff consulted with a variety of sources, including the Major League Baseball Rules Committee.
It reads:
- The pitcher must visually indicate to the umpire, batter and runner(s) which way he will begin pitching to the batter. Engaging the rubber with the glove on a particular hand is considered a definitive commitment to which arm he will throw with. The batter will then choose which side of the plate he will bat from.
- The pitcher must throw one pitch to the batter before any “switch” by either player is allowed.
- After one pitch is thrown, the pitcher and batter may each change positions one time per at-bat. For example, if the pitcher changes from right-handed to left-handed and the batter then changes batter’s boxes, each player must remain that way for the duration of that at-bat (unless the offensive team substitutes a pinch hitter, and then each player may again “switch” one time).
- Any switch (by either the pitcher or the batter) must be clearly indicated to the umpire. There will be no warm-up pitches during the change of arms.
- If an injury occurs the pitcher may change arms but not use that arm again during the remainder of the game
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