Philadelphia Phillies: Pat Venditte Will Not Go Away
By Will Summers
There have been a few switch-pitchers to play professional baseball. It has never been common, and the height of the phenomenon coincided with the infancy of the game. Pat Venditte is determined to keep the marvel in the spotlight.
Fewer people have played Major League Baseball in any capacity than the number of people who could go watch Pat Venditte play for the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in two nights. That’s in the span of around 150 years. Clearly not every one of them were pitchers. That being the case, Pat Venditte may be the greatest pitcher in history simply for having done it twice with this much success – once with both arms. Consider today’s talent pool.
A brief scan of his MLB stats will end any recurrence of that thought. A 4.92 ERA in 50.2 innings is as forgettable as the next career minor league arm. But Venditte being a switch-pitcher is historic in its own right. Only a handful have ever attempted throwing with both arms in a major league game, the last being Greg Harris in 1995.
Venditte has struggled mightily at the big league level over parts of two seasons. He’s already appeared for the Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, and Seattle Mariners. The lefty/righty also spent seven seasons in the minor leagues with the New York Yankees. This guy is a survivor. He’s in it for the long haul. Venditte is proving that yet again with the Philadelphia Phillies.
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With the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs, Venditte is forcing his case once again to see the big leagues. He’s thrown 4.1 innings, and has walked three while striking out six. Not a single run has scored against him. Venditte hasn’t even been hit yet. A decent spring showing guaranteed a call-up at some point in 2017.
The Phillies will need the help. They currently field a pen that could hold its own at times, but will show signs of wear and worry at various parts of the season, especially with a major blow to the starting rotation already. The team currently carries just one lefty in Joely Rodriguez. Venditte can be that, and more. Vince Velasquez has had a bad start to the season. Velasquez is young and will be given some room to improve. Venditte may take his place if results don’t come soon.
Venditte knows of the type of pitcher he is. He’s never going to put up eye-popping strikeout numbers. He doesn’t throw hard. As a lefty, a sinking fastball offering sits in the low-to-mid 80s. Venditte’s fastball will creep up a few ticks to the high 80s as a righty. He throws plenty of sliders and sinkers to avoid hard contact as best he can. He does a good job, considering his velocity and control. Venditte’s quality of contact rates are exactly league-average.
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Pat Venditte has had a wild career to this point. At 29, he is not thinking about a career change, nor should he be. He’s willing to bet on himself, and if the performance keeps up, he’ll be cashing in at Citizens Bank Park.