Pat Venditte, the ambidextrous pitcher for the Oakland Athletics, was throwing in the bullpen during spring training recently and, as always, threw the same number of pitches right-handed as left-handed. After watching that session, Oakland manager Bob Melvin said, "He wears No. 74, but I swear, when I looked down at [the bullpen] a second time, he was wearing No. 47."
Such is the beauty, and confusion, of ambidexterity. Former journeyman infielder Jim Morrison (1977-88) once called it being "amphibious," which he defined as "being able to throw underwater." Ambidexterity is a strange, fascinating trait that, it seems, is shared more by great athletes, particularly baseball players, than not. Throwing a baseball is a natural, God-given motion; mostly, you can either do it or you can't. But even those who can throw a baseball really well with one arm can't throw at all with the other. But Venditte can.
"I do everything right-handed, but my dad started me throwing a baseball left-handed when I was 3 years old because he thought it would be a good thing for me to have," Venditte said.
He spent seven years in the Yankees' system, reaching as high as Triple-A in 2012 and 2014, and now is with Oakland. He throws 85 mph right-handed and 81 mph left-handed; that's his biggest challenge. But in his first appearance with the A's in a spring training game, he got the final out (the Giants' Justin Maxwell) of one inning throwing right-handed, then got the first out of the next inning (Brandon Belt, strikeout, looking) throwing left-handed.
"I prepared the umpires for what they were about to see," Melvin said when Venditte entered the game. "I also assured them that he's the only guy we have that throws both ways."
But a handful of pitchers in major league history have thrown with both arms, the first being Tony Mullane, who actually pitched right-handed and left-handed in one game in 1882. In "The Baseball Encyclopedia," Mullane is listed as "Bats, Both. Throws, Both." Jackie Price, the unusual shortstop from the 1940s (he could hit a baseball while hanging upside down), learned to throw a pitch right-handed and left-handed at the same time -- a fastball with one arm, and a curveball with the other. Greg Harris pitched with both arms in a major league game in 1995 with the Expos.
Baseball has always been filled with ambidextrous players. But they weren't just pitchers; they were players who were skilled with both hands. ESPN analyst Mark Mulder, once a terrific left-handed pitcher mostly for the A's, says, "I write right-handed. Everything I do below my waist, I do right-handed. Don't ask me to explain because I don't know why. I play golf right-handed. I bowl right-handed. If I played hockey, I would shoot right-handed. ... I shoot pool right-handed. I can play tennis with either hand. I played in a charity softball game and I had to pitch, and I had to pitch underhanded, so I pitched right-handed. But since I throw left-handed, I had to switch my glove to my other hand so if a ball was hit back to me, I could catch, then throw it with my left hand. ... I know, I'm completely screwed up."
You think? A pitcher who was one of the best left-handers in the game cannot pitch a softball left-handed because it is an underhand motion?
"That's the most peculiar form of ambidexterity I've ever heard of," said former MLB catcher Ted Simmons, one of the great switch-hitters ever. Peculiar? Mulder is way beyond that.
Peculiar is former pitcher Dave Stieb, who throws and bats right-handed, but shoots a basketball left-handed. Angels outfielder Collin Cowgill throws a baseball left-handed, but shoots a basketball right-handed. Former Brewers pitcher Steve Woodard can shoot a basketball with either hand and, in harmless pickup games, would alternate shots from right-handed to left-handed. And ex-outfielder Jim Dwyer, who batted left-handed, carries left-handed and right-handed clubs in his golf bag because he hits some shots better right-handed than left-handed. Orioles first baseman Chris Davis said he "isn't sure which way to swing a golf club." Mariners first-base coach Andy Van Slyke throws and plays golf right-handed, writes, bats and plays hockey left-handed.
"I tried to hit a golf ball left-handed, and I whiffed," he said. "It confuses me, especially the hockey and golf thing. Why left-handed one way and the other way right-handed? It's a left-brain, right-brain thing, but for me, it's a no-brain thing."
In terms of handedness, baseball has a lot of screwed-up players. And in that regard, screwed-up is good because it means both hands work well. It also means the hand that goes inside the glove is dexterous, so chances are it will help the player defensively, if not in all ways. The first time I met the great Brooks Robinson, who won 16 Gold Gloves at third base, was at a luncheon in 1979. He ate with his left hand. Later that day, I saw him signing autographs with his left hand. How could this be? How much more right-handed can you get than a right-handed hitting third baseman?
"I noticed it the first day I met him," said Davey Johnson, who played second base for the Orioles when Robinson was the third baseman. "I looked at Brooks and thought to myself, 'He's the best defensive third baseman of all time, and he writes with his left hand.' So I wrote with my left hand for a year hoping that it would make me a better defensive second baseman. It didn't work."
Babe Ruth, the greatest baseball player ever (and a good basketball player), batted and threw left-handed, but wrote and ate right-handed. Hall of Famer Craig Biggio bats and throws right-handed, yet writes and eats left-handed. Ex-outfielder Al Oliver throws and hits left-handed, but plays racquetball (once at a world-class level) right-handed. Former outfielder Lance Johnson bats and throws left-handed, but writes right-handed. Tom House, a former pitcher, throws and bats left-handed, he knocks in a nail and swings a sledgehammer left-handed, but writes, eats and plays pingpong and tennis right-handed. He kicks right-footed, but when doing squats, his left leg is his dominant leg. For movement requiring power, he uses his left hand or foot. For movement requiring finesse, he uses his right.
Why is this? And why are great athletes more like this than nonathletes?
"They have a genetic predisposition," said House, who has a degree in kinesiology. "Kids that are gifted athletes have more nerve endings for the brain to program. When the brain says go, more is being accessed. The genetically blessed have more nerves in more muscles, and their brains work very well with the nervous system. Their freeway system has a lot more outlets than nonathletes. And if there's enough repetition of a skill or an exercise at an early age, the athletes can flip-flop -- left to right, right to left -- much more easily."
Former closer Billy Wagner used to throw right-handed, but he broke his right arm as a young boy, and was forced to throw a baseball left-handed, which he eventually did at 100 mph. Red Sox third baseman Pablo Sandoval is a natural left-handed thrower, but chose to switch to right-handed as a kid because it allowed him to play more positions. Hall of Fame third baseman George Brett used to throw batting practice left-handed to his teammates on the Royals. Tigers DH Victor Martinez, a right-handed thrower, can throw 75 mph left-handed. So can Indians right-hander Carlos Carrasco. And former major league pitcher John Burkett, a right-hander, is a tremendous bowler. He once bowled 40 games in one day, "but I got so tired," he said, "I bowled the final 10 games with my left hand."
And then there are the curious cases of Travis Lee, a former first baseman for several teams, and Tom Foley, a coach for the Rays. Lee throws a baseball left-handed, but in high school, he was a right-handed quarterback. Foley throws right-handed, but in high school, he played quarterback and threw left-handed. How can this be? Throwing a football and throwing a baseball are basically the same motion. When Foley played for the Pirates, teammate Steve Cooke pitched left-handed, but was a right-handed quarterback in high school.
"I do everything right-handed. The only thing I do left-handed is play baseball," Lee said. "I don't know why. I asked my parents, and they told me when I was a kid, I just picked up a left-hander's glove and started throwing." But when Lee picked up a football, he threw it right-handed. "I can throw a baseball with my right hand, but I can't throw a football left-handed -- all I throw are ducks," Lee said. "In high school, guys would say, 'Roll to your right and throw right-handed; roll to your left and throw left-handed.' But I couldn't do that."
Lee says he "just doesn't feel comfortable" with the glove on his left hand. "In a perfect world," he said, "I'd catch the ball, take my glove off, switch hands, and throw with my right."
Foley is the opposite. "I'm left-handed, but I bowl, and shoot pool right-handed -- I have no idea why," he said. "My dad was right-handed; he gave me a right-hander's glove, so I threw right-handed." Foley can throw a baseball left-handed, also. Can he throw a football right-handed? "I had to after I separated my [left] shoulder in high school," he said. "I sat out two weeks. Then our other quarterback got hurt, so I had to play, and I played right-handed. I completed four out of seven passes. There were some strange looks on the sidelines."
Foley smiled. "It's weird. If I lost my left hand, I'd be dead. I can't wipe my ass right-handed."
Lee and Foley are confusing, as is Rickey Henderson, one of the greatest players ever. He bats right-handed, but throws left-handed. Only five nonpitchers since 1900 have played 1,000 games batting right-handed and throwing left-handed: Henderson, Ryan Ludwick, Cody Ross, Cleon Jones and Hal Chase. Former outfielder Mark Carreon is one of only six since 1900 who played at least 500 games that way. Why are these guys so rare, and yet there are hundreds of players who bat left-handed and throw right-handed, like Joe Morgan, George Brett and Carl Yastrzemski? Is it just that there are a lot more right-handed people in the world than lefties?
"It means I'm using both sides of my brain, which is good ... I think," said Carreon, who shares his right-left distinction with former Yale first baseman George Herbert Walker Bush and Eddie Gaedel, the midget who batted once for the 1941 Browns. There are usually only two or three players per year who bat right-handed and throw left-handed, yet there are usually 30 pitchers who are that way, including the Cubs' Travis Wood. Why so many pitchers, and so few position players? Ex-pitcher Terry Mulholland, who was a terrible hitter, says, "I know I'm a left-handed hitter, but I bat right-handed because I'm the youngest of five boys, and my dad wasn't about to teach the last one how to hit left-handed."
Nothing is simple when trying to explain the forms of ambidexterity. Most ambidextrous players can't explain it, but they're happy to be that way because it is one reason they are major leaguers. Simmons and House can explain it, but it gets a little cloudy when they talk about right-brain, left-brain function, synapses and kinetic awareness.
"I have the greatest example ever of ambidexterity; this is way more impressive than any switch-hitter, or anyone who can throw with both hands," said Simmons. "I know a woman; she's a soccer player and a schoolteacher. She can write on the blackboard with her left hand, and write on the desk -- that's two different planes -- with her right hand at the same time. I asked her, 'Can you write in cursive with each hand?' She said, 'Of course I can.' Try that someday. That is the most amazing thing I've ever seen."
But watching Venditte is pretty cool, also.
"Now I can throw a football with my left hand," Venditte said. "I had never tried before, but throwing something heavier than a baseball can strengthen your arm, so I tried it. I couldn't throw a football at all at first left-handed, but now I can almost throw a good spiral."