Both ways

[johnnyg08]

Minor league umps now have the Venditte Rule: At the start of an at-bat, the pitcher must declare his throwing arm, then the hitter can pick his side, with each man able to switch once. Phew.

This was one of my favorite quotes in the article. A "new" rule huh?

[ozzy6900]

The Yankees will probably sell him to the Red Sox!

[Rich Ives]

[QUOTE=johnnyg08;600101
This was one of my favorite quotes in the article. A "new" rule huh?[/QUOTE]


Yep - installed after a game last year when both the batter and pitcher kept switching and the umpires couldn't find a specific rule to cover it.

[johnnyg08]

I was looking for it on mlb.com and noticed that the 2009 rules aren't posted yet...so it's not in there...

[Matt]

Originally Posted by johnnyg08

This was one of my favorite quotes in the article.

Here's my favorite quote: "And best of all, the kid can relieve himself!"

Umm...most of us can.

(Yes, I know what he meant. Doesn't make it any less funny.)

[johnnyg08]

that was "punny"

[ManInBlue]

It's a shame they don't have something already written to cover this type of thing.

[johnnyg08]

FED has the provision

[Dave Reed]

From July 2, 2008 Minor League Baseball: News: Article

"The new rules regarding ambidextrous pitchers are as follows:

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."

[johnnyg08]

good find Dave...thx for posting

[bossman72]

A little BRD action:

FED/NCAA: You have to declare the arm and have to stick with it (you can't switch), unless a pinch-hitter enters the game, in which case you can switch when he comes in.

[mbyron]

Originally Posted by Dave Reed

From July 2, 2008 Minor League Baseball: News: Article

"The new rules regarding ambidextrous pitchers are as follows:

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."

What has changed? I thought this was PBUC's ruling right along. Or has this ruling been promoted from "interpretation" to "rule?"

[bob jenkins]

Originally Posted by mbyron

What has changed? I thought this was PBUC's ruling right along. Or has this ruling been promoted from "interpretation" to "rule?"

It's now in PBUC.

Before this, there was no clear guidance on who had to "declare" first -- pitcher or batter. So, it could lead to a stale-mate as the batter waited outside the box for F1 to "declare" and F1 waited off the mound for the batter to "declare."