Ambidextrous Pitcher Rule Change?

[Kevin Finnerty]

This is all I read:

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.
* 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.

[mrm21711]

Originally Posted by Kevin Finnerty

This is all I read:

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.
* 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.

I believe that came out last year after Staten Island's Venditte switched pitching arms in a game. The 2009 change in OBR would nullify this PBUC interpretation because the rule has changed - pitchers are no longer able to switch arms once per batter. I dont do NCAA, but based on Bob's post above, the OBR change brings the ambidextrous pitcher rule in-line with NCAA & NFHS.