# Baseball: Rules for pitching lefty or righty **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [March 31, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-for-pitching-lefty-or-righty/534420 "2010-03-31T03:02:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-for-pitching-lefty-or-righty/534420/1 "2010-03-31T03:02:23Z")
Saw [this article](http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/recap?gameId=300330115) about an ambidexterous pitcher who threw both ways in a game. > [@](#): > > Later in the inning, switch-hitter Brooks Conrad came to the plate a_ **nd by rule** _ Venditte had to declare in advance how he would pitch which rule is this? I looked up the rulebook on [mlb.com](http://mlb.com) (pitching section only I admit) and couldn’t find any rule like this. I also found some comments around the net saying a pitcher must declare which side he is pitching from, and can’t change during an at bat. Is this a rule? It’s a ridiculous rule if so. In the same spirit as making a rule that 7 footers aren’t allowed to dunk or something. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-for-pitching-lefty-or-righty/534420/2 "2010-03-31T03:08:01Z")
[You can find some details in this thread from 2008](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=472564), which was inspired by [this story about Venditte facing a switch hitter.](http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/25291718/) The two of them swapped sides over and over again. Quoting from there: > [@Switch hitter faces switch pitcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/switch-hitter-faces-switch-pitcher/453652/17): > > [Greg] Harris switch-pitched on September 28, 1995, the penultimate game of his career. […] > MLB came out with guidelines (not actual playing rules) for umpires to use in case Harris were to switch-pitch. Those guidelines specify that the pitcher must pitch with the same arm for each at bat. (A batter may switch boxes after every pitch up until the pitcher is set to pitch.) ---
**Author:** ![Bootis](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e8c25b/32.png) [@Bootis](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bootis)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-for-pitching-lefty-or-righty/534420/3 "2010-03-31T03:27:56Z")
Thanks- Now I’m curious, for the first pitch of the at-bat, could the pitcher start facing the hitter, and basically not have it be obvious which side he’ll pitch from until he starts the windup? Other pitchers don’t declare which way they’ll pitch at the start of every at bat, special rules for certain players seems wrong. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-for-pitching-lefty-or-righty/534420/4 "2010-03-31T15:01:04Z")
I don’t understand the logic of letting the batter switch sides during an at-bat, but not allowing the pitcher to similarly change. The best way to handle it is to have each player tell the ump what side they’ll use for the at-bat in secret, and stick with that side for the whole at-bat. ---
**Author:** ![running\_coach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/running_coach/32/15836_2.png) [@running\_coach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/running_coach)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/baseball-rules-for-pitching-lefty-or-righty/534420/5 "2010-03-31T15:07:05Z")
> [@garygnu](#): > > I don’t understand the logic of letting the batter switch sides during an at-bat, but not allowing the pitcher to similarly change. > > The best way to handle it is to have each player tell the ump what side they’ll use for the at-bat in secret, and stick with that side for the whole at-bat. They would stand there forever switching sides. I do like your solution or they could roshambo for it.