(; born June 30, 1985) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent.
He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Oakland Athletics, Toronto Blue Jays, Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Dodgers, and San Francisco Giants.
After attending Creighton University, Venditte was drafted by the New York Yankees in 2008.
He signed with the Athletics as a free agent before the 2015 season, and made his MLB debut that year.
Venditte is a switch pitcher, capable of pitching proficiently with both arms.
He is recognized as the only active professional pitcher who is able to do this.
Venditte's rare ability to pitch with either arm required both Major and Minor League Baseball to create a rule for ambidextrous pitchers, known colloquially as the "Pat Venditte Rule".
This rule essentially requires any ambidextrous pitcher to declare which hand he will use to pitch to a batter before the at-bat starts, and to throw with that hand through the entire at-bat (unless he is injured during the at-bat).