Editing Ambidexterity (section)

===Baseball===
Ambidexterity is advantageous in the sport of [[baseball]], most commonly seen in hitters. A "[[Switch hitter]]" is highly prized because a batter is more likely to hit the ball successfully if they bat with the opposite hand to the pitcher's throwing hand. An ambidextrous hitter can gain this advantage, against both right and left-handed pitchers. [[Pete Rose]], the record holder for most hits in [[Major League Baseball]], was a [[switch hitter]].<ref>[http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2003130073_moments16.html Seattletimes.com] paragraph 2</ref>

[[Switch pitcher]]s are comparatively rare in contrast to switch hitters. [[Tony Mullane]] won 284 games in the 19th century.<ref>50 Biggest Baseball Myths by Brandon Toropov, page 75</ref><ref>[http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2003130073_moments16.html Seattletimes.com] paragraph 4</ref> [[Elton Chamberlain]] and [[Larry Corcoran]] were also notable ambidextrous pitchers. In the 20th century, [[Greg A. Harris]] was the only major league pitcher to pitch with both his left and his right arm. A natural right-hander, by 1986 he could throw well enough with his left hand that he felt capable of pitching with either hand in a game. Harris was not allowed to throw left-handed in a regular-season game until September 1995 in the penultimate game of his career. Against the [[Cincinnati Reds]] in the ninth inning, Harris (then a member of the [[Montreal Expos]]) retired [[Reggie Sanders]] pitching right-handed, then switched to his left hand for the next two hitters, [[Hal Morris]] and [[Ed Taubensee]], who both batted left-handed. Harris walked Morris but got Taubensee to ground out. He then went back to his right hand to retire [[Bret Boone]] to end the inning.

In the 21st century there is only one major league pitcher, [[Pat Venditte]] of the [[Seattle Mariners]], who regularly pitches with both arms. Venditte became the 21st century's first switch pitcher in the major leagues with his debut on June 5, 2015, against the [[Boston Red Sox]], pitching two innings, allowing only one hit and recording five outs right-handed and one out left-handed. During his career, an eponymous "Venditte Rule" was created<ref name=Abraham>{{Cite news |last=Abraham|first=Peter |title=The switch-pitcher rule change |publisher=LoHud Yankees Blog|year=2008 |access-date=July 3, 2008 |url=http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2008/07/03/the-switch-pitcher-rule-change/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081008105842/http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2008/07/03/the-switch-pitcher-rule-change/ |archive-date=2008-10-08}}</ref> restricting the ability of a pitcher to change arms in the middle of an at-bat.<ref name="kleinschmidt20181219">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nbcsports.com/bayarea/giants/pat-venditte-everything-you-need-know-about-mlb-switch-pitcher |title=Why Venditte has a rule dedicated to him and everything |last=Kleinschmidt |first=Jessica |date=2018-12-19 |website=NBC Sports Bay Area |access-date=2018-12-24}}</ref>

[[Billy Wagner]] was a natural right-handed pitcher in his youth, but after breaking his throwing arm twice, he taught himself how to use his left arm by throwing nothing but fastballs against a barn wall. He became a dominant left-handed relief pitcher, most known for his 100+ mph fastball. In his 1999 season, Wagner captured the [[National League (baseball)|National League]] [[Rolaids Relief Man of the Year|Relief Man of the Year Award]] as a [[Houston Astros|Houston Astro]], and was elected to the [[National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum|Baseball Hall of Fame]] in {{bhofy|2025}}.

[[St. Louis Cardinals]] pitcher [[Brett Cecil]] is naturally right-handed, but starting from a very early age, threw with his left. As such, he writes and performs most tasks with the right side of his body, but throws with his left.