Small-town newspaper claims switch pitcher Pat Venditte is 'amphibious'

Pat Venditte, the Oakland Athletics' switch-pitching sensation, has the ability to live on land and in water, according to the East Oregonian.

Pat Venditte, the Oakland Athletics' switch-pitching sensation, has the ability to live on land and in water, according to the East Oregonian.

The little paper published out of Pendleton, Oregon, ran a headline on a story about Venditte touting him as "amphibious" rather than ambidextrous.

They're not the first to make that mistake, though. Some 30 years ago, while former NBA player Charles Shackleford was at North Carolina State, he told reporters, "Left hand, right hand, it doesn't matter. I'm amphibious."

To be fair to the East Oregonian's copy editors, a pitcher who throws with both hands is about as common as a salamander pitching.

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