Switch Pitcher

The other night two baseball observations of mine came together to form one great dream.

The first, which was actually made by my brother, was that no modern player will ever be able to be called, "The Greatest Yankee Ever." Why not? Because Babe Ruth has that title. Not only was Ruth one of the best Yankees ever, he's one of the greatest figures in professional sports ever. This means, even if a player is truly great, and a Yankee, he would still probably have to share the title of "Greatest Yankee" with Ruth.

So how could a player become the "Greatest Yankee" beyond Babe Ruth? Well, they'd probably have to change the game so dramatically that there would be no option but to call him so. A player like Barry Bonds or A-Rod won't make it. Sure, they are great players, perhaps some of the greatest in their time, but they aren't on the level of Babe Ruth. When Ruth hit 59 HR in 1921, the second most HR were hit by Ken Williams. Williams only had 24 HR. Ruth was a pitcher before that as well!

In order to be considered "the best" you then would have to be so innovative and yet also play the game at a high level, much like Ruth. What would be the next innovation that could strike baseball this well? Of course, it would be the switch-pitcher. I dream of teaching my kids to throw with both hands so that they can one day be major league switch pitchers. Think of all the possibilities! If you were in a jam against a batter you could just "change your look" by throwing with the other arm. You could alternate R/L depending on the batter. Even better still, you could pitch game 1 as a right-hander and game 2 as a left-hander. After all, you'd be using all the muscles on the other side of the body. You could be your own relief pitcher. The next innovation in the game will be the switch-pitcher. How great would it be if you could pound someone with your left-handed fastballs and cutters, and then suddenly throw right-handed knuckleballs to the next batter? You would be valuable as two players in one. If you were on the Yankees and you were good, you might just be able to take that title from Babe Ruth.