Baseball Notes: Salem pitcher Gomez leaves opponents, fans guessing

Salem High School junior catcher Damian Gigante still chuckles at the initial reaction most people have when realizing Ryan Gomez isn’t just your average high school pitcher. Gomez, a junior right-handed pitcher for the Blue Devils hits 86 mph on the radar, while Gomez the left-handed pitcher tops off around 83.

The 5-foot, 10-inch, 185-pound ambidextrous hurler has been effectively utilizing his skill set in games since the eighth grade. A skill set his parents encouraged him to hone after watching him pitch from both sides during backyard Wiffle ball games.

Despite his years on the diamond, there’s always somebody witnessing their first Gomez Experience, and it always seems to produce laughter as much as it leads to awe.

In an April game with Exeter, Gomez started righty and flipped to lefty in the fifth inning. The home plate umpire was calling over to the Salem bench for the pitching change, and even the Exeter bench erupted in laughter.

“They all know Ryan, and they were all trying to tell the umpire it was the same pitcher,” Gigante said. “That is probably one of my favorite moments playing with Ryan. The ump was so confused for a few minutes. Everyone was laughing on both teams.”

Gomez, who wears a six-finger glove customized by 44 Professional Gloves that cost around $200, finds it funny every time somebody discovers his not-so-hidden talent.

That umpire was just the latest in a long line of bewildered individuals. He likely won’t be the last.

“It really doesn’t get old,” Gomez said. “I think it’s funny and entertaining to see people’s reactions when I switch things up.”

Catching people off guard might be laugh inducing, but having the ability to throw accurately and with decent velocity from both sides is the furthest thing from a joke. Gomez, who holds a 1-2 record with 38 strikeouts and a 3.28 ERA over 32 innings this spring, has peaked the interest of a few colleges.

Salem head coach Dan Keleher, who has led the Blue Devils for 24 years, understands the advantage a pitcher like Gomez offers any baseball program, including his.

“With pitching limits and roster spots as valuable as they are, having a guy who can throw efficiently and effectively with both arms gives you two pitchers in one,” Keleher said. “What coach will say no to that? Not any that I know of.”

Keleher has the utmost confidence in Gomez no matter which arm is delivering.

From the right side, Gomez is more over the top in his delivery of a fastball, slider and splitter, while he has command of a fastball, curve and splitter with his three-fourth arm angle from the left side.

Gomez, who only hits from the left side when batting, has no concerns in his pitching abilities either.

“I’m confident throwing with either arm,” said Gomez, who threw 210 pitches combined as a righty and lefty starting both ends of the junior varsity tourney his freshman year. “I had no problem going out there for both games. I’ll do it again if I ever get the chance.”

Gigante has no doubt that Gomez would jump at the chance to pitch from both sides in every game.

As long as his team follows the Pat Venditte Guidelines, Gomez can pitch righty or lefty depending on the at-bat. Those guidelines were put in place in 2008 by the Professional Baseball Umpire Corporation in conjunction with Major League Baseball.

“I’ve seen him grow as a pitcher and get stronger in his abilities from both sides,” said Gigante of playing with or against Gomez since they were 8 years old. “I think he throws harder as a righty, but his best stuff – control wise – comes on the left.

“He’s the only pitcher I’ve ever met that can throw from both sides with great command. He’s a valuable asset to our team.”

The Pat Venditte Show

There were ambidextrous pitchers long before Pat Venditte was drafted by the New York Yankees in 2008 in the 20th round. Former Boston Red Sox reliever Greg Harris comes to mind.

After Venditte’s debut with the short-season Single-A Staten Island Yankees of the New York-Pennsylvania League – in which he and Brooklyn Cyclones switch-hitter Ralph Henriquez kept flipping which way they would pitch or hit – the Professional Baseball Umpire Corporation released its official rules for dealing with ambidextrous pitchers. These guidelines were reached after PBUC staff consulted with a variety of sources, including the Major League Baseball Rules Committee.

The rules regarding ambidextrous pitchers are as follows:

• The pitcher must visually indicate to the umpire, batter and runner(s) which way he will begin pitching to the batter. Engaging the rubber with the glove on a particular hand is considered a definitive commitment to which arm he will throw with. The batter will then choose which side of the plate he will bat from.
• The pitcher must throw one pitch to the batter before any “switch” by either player is allowed.
• After one pitch is thrown, the pitcher and batter may each change positions one time per at-bat. For example, if the pitcher changes from right-handed to left-handed and the batter then changes batter’s boxes, each player must remain that way for the duration of that at-bat (unless the offensive team substitutes a pinch hitter, and then each player may again “switch” one time).
• Any switch (by either the pitcher or the batter) must be clearly indicated to the umpire.
• There will be no warm-up pitches during the change of arms.
• If an injury occurs the pitcher may change arms but not use that arm again during the remainder of the game.

Diamond Gems

Here’s a look at some recent standout performances from around the state:

• Hollis Brookline’s Drew Gryniewicz (3 for 4, double, home run, five RBIs) powered the Cavaliers to a 7-1 victory over Souhegan on May 11.
• Windham’s Westin Lippold struck out five in a shutout win over Timberlane on May 11. Lippold scattered four hits in the complete-game effort.
• Austin Knight went 3 for 3 (two doubles) with a walk, scored three times and stole two bases in ConVal’s 12-11 win over Pelham on May 11.
• Campbell’s Ryan Larsha pitched a complete-game victory over Manchester West on May 10. Larsha scattered three hits and walked just one in the 6-1 win. Larsha also collected two hits, including a triple, and drove in a run with a sacrifice fly.
• Garrett Mango went 3 for 5, scored twice, drove in two runs and stole two bases in Winnisquam’s 8-4 win over Newfound on May 10.
• Ryan Gomez didn’t allow an earned run (two unearned) while striking out six and walking two in six innings of work in Salem’s 8-7 win over Dover on May 10.
• Bedford’s Zach Fletcher hit a solo home run, drove in two runs and pitched six scoreless innings (three hits, eight strikeouts) to lead the Bulldogs past Bishop Guertin 8-2 on May 10.
• Concord’s Nater Wachter (2 for 4, two runs, three RBIs) and Jarrad Willette (2 for 4, two runs, two RBIs, two-run inside-the-park home run) powered the offense in a 9-0 win over Trinity on May 8.
• Tyler Wright scattered three hits and allowed one run while striking out eight and walking none over five innings in a 4-1 win over Exeter on May 7.
• Gavin Parent (1 for 2, double, two RBIs), Aden Parsons (3 for 3, two runs, RBI) and Zac Rheault (2 for 2, triple, two runs, RBI) paced Londonderry’s offense in a 12-0 win over Goffstown on May 7.
• Souhegan pitchers Colin Burke and Kyan Bagshaw combined on a one-hitter to beat Sanborn 9-1 on May 7. Burke improved to 2-0 on the season by limiting Sanborn to one run on one hit in four innings, while Bagshaw struck out four in two scoreless innings of relief.

To report standout diamond performances, or offer ideas for the baseball notebook, send an email to scioneg@gmail.com.