A minor league baseball player who finally makes it to the majors after eight seasons usually does not garner national media attention for his debut, but most players in this situation do not have a skill set like Pat Venditte. The Oakland Athletics called up Venditte to join the team’s pitching staff last week, making him the only “switch-pitcher” in Major League Baseball. A player being a switch-hitter is not unusual, but no pitcher on a major league roster has the capability to pitch with his left and right arms… that is until Venditte was called up. His promotion to Oakland was a long way from where his professional baseball journey began as a 45th round draft pick of the New York Yankees. To learn more about Venditte’s story, read this article from USA Today.
How Switch-Pitching Relates to Personal Branding
Pat Venditte may be a baseball player, but his story offers lessons for anyone aspiring to build a professional identity to position for career success. Being a switch-pitcher is a unique ability that enhances Venditte’s skill set, making him more valuable as an employee. Whether you are an employee of an organization or are self-employed, building a set of skills relevant to job performance will make you more valuable, too.
We can learn three ways that enhancing our brand Makeup (i.e., skills and experiences) can be beneficial from Pat Venditte’s journey:
- Adds value– Being able to pitch with either arm means that Venditte offers greater flexibility for his manager as relief pitchers are often matched against batters depending on which side of home plate a batter hits from. Typically, a left-handed batter calls for a left-handed pitcher to be brought in; a right-handed batter triggers a call for a right-handed pitcher. Venditte’s switch-pitching ability eliminates that decision having to be made, so he can be used in more situations than other relief pitchers. Employees that add to their skill set can enjoy the same outcome, being called on to take a key role in a project because they have developed a broader skill set than their peers.
- Adds longevity– One of the hazards of being a pitcher is the tremendous wear and tear on the pitching arm. The repetition, intensity, and force of a pitcher’s motion combine to jeopardize his career length every time he takes the mound. Being a switch-pitcher is like a form of diversification for Pat Venditte. He is not wearing out one pitching arm like his fellow pitchers and could very well have a longer career as he is less likely to overuse a pitching arm like his one-arm pitching counterparts. Similarly, adding to your skill set regardless of career stage keeps you current with skills needed to succeed in your field and minimize the arm fatigue that is career obsolescence.
- Stands out– Being a switch pitcher is certainly novel, and Pat Venditte has received national publicity for his novelty. But, if Venditte was a mediocre pitcher with either arm he would not have made it to the major leagues and would not have been sought out by Oakland after his contract with the New York Yankees organization expired after last season. Venditte stands out for is ability (career statistics include a 2.37 earned run average and 10 strikeouts per nine innings). This trait is not to suggest that you become a jack-of-all trades, but a portfolio of complementary skills could enable you to look different than your peers as well as add to your capabilities.
Warm Up Your Pitching Arm(s)
Being a switch-pitcher is such a rare skill that it is unlikely we will see an influx of them in Major League Baseball anytime soon, if ever. You need not develop such a unique niche in order to strengthen brand Makeup. Are there certain skills that you have been interested in acquiring but have delayed on taking action? Would acquiring those skills make you more effective and valuable in your professional role? For example, I am working on becoming more proficient in two skills this summer: HTML coding and Google AdWords. As a marketing professor, I recognize these two skills intersect with courses I teach, and I need to have knowledge in these areas as well as be able to “do.”
Warm up that extra arm and elevate your game by becoming the equivalent of a switch-pitcher in your field.