MLB Twitter got a glimpse of Jurrangelo Cijntje on Wednesday night. Cijntje is a freshman pitcher for the Mississippi State Bulldogs. What makes him unique? He can pitch with both hands.
Cijntje held the University of Louisiana Monroe scoreless through four innings on just one hit, striking out seven. The Bulldogs would go on to win the game 14-3.
Seeing ambidextrous pitchers in baseball is rare. Not many people are talented enough to even think about doing something like this. As you can see in the video, while he throws a bit slower with his left hand, it's still dominating.
All pitchers wish they could do this. While most pitchers worry about the workload they are putting on their arm, Cijntje doesn't. If one arm isn't feeling good that day, he can just switch to the other.
"Imagine being this talented, ludicrous," one fan tweeted.
"Mind blowing! I couldn't even flip the ball to 1st right handed!" another fan explained.
MLB fans are amazed at this kid's ability. We gawk at Shohei Ohtani's ability to pitch and hit, but this may be even more special.
Fans can't believe he can throw 90-plus with both hands. Most people can't do a single thing with their non-dominant hand. Cijntje is truly talented.
Are ambidextrous pitchers the next big thing for MLB?
If Jurrangelo Cijntje makes it to the majors, he won't be the first ambidextrous pitcher the league has seen. In the 1800s, four guys were known to pitch with both hands. Tony Mullane, Elton Chamberlain, Larry Corcoran, and George Wheeler did what most people deemed impossible.
Modern-day fans didn't see a consistent ambidextrous pitcher until 2015 when Pat Venditte took the world by storm. Vanditte pitched from 2015 to 2020 regularly with both hands. He never got the momentum going with a team, as he played for six teams across five MLB seasons. He pitched seven innings from 2019 to 2020 with the San Francisco Giants and Miami Marlins before retiring.
The baseball world would come unglued if they could see a dominant switch pitcher come up in the league. It would be nothing but pure entertainment.
Cijntje is going to be someone baseball fans will want to keep an eye on. As a freshman, he should develop into a better pitcher than he is now. It will be exciting to see the type of pitcher he grows into.