[HumanRainDelay]

Nineteen-year-old hurler Connor Kelloway delivered a brief fist pump in response to the umpire’s “Strike Three” call giving the Lancaster Lightning a 5-3 win on Saturday.

The Reading Railbirds’ minor leaguer had just earned his fourth save in five chances.

Although Single A Lancaster remains quite a journey from the major leagues, Kelloway is following a life-long dream of playing pro baseball.

“Each day is a learning experience. You want to be like a sponge and absorb everything. I just want to keep getting better.”

And with that desire to improve, Kelloway is not afraid of considering the unorthodox, as was exemplified by the discussion topic at a recent lunch meeting.

“Yeah, I had lunch with Pat and we talked pitching.”

Pat is none other than Pat Venditte, Jr., the ambidextrous pitcher who spent time with the Oakland A’s and several other organizations.

And to clarify within a baseball context—ambidextrous refers to the ability to pitch both left and right-handed and not to be confused with former infielder Jim Morrison’s use of “amphibious” which he said described the “ability to pitch underwater.”

“Though I am a righthander, I can throw really well lefty. I just need to keep practicing.”

According to baseball records, only a handful of pitchers have thrown both lefty and righty in MLB games including Venditte Jr., Greg A. Harris, and dead-ball-era starter Tony Mullane.

Will Kelloway's name be added to that exclusive list?

“Nothing is impossible. Pat believes in me as a switch pitcher, and we think I can develop better movement on my off-speed stuff.”

After commenting previously on teammate Alfonso Perea’s development of an Eephus pitch, Railbirds’ outfielder Erick Bullock was asked about Calloway as a switch pitcher.

Bullock responded with a chortle: “First, Eephus throwers and now ambidextrous? All that is missing is a human cannonball act, and those guys will have a must-see circus performance that I can take my kids to watch.”

In any event, Calloway's development on the mound should be entertaining for fans.