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Mississippi State pitcher Jurrangelo Cijntje is a unicorn. He is neither a righty nor a lefty.
Naturally, Cijntje is a lefty. But he might be better as a righty.
If you haven’t caught on by now — Cijntje is a switch-pitcher. In fact, he is the first switch-pitcher to ever make a start on the Division I level.
Cijntje is not the first ambidextrous pitcher in baseball history. There have been a few to come before him, but the 5-foot-11, 170-pound freshman is a rarity within the sport.
He pumps 92 miles per hour with his fastball from the left and 97 miles per hour with his fastball from the right. Cijntje also mixes in a few off-speed pitches— a nasty swing/miss curveball with a sharp break from the right and a big sweeping slurve from the left.
His longest start of the season came on Saturday against Lipscomb. He tossed six innings of one-run ball on one hit with five walks and eight strikeouts.
Part of the deal with Cijntje is deciding from which side to throw. Per NCAA rules, he must do so before an at-bat. Even though he can throw with both arms, he can’t throw from the right and the left in the same at-bat.
If he sets up from the right for the 0-0 offering, Cijntje must throw from the right through the entire at-bat. If he sets up from the left for the 0-0 offering, Cijntje must throw from the left through the entire at-bat.
Jurrangelo Cijntje can only switch between batters.
Seeing that a standard glove can only fit on one hand, Cijntje wears a custom glove that allows him to switch between his left and his right. The way that he subtly switches hands is mesmerizing.
Close-up video of Cijntje warming up from both sides of the mound offers a cool perspective at college baseball’s most interesting pitcher.
Through four appearances, Cijntje has allowed just the one run in 15 innings. He is still young, and there is a long way to go in his development (he probably needs to add a third pitch), but the switch-pitcher is already a force to be reckoned with!
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