Al Leiter on spin, breaking balls

[Astros Fan in Big D]

Some cool footage including Koufax,  Ryan,  Verlander, Morton,  and McCullers.

https://youtu.be/s2GCJdULqY4

[JimR]

Some cool footage including Koufax,  Ryan,  Verlander, Morton,  and McCullers.

https://youtu.be/s2GCJdULqY4

Outstanding. My dad taught me to throw a curve so it did not hurt my elbow. I taught my pitchers the same technique. If my outline (MAC Hardball) or the article on pitching are still in From the Dugout,  you can see I tried to explain the mechanics.

ETA: no one should think of average spin rate as being a detriment. These are major league pitchers.

[das]

Some cool footage including Koufax,  Ryan,  Verlander, Morton,  and McCullers.

https://youtu.be/s2GCJdULqY4

Great. The Kluber and McCullers slo-mos are worth the price of admission.

[Duman]

That is good stuff.  If you are not following Pitching Ninja on twitter, do it today. He post great gifs of pitchers.  He did this overlay of McCullers change & curve last night. 

[das]

That is good stuff.  If you are not following Pitching Ninja on twitter, do it today. He post great gifs of pitchers.  He did this overlay of McCullers change & curve last night. 

That is so cool. Release point is the same, speed is the same, final location is (roughly) the same but how they get there is so very different. Very, very cool.

[Mr. Happy]

That is good stuff.  If you are not following Pitching Ninja on twitter, do it today. He post great gifs of pitchers.  He did this overlay of McCullers change & curve last night. 

Thanks for the tip.

[Waldo]

Outstanding. My dad taught me to throw a curve so it did not hurt my elbow. I taught my pitchers the same technique. If my outline (MAC Hardball) or the article on pitching are still in From the Dugout,  you can see I tried to explain the mechanics.

ETA: no one should think of average spin rate as being a detriment. These are major league pitchers.

Here you go:

http://orangewhoopass.com/machardball.pdf
http://www.orangewhoopass.com/2001/04/01/skill-development-pitching/
http://www.orangewhoopass.com/2001/04/09/the-extra-something-of-pitching/

[JimR]

That is good stuff.  If you are not following Pitching Ninja on twitter, do it today. He post great gifs of pitchers.  He did this overlay of McCullers change & curve last night. 

awesome

[das]

awesome

Look at this one!  Ohtani's FB and split.  Same exact release point and trajectory for the first 50% of the path to the box then, BLAMMO, the bottom falls out.  The batter swings over it by like a foot.  So very cool to look at.
https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/998912541903306753

<<edited to add, look at the 2nd .gif in the link; it is slo-mo and zoomed in>>  Incredible.

[Waldo]

Look at this one!  Ohtani's FB and split.  Same exact release point and trajectory for the first 50% of the path to the box then, BLAMMO, the bottom falls out.  The batter swings over it by like a foot.  So very cool to look at.
https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/998912541903306753

<<edited to add, look at the 2nd .gif in the link; it is slo-mo and zoomed in>>  Incredible.

That is gotdamn ridiculous.

[Mr. Happy]

Look at this one!  Ohtani's FB and split.  Same exact release point and trajectory for the first 50% of the path to the box then, BLAMMO, the bottom falls out.  The batter swings over it by like a foot.  So very cool to look at.
https://twitter.com/twitter/statuses/998912541903306753

<<edited to add, look at the 2nd .gif in the link; it is slo-mo and zoomed in>>  Incredible.

Wow!

[MusicMan]

I don't think we're really giving Ohtani enough credit. This hasn't been done in 100 years.

[Mr. Happy]

I don't think we're really giving Ohtani enough credit. This hasn't been done in 100 years.

Agreed.

[WVastro]

I don't think we're really giving Ohtani enough credit. This hasn't been done in 100 years.

I’ve been fascinated by this whole thing. I’ve never seen anything like it. Who cares what team he plays for, this guy has immense talent.

[Knoxbanedoodle]

I don't think we're really giving Ohtani enough credit. This hasn't been done in 100 years.

I mean, basically no one’s ever done it. Ruth I know had a WS or two with Boston where he was a dominant pitcher and excellent hitter, but to do it at such a level on a full-time basis? That’s new.

[JimR]

I mean, basically no one’s ever done it. Ruth I know had a WS or two with Boston where he was a dominant pitcher and excellent hitter, but to do it at such a level on a full-time basis? That’s new.

Ruth was a dominant pitcher first, then he started hitting full time. It was not merely “a WS or two.”

[HudsonHawk]

Ruth was a dominant pitcher first, then he started hitting full time. It was not merely “a WS or two.”

Ruth won 94 games in his basically 5 seasons as a pitcher, and had two 20-win seasons, including one where he led the AL with a 1.75 ERA over 40 starts and 323 innings.  He was a HOF-caliber pitcher had he chose to continue that route. 

[Knoxbanedoodle]

Ruth was a dominant pitcher first, then he started hitting full time. It was not merely “a WS or two.”

Yes, I am aware of that. I thought it was only a WS or two in which he did both at a high level at the same time.

ETA: Quick search shows he didn’t hit much in the 2018 World Series after all, but he won two games pitching.

[Bench]

ETA: Quick search shows he didn’t hit much in the 2018 World Series after all, but he won two games pitching.

Biff Tannen?

[Knoxbanedoodle]

Biff Tannen?

Oh what’s a century here and there in the life of the national past-time...

[MusicMan]

Biff Tannen?

Butthead.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Astros Fan in Big D]

Yes, I am aware of that. I thought it was only a WS or two in which he did both at a high level at the same time.

ETA: Quick search shows he didn’t hit much in the 2018 World Series after all, but he won two games pitching.

Are you by chance sitting in a hot tub time machine?

[Texifornia]

ETA: Quick search shows he didn’t hit much in the 2018 World Series after all, but he won two games pitching.

At first, my bookie didn't want to take the action, but when I told him how much I wanted to bet on Ruth winning two games, he took the bet.

Hey hey...sucker!

[JimR]

Yes, I am aware of that. I thought it was only a WS or two in which he did both at a high level at the same time.

ETA: Quick search shows he didn’t hit much in the 2018 World Series after all, but he won two games pitching.

They did not let him do both fulltime. I am curious, however, if he pitched any or much after he became the Home Run King.

[HudsonHawk]

They did not let him do both fulltime. I am curious, however, if he pitched any or much after he became the Home Run King.

He started one game  in 1930 and one in 1933. Both were complete-game wins.

[das]

They did not let him do both fulltime.

Looks like 1919 is the only year where he was really a two-way player (130 games batting, 432 AB's, 29 HR's and .322 average, 17 games pitching {with 15 starts}, 133IP, 2.97 ERA).  I'd guess this most closely mirrors what Ohtani is doing this year.