Upcoming feature, need a little help.

[squarepusher]

I'm going to be adding what types of pitches each pitcher throws to the site... I'll probably start with the 25-man roster, and eventually try to do this for Power 50 players as well. I'm trying to come up with clear categories of pitches. So far, I have:

 

- 4-seam fastball

- 2-seam fastball

- sinker

- curveball

- slider

- change-up

 

Now, i'm trying to ignore all of the funky modifications of pitches there are out there, because the point of this exercise is to use clear categorizations so players can be compared. With that said, if maybe 2-3 pitchers on the team throw a pitch like a "slurve", I may add that as well.

[brettac1]

Adams throws a slurve.

 

Edit: I have a bunch of games on tape (all the televised wins from the past 2 seasons), so I could always look back at them if you need a lot more info on certain guys.

[BillScottCanRake]

How about split-fingered fast ball? I think its a pitch unto itself rather than a variation of a fastball.

[squarepusher]

Aren't the splitter and the sinker the same thing?

[squarepusher]

[ Edit: I have a bunch of games on tape (all the televised wins from the past 2 seasons), so I could always look back at them if you need a lot more info on certain guys. ]

 

I think i'm going to take the coward's way out and when someone buys MVP 2005, they can dictate the pitch types to me http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[SenatorShriv]

I can't think of anyone in the system that throws a knuckle, but that would be another category to include.

 

Edit: Is the Palm ball just a type of Change up? (like a circle change.) Or is it a different pitch?

[BillScottCanRake]

No, a splitter and sinker are different pitches... I'm looking for some good examples to document this better.

 

EDIT:

 

Who knew our own JS would provide some help?

 

www.jsonline.com/sports/b...p22198.stm

[squarepusher]

Hey, that's pretty cool.... I was actually planning on having photos of the grips on the site as well to go with the new functionality. So the sinker and the 2-seamer are actually the same thing.... I think the forkball was actually a sinker.

[colbyjack]

Is the Palm ball just a type of Change up? (like a circle change.) Or is it a different pitch?

 

The palm ball is a different pitch, but pitcher's that throw a palmball often use this pitch as their changeup, if that makes sense. Basically it's an offspeed offering (not to be confused with a breaking ball) that is thrown like a changeup to give hitter's a pitch thrown with a similar arm action to a fastball but that comes in 10 mph slower. Uecker often refers to changeups as slowballs, which would be the classification a palmball would fall under. I haven't heard about a pitcher throwing a palmball in quite some time (not since Jose Mieses).

 

A 2-seamer is a sinking fastball, which does indeed make it a sinker, although there are variations between the two. In essence they're virtually the same pitch, because both pitches are thrown effectively like a fastball is.

 

A forkball is a variation of a split-fingered fastball. The splitter and forkball get their names because of the grip, which is the same split fingered grip. An extreme sinker often acts like a split-fingered fastball in that it completely falls off the map and often ends up in the dirt at the plate, but they are thrown differently. Bob Wickman had a true sinker, while Hideo Nomo threw a true splitter. Young pitchers are encouraged not to throw splitters because of the stress it puts on their arm/elbow.

 

I would avoid differentiating between a slurve, curve and a slider. I would just use curve and slider as classifications. A pitcher typically doesn't try to throw a slurve, rather, the pitch just doesn't have natural curveball or slider break. The grip is usually one of the other, and from what I've heard, a pitcher that has a slurvy break to his breaking ball usually is using a curveball grip. It's not easy throwing a true 12 to 6 breaker, while a true slider tends to place a lot more stress on a pitcher's elbow.

 

The screwball is one pitch you don't hear about much anymore. I believe Armando Reynoso (I think that's his name, pitched with the D-Backs a few years back) was the last notable screwball artist. The screwball acts like an opposite curve or breaking ball, in that is appears to be breaking away from a batter (of the same "handedness, such as a right-handed hitter facing a right-handed batter), until it breaks in, or straight down. IIRC, the screwball places more stress on a pitcher's arm and elbow than a slider and splitter does.

 

And every pitch has variations of course. For every true curveball there are pitchers that throw a knuckle or even a spike curveball. There is a straight changeup vs. the circle change, sinker vs. 2-seamer, splitter vs. forkball, etc.

[batman]

Jim Mecir is the only current big league pitcher who prominently features a screwball, AFAIK.

 

The other pitch to add is a cutter, especially because it is a favorite of Mike Maddux. A variation of the two-seam fastball, a cutter moves much like a slider but is thrown with a fastball release and so is much easier on the arm and tougher to pick up for the hitter. It's Doug Davis' bread and butter.

 

~Bill

[colbyjack]

Good call on the cutter. You definitely hear about more lefties throwing a cutter than righties, such as Davis and Andy Pettite, and Dana Eveland throws one as well. Mariano Rivera is the most notable righty I can think of that throws one, and he throws that pitch almost exclusively.

[brettac1]

Capuano throws a slider that looks very much like Davis' cutter.

[squarepusher]

Page available at:

www.brewerfan.net/ViewOrg...hes.action

 

and on individual player profiles as well.

 

Now, can someone help me fill in the blanks?

[brewerjamie15]

maybe this should have been emailed to you Brian, but I have a real quick question for you.

I've been working on an article and think it to may be worthy of the feature page, how do I go about trying to get it there? email you the article when I'm done and see what you think? It's an analysis of hitting fundamentals.

[squarepusher]

Just drop me an email with the article, and i'll check it out.

[rluzinski]

Ben Sheets throws a change up? Sureeee he does http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[squarepusher]

He's thrown it at least 3 times http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

[bjkrautk]

I absolutely love this feature....thinking back to all the times I've tried to come up with this info on my own to build pitchers in video games. For my own reference, where will the permanent (ie., non-forum) link to the page show up?

 

One suggestion I might have is to include a second symbol for pitches that a player has used, but has since abandoned. You could argue that Sheet's changeup fits into this category, but I remember that he used to throw both the 2-seamer and the 4-seamer prior to 2004.

 

Also, just to add to the page....Capuano throws a Cutter (or at least he used to).

[squarepusher]

The link for this feature is on the "Brewerfan Features" page.