Every week we review the nastiest pitches from the previous week in glorious HD GIFs. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite pitch and and check back this weekend to see if it will be in contention for the GIF of the First Half Contest. Did we miss your favorite pitch? Send us a tweet next time @ThePitcherList and we’ll GIF it up + give you a shoutout here in the article.
Jose Berrios’ Curveball – Berrios has been racking up the strikeouts during his time in the majors with his gorgeous Curveball continuing to confound hitters. Check out how far this ball breaks at it dives off the outside corner to Tim Anderson.
Max Scherzer’s Changeup – We debated multiple pitches from this outing, but ultimately the fading action Scherzer gets on this Changeup was too much to deny. It looks like a painted Fastball on the corner for ages until it tumbles off the plate, away from Lucas Duda’s bat. This is how it’s done.
Max Scherzer’s Slider – It was almost a historic night for Scherzer, with his no-hit bid broken up in the eighth inning. It was business as usual otherwise, racking up double digit strikeouts for yet another game and making future hall-of-famer Ichiro Suzuki fall to his feet trying to hit this ridiculous Slider. (Thanks to Redditor Casey789 for the tip!)
Dellin Betances‘ Curveball – Dellin has had quite the inactive June as the Yankees have floundered this month, but he’s still ready and waiting for every oppurtunity Joe Girardi gives him. He misses his spot here badly, but his Curveball looks so much like Fastball out of his hand that Luis Valbuena still ends up swinging at a pitch that almost hits him. Great stuff doesn’t need great placement. (Thanks to Redditor Death215 for the tip!)
Corey Kluber’s Slider – We’ve seen a ton of breaking balls from Kluber, but paired with Baltimore’s top tier camera angle for RHP, we got the perfect look at the unbelievable pitch Monday night. This pitch might be my favorite GIF of the incredible Slider that we’ve ever made. Its sudden break is just absurd.
Keynan Middleton’s Fastball – Middleton has great stuff, and if he was more of a pitcher rather than a thrower he’d be a future closer. What makes this pitch special is the little bit of horizontal ride he gets right at the end. Even that tiny movement at 100 MPH is death to hitters like Aaron Judge. (Thanks to @sam_berns97 and Redditor AlmostLucy for the tip!)
Yu Darvish’s Curveball – Darvish is well known for surprising batters with his slow-Curveball, though this one came in at an astounding 64 mph that prevented Mitch Haniger from pulling the trigger. Here’s a bonus GIF of the pitch with a behind-the-plate view.
Domingo German’s Curveball – German reminds me of Luis Severino from last year, great stuff, but little idea where it’s going. This pitch to Luis Valbuena is a Curveball, but German doesn’t seem to get fully on top of the pitch so it fades away from the lefty Valbuena almost like a Screwball. German has a bright future, but he still has some kinks to work out even when he’s inducing swings and misses.
GIF Of The Week
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below and the winner will be featured in the GIF of the First Half Contest.
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