Every morning we review the nastiest pitches from the previous day's games in glorious HD GIFs. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite pitch 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.
Aroldis Chapman's Fastball - This is the pitch that should have ended yesterday's game, but was ruled a foul ball instead of a hitting Russell Martin - which would have been called a strike since the Jays' catcher swung right through the 101mph pitch. We've seen batters get hit and still whiff on breaking balls, but a Fastball?! Wow.
I have such a hard time with curveballs with lots of glove-side horizontal movement. I always think they’re sliders. Any tips on recognition?
I had trouble with them too. Also, hard sinkers. In fact anything with movement. A lot of hitters would tell you that you have to read the seams. But that’s only if you can see them in the first place. I wasn’t blessed with great vision and most major league hitters have 20/20 or better.
Most of the time, you can go off velocity and movement. Sliders are faster and have tighter movement, while curveballs are normally sub-80 mph pitches that have a lot more loose, vertical drop to them.
Yes, from a viewer perspective (TV) its easier to see. As a hittet, against a good pitcher, everything looks the same at release, and when you recognize the pitch, often its too late. Its all about the rapidity of your recognition + your reaction.