I see a lot of pitches writing for Pitcher List. For every pitch that gets turned into a GIF, there are dozens more that just didn’t make the cut. Through this constant exposure I slowly develop crushes that leave me fanning myself like I’m attending church in the south. Did you see how much fade that Changeup had? Is that a Curveball at 89 MPH?! These affinities rarely stick after subsequent starts, but there was one who I found myself dying to inspect on each visit to the mound despite being seemingly overshadowed by the deGroms and Kershaws of the world:
Noah Syndergaard. (I realize I gave that away in the title of this article, but let’s act like you didn’t see it coming.)
Most pitchers that we featured had one instance of their best pitch that makes you giddy like Christmas day, such as Chaz Roe’s Slider or Steven Wright’s Knuckleball, but with Syndergaard, it seemed as though every start produced the same jaw-dropping ability that makes me question the true nature of his Norse God comparisons. While his secondary pitches are above-average in their own right, his Four-Seamer and – more importantly – Sinker were radiant.
To set the mood, let’s equivocate the Barry White and candles with some eye candy. First is a 99 MPH Four-Seamer that hits the spot so well you can see a puff of smoke from Travis d’Arnuad’s glove:
https://gfycat.com/cluelessimpressionableauklet
And allow me to pair that with an elegant Sinker that does…well, this: