The Nastiest 16 Pitching GIFs from Spring Training – Finals

Spring training has come and gone, with the real games already underway. There has already been a load of impressive pitches to start the regular season, but spring training had quite a few worth noting.

Before we start any tournaments involving the 2019 regular season, let’s decide which was the best pitching GIF from spring training. It’s the final round. The remaining contestants will shock you.

While none of these games mattered, winning this tournament is another story entirely.

Here are the rules:

• All GIFs were pulled from 2019 spring training.
• You can only vote on a matchup once, so make sure you pick the one you absolutely want.
• Voting will continue until 12:00 a.m. EDT the following morning. This is the semi-final round.

 

 

Here are the results from for Round 1:

 

American Bracket

 

1. Yusei Kikuchi’s Curveball def. 8. Dakota Hudson’s Slider
2. Adam Ottavino’s Slider def. 7. Kyle Wright’s Slider
3. Chris Paddack’s Curveball def. 6. Nathan Eovaldi’s Fastball
5. Aaron Nola’s Changeup def. 4. Jack Flaherty’s Changeup

 

National Bracket

 

1. Jordan Hicks‘ Fastball def. 8. Trevor Bauer’s Changeup
2. Adam Ottavino’s Fastball def. 7. Andrew Miller’s Slider
3. Jordan Hicks‘ Slider def. 6. Justus Sheffield’s Changeup
4. Matt Boyd’s Slider def. 5. Alex Reyes‘ Curveball

 

Here are the results from for Round 2

 

American Bracket

 

1. Yusei Kikuchi’s Curveball def. 5. Aaron Nola’s Changeup
2. Adam Ottavino’s Slider def. 3. Chris Paddack’s Curveball

 

National Bracket

 

1. Jordan Hicks‘ Fastball def. 4. Matt Boyd’s Slider
2. Adam Ottavino’s Fastball def. 3. Jordan Hicks‘ Slider

 

Here are the results from the semifinals:

 

American Bracket

 

1. Yusei Kikuchi’s Curveball def. 2. Adam Ottavino’s Slider

 

National Bracket

 

1. Jordan Hicks‘ Fastball def. 2. Adam Ottavino’s Fastball 

 

Here is the matchup for the finals:

 

FINALS

 

1. Yusei Kikuchi’s Curveball vs. 1. Jordan Hicks‘ Fastball 

 

Watch the GIFs in the Links Below!

Yusei Kikuchi’s Curveball vs. Jordan Hicks‘ Fastball

 

Full disclosure, Yusei Kikuchi’s curveball was the No. 1 overall seed entering the tournament. It landed in such an awkward spot and handcuffed Joey Votto into submission. As much as it’s Kikuchi’s hook, it had some life to it. Yet, Kikuchi has had to scratch and claw the entire way to the final round, knocking off Adam Ottavino’s slider in a stunner last round. Jordan Hicks powered through Ottavino in the semis too. “Powered” might be the best very to describe that matchup, actually. Hicks’ fastball comes in at a whopping 103 mph, through the dang front door. Good luck hitting that. (Side note: How did two Ottavino pitches make it to the semis, only for them to both come up short? At that point, Ottavino vs. Ottavino seemed inevitable. Was it too meta or something?)

 

https://gfycat.com/BrownWideeyedFairybluebird

 

VS.

 

https://gfycat.com/flawedimpartialgoosefish-pitcher-list

 

Which was the better pitch? Vote to decide which pitch advances to the next round!

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