(Portions of this story were excerpted from Guts in the Clutch. See below.)
By
Richard J. Noyes
The ability to throw with high velocity is a perfect example of knack. Velocity can be increased through improved mechanics, but you’re born with the shoulder and arm physics that deliver fastballs in the plus-90-mph range.
Because throwing hard comes naturally, pitchers with heat can also achieve about the same velocity, more movement on the baseball, and enjoy longer, injury-free careers when they learn to relax and throw with about 85% of full power.
Sandy Koufax was a wild lefty until a warm-up catcher suggested that he needn’t try to throw every pitch through the backstop. Being an intelligent athlete with superb mechanics, Koufax tried it, and the rest as they say is history.
“Hitting Sandy Koufax is like trying to drink coffee with a fork.” -Pittsburgh Pirates’ great Willie Stargell
Very few pitchers get superior action on everything they throw. Pedro Martinez, for instance, was an exception with a world-class fastball, curveball, and change-up. Hitters were further plagued by Pedro’s ability to throw all three pitches into a teacup. I’d be surprised if the hits and walks combined off Pedro equaled the number of innings he pitched. Pedro Martinez attained a preternatural 117-37 (.760 percentage!) record with two Cy Young awards over a seven-year period with the Red Sox.
Brooklyn Dodger pitcher Preacher Roe went 44-8 (.815 percentage) over a three-year stretch in the early 1950’s. He was a tall, lean, shrewd lefty delivering an assortment of pitches that looked like strikes but usually weren’t, mixing in the spitter. During Roe’s dominant seasons, Stan Musial still hit him well. When asked how he did it, Musial said, “I hit it on the dry side.”
Most pitchers are lucky to have good movement on one or two pitches. Some fastballs just naturally sink, tail, or appear to hop. There are a few curves that fall off the proverbial table, while most just bend. You see the occasional slider that breaks sharply and fades late, but most are flatter and easier to pick up. Some pitchers never learn to throw the split-finger fastball.
Mike Scott and Roger Clemens learned the splitter (also called “Senor Tumbelina” by Latino players) in mid-career and had the knack of making what looks like a fastball at the midpoint go suddenly south about 15 feet from the plate after batters have committed to swing.
The knuckler? Well, it’s a rare species of pitcher who can throw that pitch for consistent strikes with late flutter. I can think of the Niekro brothers, Wilbur Wood, Hoyt Wilhelm and Tim Wakefield and then run out of names.
The maxim for hitters facing a knuckleball pitcher is, “If it’s low, let it go; if it’s high, let it fly.” Smart hitters also choke the bat and go opposite field. Therefore, successful knuckleball pitchers don’t just aim for the middle of the plate and let the break go where it may. The baseball must be delivered low in the strike zone, because high knucklers are like all other elevated pitches: they are easier to hit.
After instructing pitchers individually at all levels for many years, I’m convinced that to throw any one pitch at a superior level requires an innate skill, and if it’s not there the pitch can be improved, but it seldom becomes a reliable out pitch. It takes a certain bent to be able to throw high-caliber sinkers, curveballs, screwballs, sliders, cutters, splitters, fastballs, change-ups, knuckleballs, etc.
I’m not suggesting that pitches lacking significant late action should not be thrown. It’s just that they must be unexpected and need to break on the black. Great stuff must also be well located, but placement is more forgiving.
Noyes is the co-author with Pamela J. Robertson of Larceny of Love, a provocative print and eBook novel that traces the interwoven careers of three men in jeopardy (one is a professional pitcher who experiences sudden, unexplained wildness), and the unforgettable women in their lives. http://larcenyoflove.com/
“Whenever dramatic storytelling about people you like is created around business, sports and film, I'm a happy reader. I'm sure you will be as well.” –Kevin Marcus (more)
Another recent print and eBook by Richard Noyes and Pamela Robertson: Guts in the Clutch: 77 Legendary Triumphs, Heartbreaks, and Wild Finishes in 12 Sports, with a Foreword by Drew Olson of ESPN. http://gutsintheclutch.com/
“The best compilation of fascinating sports stories I have read.” -David Houle, Emmy and Peabody Award-winning producer of documentaries on Hank Aaron and the Harlem Globetrotters.
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