12/30/2023 0 Comments Nathan eovaldi pitch repertoire![]() Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.įind sources: "Split-finger fastball" – news Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources in this section. This section needs additional citations for verification. When thrown correctly, the split-finger's apparent last second drop causes many batters to hit the top half of the baseball, thereby inducing a ground ball. A common tactic is using the split-finger to cause the batter to hit into a double play. The split-finger fastball is a very effective pitch with runners on base. Thrusting the hand and forearm downward is what causes the reduced backspin relative to a fastball, and thus the appearance of "drop off the table" movement from the pitch. When thrown, the pitcher must emphasize the downward pull of the pitch at the end of his motion. The motion of a split-finger pitch is similar to the outlawed spitball and at one time the pitch was known as the "dry spitter". According to PITCHf/x, the average four-seam fastball from a right-handed pitcher in 2010 was 92 mph, while the average splitter was 85 mph and the average changeup 83 mph. The split-finger is often recommended as an alternative to breaking pitches to young players because of its simplicity and the significantly reduced risk of injury.Īn off-speed pitch, the splitter is generally thrown slower than a pitcher's fastball. The split-finger grip is similar to the forkball grip, but the forkball is pushed further back and wider between the fingers and is usually thrown with a wrist flip that makes it slower than the splitter. In 2011, only 15 starting pitchers used it as part of their regular repertoire. Several major league teams discourage pitching prospects from throwing or learning the pitch. The splitter eventually lost popularity after concerns arose that extensive use of the pitch could rob pitchers of fastball speed. Longtime player and manager Mike Scioscia called the splitter "the pitch of the '80s." ![]() He taught it to a number of pitchers on the teams he coached, the Detroit Tigers and San Francisco Giants. Sutter's success as a closer helped popularize the pitch.Īnother early proponent of the splitter was Roger Craig, a pitcher-turned-manager, in the 1980s. When a young Bruce Sutter returned from surgery to find his fastball had lost velocity, Martin taught Sutter the pitch. The modern splitter is often credited to baseball coach Fred Martin, who threw the pitch in the minor leagues as a changeup of sorts. ![]() The splitter grew out of a much older pitch, the forkball, which was used in the major leagues since the 1920s. Derived from the forkball, it is so named because the pitcher puts the index and middle finger on different sides of the ball. A split-finger fastball or splitter is an off-speed pitch in baseball that looks to the batter like a fastball until it drops suddenly. ![]()
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