The pitches are: the slider, fastball, curveball, knuckleball, splitter, screwball, sinker, changeup, spitball and cutter.
The slider is midway between a curveball and a fastball, breaking toward the pitcher's glove side and perceived by hitters to be a fastball. Steve Carlton, a lefty, was the best at it. The goal is to have the batter commit to a fastball and swing over the pitch. It's been around since Christy Mathewson and breaks about four-six inches. Bob Gibson, who posted a 1.12 ERA in 1968, was also a master.
"The best pitch in baseball is a well-located fastball." The fastest ever thrown was 105 mph by Reds rookie reliever Aroldis Chapman in 2010. Velocity has increased significantly in the last decade leading to more strike outs, homers and longer games with more pitching changes.
The Hall of Fame says that the first curveball was thrown in 1867 by Candy Cummings. It is thought that the best curveball throwers ever were Sandy Koufax and Mordecai 'Three Fingers' Brown, who pitched for the 1907-08 Cubs. Great curveball pitchers like Koufax or Nolan Ryan also have had powerful fastballs, as the pitches complement each other perfectly.
Knuckleballers all confess that it was a pitch they found in an act of desperation. Niekro was the exception, as he learned it from his dad. The pitch is actually thrown with the fingertips and seeks to have zero spin. It happens to be very, very hard to throw. "Knuckleball pitchers are painstakingly self-made." The two best, and only Hall of Famers who threw the pitch, were Hoyt Wilhelm and Phil Niekro, Jr.
The splitter or split-finger fastball evolved from the forkball. Thrown with pressure from the index finger it breaks away from a lefty. The best ever was Bruce Sutter, who relieved for the Cubs and Cards on his way to Cooperstown with 300 saves. The key is a big hand with long fingers. Roger Craig championed the pitch as a coach and manager. The pitch thrived in the 70's, 80's and 90's and has fallen out of favor because it is believed to cause elbow injuries. The screwball is another pitch that has fallen out of favor because of its impact on pitcher's elbows. The greats were all Giants: Mathewson, Hubbell and Marichal. It's the opposite of a curve, breaking toward the right handed batter.
The sinker is a fastball thrown with a narrower grip parallel to the seams and not on them. The best were Lemon, Drysdale and Maddux. Obviously, the ball drops when it gets to the plate.
The changeup is very hard to learn. It is the only pitch where the pitcher does not place his index finger on the ball. It uses the same arm motion as the fastball and is a cousin to the screwball, sinker and splitter at 10 mph slower than the fastball. Johnny Podres closed out the Yankees in game 7 in 1955 with a changeup and spent decades as a coach teaching the pitch. Another great was Pedro Martinez, whose H of F plaque mentions the pitch.
The last great spitballer was Preacher Roe who played over seventy-years ago for the Dodgers. The pitch was banned in 1920. In that era, games were often played with one ball. A baseball covered with tobacco juice became unacceptable for a sport trying to improve its image after the Black Sox scandal. Notwithstanding the ban, many pitchers used variations of it including Whitey Ford, Lew Burdette, Gaylord Perry, and Don Sutton.
Mariano Rivera, legendary Yankee closer with the lowest career ERA, 2.12, of anyone born after 1889, was the master of the cutter. It is a cut fastball, thrown off center with a drop at the plate. Old-timers say the pitch has been around forever. Indeed, it's what Mazeroski hit off Ralph Terry in the 1960 game 7.
Thanks to Jack Blair for the recommendation. If you enjoy the game and its history, you'll enjoy this book.
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