Comments on: 1 of 2 Japanese things to look forward to

By: dlreed52

dlreed52 — Wed, 13 Sep 2006 06:14:01 +0000

I agree with Ari’s statement that “new” pitches are just old pitches becoming fashionable. That was certainly true in the case of the splitter, a fastball-forkball hybrid.

And while the computer-generated gyroball seems like an attempt to create something truly new and different, the concept of throwing a pitch “more like a football than a baseball” is not new at all. Some pitching coaches used this technique during the late sixties to teach the slider–a practice that led to a high incidence of elbow injuries.

If you have a 96 m.p.h. heater as gyroball master Daisuke Matsuzaka is reported to have, I wonder why you would want to risk a promising career to throw a trick pitch–especially when the same effect can be achieved–pain-free–with a strong grip and the discrete use of K-Y Jelly or other water-soluble lubricant….

By: David

David — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 17:54:41 +0000

Fascinating! I can’t wait to see that in action. AND, you brought back that old cartoon to me, with the great cheer: “What’s the score boys? What did Bugs Bunny say? Baseball and carrots, hip hip hurray!”

By: Mangesh

Mangesh — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 17:25:42 +0000

yeah, it’s pretty interesting, and there seems to be quite a bit of skepticism around it. but Esquire has pretty sound fact checkers, and the mechanics of it seem fascinating to me. Apparently, part of the reason the researchers stumbled on the pitch was that they were trying to create a pitch that put less strain on a pitcher’s arm through computer simulations? I’d still like to read more about it. But there’s a Japanese pitcher who might be coming to the states next year, and is predicted to bring the pitch with him. You could very well be right though.

By: Ari

Ari — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 16:47:31 +0000

As an experienced pitcher, coach and avid student of pitching I am very skeptical. There have been literally millions of players over the years trying to make the ball dance, it is hard for me to believe that no one till now figured out how to throw this unhittable pitch. New pitches are not invented anymore, they simply become fashionable.

This is not to say it is not possbile from the standpoint of physics but it is highly unlikely that a human can consistantly throw a new pitch that acts like the described Bugs Bunny pitch.