By: Chad Ruter
To be a top-of-the-rotation starter in the Major Leagues, or to be a dominant reliever, a pitcher has to have a go-to pitch. The best hurlers throw many pitches well, but have one mastered to a point of domination. The count sits 3-2 with runners in scoring position and two outs, and the time comes to bust out the best you’ve got in your repertoire. The catcher doesn’t even have to flash the sign, the hitter knows what’s coming, and the 40,000+ fans in the park can already smell the filth that rests in the hitters hands.
So who throws the each of the 14 pitches the nastiest? Here’s the list – and while many of these wont surprise you (see: Cutter, Circle Change, and Knuckleball), a few of them will (Forkball and Change).
THE HEATERS
The 4-Seamer: Joba Chamberlain (New York Yankees) – If Joel Zumaya weren’t hurt all the time, he’d top this list simply because he hits triple-digits on the gun with unmatched frequency. Since he’s on the disabled list for an extended period, the notoriety goes to Joba The Hut (plus putting Joba into our posts yields us a ton more readers, according to our research). Being in the setup role has allowed this monster to run rampant over hitters with his overpowering stuff. He’ll soon be moved to the rotation, which is where the ball club can get the most use out of him. (Honorable Mention: Jake Peavy & Tim Lincecum)
The 2-Seamer: Carlos Zambrano (Chicago Cubs) – A year after guaranteeing the he would win the Cy Young en route to the Cubs winning the World Series, Big-Z has figured out how to pitch. His 2-Seamer is by far his best pitch, and he records a bulk of his strikeouts with this moving cheese. This season, his strikeout totals have dropped a bit, but his walk totals have completely fallen off the table. In 2007, Zambrano’s numbers were solid (3.95 ERA, 1.33 WHIP, 1.75:1 K/BB, 7.36 K/9, 6.1IP/Start). His 2008 numbers, however, are downright staggering (1.80 ERA, 1.11 WHIP, 2.71 K/BB, 6.22 K/9, 7IP/Start). (Honorable Mention: Felix Hernandez)
The Sinker: (Tie) Chien-Ming Wang (New York Yankees) & Brandon Webb (Arizona Diamondbacks) – Webb was the 2006 NL Cy Young award winner, and Wang is always in the argument in the AL. This is one of the rare pitches that a guy can throw 80-90% of the time during a game, and not get knocked around. The only downside to throwing this pitch is that a lot of guys still make contact, meaning if the hurler doesn’t bring his A-game, he’s going to get lit up. What sets these two apart from the others is that they have mastered consistency. Webb (8-0) is well on his way to winning another Cy Young here in 2008, and the minute the Yankees get healthy, Wang will be right back in the race as well. (Honorable Mention: Fausto Carmona)
The Cutter: Mariano Rivera (New York Yankees) – This is the fourth pitch out of 14 on the list, and it is the third Yankee to make the list. The sick part about it is that the Yanks are considered to have a fairly weak pitching staff overall. Was there any doubt about this one, though? Hell, even one of Justin’s older blogs is named Marianoscutter. I’m sure there are hundreds of die-hard Yankee fans in the Bronx that named their sons Cutter. Rivera breaks so many bats with this legendary pitch that he is rumored to be a majority shareholder in Louisville Slugger, since the product turnover in the baseball is in large-part due to his mastery. (Honorable Mention: Roy Halladay)
The Splitter: Jonathan Papelbon (Boston Red Sox) – Two years ago, this dominating closer was only keeping the seat warm. His ultimate destination was to be a No. 1 starter because he had it all: four plus pitches, strikeout ability, and “the presence of an ace.” But after a start or two in Spring Training prior to the 2007 season, he walked into manager Terry Francona’s office and wanted to be a closer for the rest of his career. With his wish granted (for the time being) he’s struck out the world with his devastating split-fingered fastball. As a closer, you only need one really great pitch to be effective, and he’s found it.
THE OFFSPEED STUFF
The Curveball: Felix Hernandez (Seattle Mariners) – There is one pitcher in the Major Leagues that I will won’t turn the channel for in-between pitches, and that is this young fire baller. Through this week, he’s pitched nearly three full seasons in the Major Leagues and is only 22-years-old. While many of the best curveballs in the majors are clocked in the low to mid-70’s, Hernandez snaps his out at a robust 86-88 MPH consistently. It’s the single-nastiest pitch in the big leagues, and his “secondary stuff” is nearly as good – see Honorable Mention for 2-seamer and slider. This may be the year where he puts together more quality starts, and his potential at this point is limitless. (Honorable Mention: Josh Beckett & Ben Sheets)
The Slider: Justin Verlander (Detroit Tigers) – If the aforementioned Felix Hernandez is No. 1 in baseball in terms of pure stuff, then Verlander is 1A. Although he’s stumbled out of the gate a bit this year, struggling to get through the 6th and 7th innings in his starts, he’s the face of Detroit Tigers pitching staff. Maybe the scariest thing about Verlander is that he led the league in 2007 with 19 hit batters, and 17 wild pitches – and I would bet that most of those weren’t from his slider (try the 94 MPH fastball). His slider is as wicked on a nightly basis as Kerry Wood’s slider was in his 20 K game vs. Houston in 1998. (Honorable Mention: Erik Bedard & Felix Hernandez)
The Forkball: Jose Contreras (Chicago White Sox) – He may seem like an odd choice to make the list, but honestly, very few pitchers throw the forkball anymore. The basic physics of the pitch is that it is a slower version of splitter with that is much deeper on the hitter when it drops. The reason why it’s not thrown as often as it used to is because you can move to the front of the box and catch the better half of the baseball before the pitch “makes its move.” Still, Contreras, despite his pitches topping out in the mid 80’s, makes many hitters look silly with his effective forkball. (Honoroable Mention: None)
The Knucklecurve: Mike Mussina (New York Yankees) – Another pitch that is thrown (well) by only a few, the knucklecurve is just as it sounds. It’s a curveball thrown with one knuckle or fingertip on the baseball, which slows down the speed significantly, but also makes the break difficult to control and feel. Mussina has always thrown this pitch well, but it has become his go-to pitch because he can’t throw 94 MPH like he used to. He’ll drop this deuce (no pun intended) anywhere between 58-65 MPH on the radar gun, and make hitters swing nearly a full 1/2 second before the ball hits the catchers mitt. I promise folks, this is the last Yankee on this list! (Honorable Mention: Jason Isringhausen)
The Screwball: Nobody – According to Scouts Inc. writer Keith Law (one of the best baseball scouts/writers in the world) only one current Major Leaguer throws a screwball (Dallas Braden of the Oakland A’s). Even though only one guy throws this pitch, I can’t give the distinction to him because if he throws it really well, I probably would’ve known his name prior to me having to look it up. The last Major Leaguer to throw a good screwball was Jim Mecir, who is prominently mentioned in Michael Lewis’ bestseller Moneyball because he was a member of the low-budget Oakland A’s for five years.
THE CHANGEUPS
The Straight-Change: Hideki Okajima (Boston Red Sox) – When a pitch you throw has it’s own nickname, you’re probably really damn good at throwing it. The Okie-Doke is a pitch that’ll fluster even the best left-handed sluggers in the majors. Okajima was brought over from Japan mainly to help ease the transition for Daisuke Matsuzaka, and instead became a top relief pitcher in the American League, and the best lefty specialist in the world. The craziest thing about Okajima is that he isn’t even looking at the catcher when he releases the ball! (Honorable Mention: ???)
The Circle-Change: Johan Santana (New York Mets) – The best pitcher in baseball had to show up on the list somewhere, and this is the pitch that may put him in the Hall of Fame. It looks identical to his fastball coming out of his hand, but drops and fades toward his arm side at the tail end of the pitch. He has led the league in strikeouts numerous times, and has two Cy Young awards sitting on the mantle at home. Not bad for a Rule 5 draft pick, eh? (Honorable Mention: Cole Hamels)
The Palmball: Roy (Doc) Halladay (Toronto Blue Jays) – If I were to start a team tomorrow, Doc would be the first pitcher I’d call. No joke. He’s capable of throwing a complete game every time he toes the rubber, and only dials it up when he absolutely has to. What really sets Halladay apart from the rest is that he nearly unhittable for me in MVP Baseball 2005. I swear I lose to him more than half the times I face him. This is another one of those pitches that is rarely thrown, but when guys get the hang of it, they tend to become really good pitchers. (Honorable Mention: Trevor Hoffman)
THE ANOMALY
The Knuckleball: Tim Wakefield (Boston Red Sox) – I know he’ll never make the Hall of Fame, but if he does, Doug Mirabelli is going to be the guy that introduces him. Wakefield is the only reason he hung around in the majors for so long. The Red Sox traded him after the 2005 season, and then dealt Josh Bard (a backup catcher they’d kill to have now) and reliever Cla Meredith to get him back about a month into the 2006 season because Bard couldn’t handle Wake’s knuckler. A couple of posers have dabbled in the majors in the past couple of years (Charlie Haeger for the White Sox in 2006-’07 along with R.A. Dickey for the Mariners in 2008), but nobody has the control like Wakefield. (Honorable Mention: [Laughing])
