I promised you a debate topic yesterday, and here it is. What is the most important pitch a pitcher carries in his arsenal?
There are a lot of pitches out there, and the right pitchers can make all of them deadly, but personally, I think the changeup is the most lethal pitch in baseball. Unlike a curve ball, the change up has generally the same spin as a fastball, thus making it impossible for a batter to pick up the “spin” of the ball and adjust accordingly. If the change in speeds between the fastball and the changeup are great enough, the location doesn’t really even matter because the batter will have no choice but to assume fastball, and thus swing early. If a pitcher hangs a curve ball, or puts a slider/cutter over the fat part of the plate, it may get hammered.
Obviously there are a lot of other pitches to choose from: splitter (which is probably number two on my list), cutter, two seamer, slider, curve, knuckleball, etc.
Again, different pitchers execute different pitches better than others, but for this debate, assume that all pitches and pitchers are equal. Which pitch do you put the most value in, the one you think is the most deadly?
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June 1st, 2006 at 3:04 pm
For me, it depends on starting piching vs relieif. The circle change is killer for SP, but for my money, relievers with a strong cutter are gold.
June 2nd, 2006 at 6:41 pm
I’m a big believer in the changeup. That should be an arrow in every pitcher’s quiver, and not just for the difference in velocity. If a pitcher can make it move, a la Pedro or Johan (the best changeup artist, IMO), it’s as big an out pitch there is.
Plus, I think kids should learn to throw a change, just to keep the occasional advanced hitter they might meet on their toes, as well as to keep them from trying to throw breaking stuff before their arms can handle it.