The Pitch of the '80s Is Back, and It's Taking Over Baseball
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ก.ค. 2024
- There’s a new pitch taking over Major League Baseball.
You might’ve heard that 2023 was the Year of the Sweeper. Last year, it seemed like every pitcher in MLB was throwing a sweeper. Before that, we saw the rise of the high fastball, as increased focus on velocity and spin rate led to unprecedented swings and misses from hitters.
Now there’s another pitch that’s become all the rage. A pitch that, if you’ve been watching MLB for long enough, you’ll be all too familiar with.
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MUSIC
"[Success] Title Screen" - MLB Power Pros Unofficial Soundtrack
"[Success] Sunshine Powerfuls 1" - MLB Power Pros 2006 Unofficial Soundtrack
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"[Success] AA" - MLB Power Pros 2008 Unofficial Soundtrack
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SOURCES
"The Neyer/James Guide To Pitchers," by Bill James and Rob Neyer
"K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches," by Tyler Kepner
Baseball Reference
Fangraphs
Baseball Savant
SABR Bio Project
Newspapers.com
apnews.com/article/sweeper-pi...
sabr.org/bioproj/person/Bruce...
web.archive.org/web/202211020...
sabr.org/bioproj/person/Mike-...
vault.si.com/vault/1986/06/09...
static.espn.go.com/mlb/columns...
vault.si.com/vault/2000/03/27...
web.archive.org/web/202404290...
www.knbr.com/2021/09/06/the-s...
blogs.fangraphs.com/rememberi...
www.baseball-reference.com/bu...
web.archive.org/web/200606211...
sports.yahoo.com/why-the-spli...
sports.yahoo.com/baseball-pit...
www.mlb.com/news/splitters-an...
/ the-next-pitching-revo...
www.nytimes.com/athletic/5357...
www.mlb.com/news/things-we-ha...
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/arti... - กีฬา
There was an old SNES game called "Bases Loaded" that had a glitch, you could throw a high splitter or forkball, and the NPC stooges would swing through it almost every time, maybe 1/10 they would hit a little squibber. I threw a lot of perfect games with 27 Ks that season🤣
Thanks for sharing grandpa
It’s just like Wii sports an inside splitter works a lot better
@@thomascunning8248respect your elders jit
@@thomascunning8248doesn’t mean he’s old af there’s a bunch of people are into retro
@@scottshepke669 okay scott
I watched a lot of Tigers games in the '80s and the announcers were always talking about the nasty split-fingered fastball of Jack Morris.
Dave Stieb was pioneering the sweeper at the same time, which I think is a fun coincidence.
Loved watching Morris pitch!
I thought Morris mostly used the Fork Ball. I hate it when people miss the two up, and the Fork is hard on the elbow. What they are showing here early in the video I thought was the fork ball, and that is more off speed then a split finger.
@@santumi2298 Mike Scott as well
I always think of Bruce Sutter.
I think the biggest contributor to the revitalization of the splitter was the WBC. Just about every pitcher from team Japan was using the splitter and it was extremely effective
Yes, seems like all the pitchers that came from Japan used the pitch , as back as Maeda and Darvish
i think a big reason that the splitter is so effective is because hitting coaches are pushing the launch angle stuff, so it only makes sense that throwing a pitch that has a lot of sink would be very effective against hitter trying to elevate the ball
Maybe but not at the MLB level. Batters there have zero problem blitzing a low pitch.
The real issue is that batters get better at hitting pitches the more they see them. It's inevitable that a lot of pitches will fall out of fashion.
I used to throw it in the 90’s as a teenager and when I could really get it under control I felt like a big leaguer and K’s would just start stacking up. It’s sort of like a cross between a knuckle ball/fastball/change up, such a fun pitch. Anyone remember El Duque with the 05 White Sox team? He had a good one and had a year where he kept that baby under control for the most part and we won a title. Pretty much the entire staff had career years all at once haha but still El Duque had a nasty splitter. My favorite pitch in baseball.
@@SeaOrcRonnie I think you're mistaking El Duque with Contreras. Contreras was showing off stretching his fingers for his forkball using a Softball.
Now bring back the Knuckler.
Matt Waldron on the padres throws a decent one. He’s not Tim Wakefield now but he’s decent
George Kirby has a nasty knuckleball but he's only thrown it once in a game
Greatest pitch in baseball. I’ll say it’s one of the first pitches outside fastballs to teach in little league
@@LordTeaboBaggins With all the emphasis on speed these days, the knuckler for guys who can master it is a great pitch for relative mediocre arms. And with less stress on elbows and shoulders, one that can aid longevity with fewer injuries.
Course you wouldn't wanna be behind the plate having to catch that pitch.
Doesn't Zac Gallen have a knuckle curve?
The MLB Power Pros music is making me feel all kinds of nostalgia.
Such a good series. Rip. On the North American versions.
BRING IT BACK TO AMERICA
I was watching the Tevor Bauer TH-cam channel and he said that he learned the pitch while in Japan that every pitcher over there throws one because it's a really tough pitch for hitters that have a flat swing plane. That alot of the Japanese hitters tend to have flat swing plans and that pitch is difficult for them to hit. He basically said its not as common in the US since hitters over here have more of an upper cut swing, but it can be very effective if used properly.
As a Braves fan I remember the splitter/fork ball all too well. Jack Morrison threw a 10-inning shutout against Atlanta in the '91 World Series for the Twins and won the World Series MVP.
Dividog You mean Jack Morris.
Morris, not Morrison…
Splitter is the reason why Clemens in Houston was so dominant. His Splitter was nasty
Amazing Video, I really enjoyed learning this today
Great video very in depth. Also made me nostalgic for MLB power pros lol
Excellent video and history! Well done!
Super interesting. One thing I would have liked to see addressed is how often the splitter hits the zone. From the examples that we saw (and from the few games I watched this year, the Blue Jays s-ck-ing so much), your best bet against the splitter is take it and hope for a ball. That is, of course, if you can identify it fast enough.
for real, I don't understand why players just don't swing at pitches that aren't in the zone. are they stupid? ;) /s
If you throw a splitter in the zone, it is probably not a good one.
Terrific review! Thanks for posting.
Yes!!! More content, more often please!!!
Well done video! Thank you
Scott's splitter and scuffing accusations brought me so much joy in the mid to late 80s. Good times!
Was he actually scuffing or was his splitter that great?
I used to throw all sorts of pitches off of that grip in backyard games with tennis balls as a kid. You can get the ball to have backspin or topspin depending on how you release it, or even no spin, and that was just when I was throwing it over the top. You could use it to take some speed off the pitch or throw it hard. And then you could go sidearm and get one of the nastiest screwballs you've ever seen by pulling down on the back of the ball as you release it.
I grew up an Astros fan (mostly stopped following them when they moved to the American league, and stopped all together with the trash cans). I loved Mike Scott back in the day though.
I remember listening to a Mets broadcast. Ron Darling had been tipping his splitter because you could see him pushing on his glove when he gripped it. He ended up having to put the splitter grip on every pitch. He could then take the grip off in the glove when he was throwing something else.
/I did tug down on the pitch pretty hard and did end up having to get some PT for 'tennis elbow'.
I used to throw a forkball in high-school with almost no spin. It behaved similarly to a knuckle ball but with less side to side movement and more drop. Unfortunately I never developed good velo so couldn't get further than high-school
Did the fork ball hurt your arm to throw? My 13-year-old son has a great split-finger but I'm worried about it hurting his forearm.
I remember back in the late '60s to early '70s when the Yankees had a pitcher named Lindy McDaniel. He threw a forkball quite often.
And a lot of people and experts say that the best splitter in the Majors rn belongs to Reds pitcher Fernando Cruz
Oh my God, the MLB Power Pros music got me. It's been more than a decade since I've played that game and I'd still remember that music anywhere from how much I played it. Best baseball game of all time, I wish they'd bring the new ones back to the US.
The knuckleball is making a pretty good splash for MLB with the Padre's Waldron.
I really dig your narration, writing style!
Somewhere, Roger(Humm Baby-SF Giants fans know this reference)Craig is smiling...Craig was the split finger guru in the 80s
All while having MVP caliber seasons for the 49ers
Giants fans know the reference...as well as anyone whose watched this video.
@@thefourmoodgroups2589 Didn't help them against the A's though. Or the earthquake 🤣
The humm baby reference (and discussion about his connection to the splitter) is in the video.....
He taught Mike Scott the splitter
1:47 before getting into the video, I feel like the influx of Asian pitchers has caused this revival of the splitter. Between Yamamoto, Imanaga, Senga, Ohtani, and the plethora of Asian relief pitchers that have come into the MLB since 2020; they have all influenced the MLB to the point where it’s becoming popular again because it’s reminding people of how EFFECTIVE that pitch is.
If you want me to get even more specific, I feel like it was Kodai Senga who brought the splitter back. During his rookie season last year, the biggest talk in the game was his “ghost” ball which is just a splitter/fork ball with extreme movement. Once pitchers were reminded how effective it can be , they all started getting on the bandwagon.
11:57 that’s so cool! I was correct!😂😂 great video boss!
They use a drastically different ball with different seams in Japan. It's why Trevor Bauer got better. On his vlogs he struggled a lot with the NPB ball.
Ump: Hey, you're not throwing a spitball, are you?
Bush: No, I'm not breaking any rules.
Ump: Then, how are you making it move like that?
Bush: I'm not telling you.
Ump: Fair enough. Back to the game.
Really good video overall I would not be surprised if this has millions of views in the next few days
Just wanna say though that the BAA stats are a bit misleading. Splitters are primarily thrown with 2 strikes and they are thrown out of the strike zone
This means that the only 3 outcomes that will really happen are strikeouts, weak batted balls, and a ball if a hitter takes. If the pitcher gets a strikeout or a weak batted ball its good for the BAA on splitters but if the hitter doesn't swing its not really affected
If you looked at the BAA for fastballs outside of the zone with 2 strikes it'd also be extremely low for this reason. Not to mention that since splitters are thrown with 2 strikes the hitter already has a lower expected batting average
Still really good video though.
I feel like having 3 8/10 pitches is better than having 2 9/10 pitches because the extra pitch keeps batters guessing more. The splitter is that 3rd pitch that is still rare enough to keep hitters off balance until it becomes more common and then hitters will learn how to hit it and it's efficacy will decrease.
If Tony Gwynn says it was hard to hit, I don't think most hitters are going to figure it out
If you're a big league starting pitcher then yes this is true. More so like pitchers will have 2 9/10 pitches and then 2 8/10 pitches for certain situations
If you're a bullpen guy though then you can really get away with just having a 11/10 pitch like mariano riveras cutter or just be a 2 pitch guy like Andrew miller and since you're so dirty and you only have to get 3 outs you can get away with it
What does 3 8/10 and 2 9/10 mean?
In my opinion, I think control is more important for a starting pitcher. If you can consistently spot your pitches, you're going to be a nightmare for hitters. Greg Maddux
@@getstuk87 3 different pitches one will throw that will get an arbitrary score of 8/10, good pitch. And they will have two other pitch types they throw that are dominating, so you could call it 9/10, an A pitch, whatever. Baseball is full of people coming up with terms and slang and stuff, it's an always evolving game.
Great video! The only thing I’d argue is that forkballs and splitters are the same pitch. Just like two seam fastballs and sinkers are as well but have different names depending on movement profile
I always thought that the splitter was enhanced because of players actually throwing a "scuffball". Mike Scott scuffed every splitter he threw.
Chrislane You are right about Scott scuffing the baseball!
This guy's writing is top notch. Kept my attention through the whole video. Well done!
I’ll be honest, I didn’t know that Japanese pitchers have been making the move to America for as long as they have: that’s really frickin cool
This video is great. Baseball is great because of the constantly evolving battle between the hitters and hurlers. I wonder how long it will take hitters to adjust to the splits and start hitting them into the seats.
I threw a splitter instead of a change....it was just a lot easier for me to throw at the same arm speed and get the differential in velocity I was looking for....that was in the late 90s.
the splitter was still pretty common in the mid- late 2000s not sure what league youve been watching
Splitter never went nowhere.
the old mlb power pros music just brought back memories
Makes me happy to see. Maybe we'll get to full fork ball next year.
Hitters were convinced Mike Scott was scuffing the ball. So much so that SI ran a double truck picture of him in welder's gear with the ball in a vise.
I never understood why the splitter fell out of popularity. It’s super effective, and easy to learn.
Superstition. According to some, curveballs, sliders, screwballs, splitters, and/or fastballs will injure your arm. Or maybe pitching just leads to arm injuries, no matter which pitch you throw?
@@shorewall it's just science though. I've never pitched before and ive had no pitching injuries whatsoever
Because its just a pretty impractical pitch to throw for most guys
You only ever throw it with 2 strikes when you need a strikeout and if you throw it for a strike it gets crushed since if you hang it then its just a slow fastball.
Every pitcher already has either a curveball or slider to get swings and misses with and so there isn't really a reason for them to add a splitter
Injuries. When you spread your fingers that much, it puts a lot more stress on the tendons in the arm. Tim Belcher said that he never had any arm problems until one of the teams wanted him to throw the splitter.
Mike Scott of the 86 Astros came out of nowhere after he learned to throw it from Roger Craig. Struck out over 300 batters and won the CY Young and damn near a pennant. He was the last great one to throw it.
Seemd like every San Francisco Giant threw a splitter when Roger Craig was the manager. I was a kid then but those teams are the first time I heard of the split.
I mean.. dope video! lemme get that outta the way but you missed a whole great big section you could have talked about with Casey Mize. He was drafted 1-1 because of his splitter. had tommy john because of his splitter. and is back this year with mixed results. ALL because of that splitter!
The nickname for Kazuhiro Sasaki's pitch was actually the "Thang," coined by Dave Niehaus.
The problem with the splitter is 2 fold. The hands have to be extra strong and there used to be a mechanic to it that I'm not really seeing in the new crop of splitter throwers. This mechanic was kind of like pushing the thumb through the split to cut the spin.
If you didn't have strong hands and you tried that mechanic, bye bye elbow.
The best splitter I ever threw in high school was smashed for a homerun. Thing dove away and was low out of the zone on the paint from the lefty and he cracked the absolute ish out of it. Mine was more forkball than splitter, as it mostly knuckled up to the plate.
That's why pitchers will try any legal grip advantage they can get, and some get caught using illegal stuff to improve their grip. Tyler Glasgow (on the Dodgers and one of best pitchers in baseball right now) goes on about that in this video th-cam.com/video/ed9QbHGkFYE/w-d-xo.html . Umps will check players they are suspicious of and people like Max Scherzer have been suspended for using illegal sticky stuff.
such nostalgic audio
I had a split-finger through college Div I. Was unhittable. I struck out a lot of batters despite not having a 90mph+ fastball. Not sure why it ever went out of fashion. I was inspired by Jack Morris, Mike Scott, Ron Darlingand others in the 80s
There's a "trend pitch" in every decade of baseball. In the 60's & 70's it was the slider, in the 80's & 90's it was the splitter, in the 2000's & 2010's, it was the cutter, and for the 2020's, it's looking like the sweeper is the new trend pitch.
Yeah, players stop seeing the pitch, and when someone comes along to revive it, it can catch hitters off guard. Now, when they start to be able to recognize it, it might cool off. It's an effective pitch.
You forgot the pitch of the 90s, the circ l e change up. Then around 2009 everyone in mlb threw a cutter trying to be like mariano rivera.
Fred braining was a giants forkball pitcher in 1979 to 1983. When Fred was in the minor leagues his coach told him to throw 90 percent forkballs. Bruce sutter said out of every 10 pitches he threw 9 were split finger fastball and 1 was a two seam fastball.
Also bruce sutter used hìs. Thumb to push the ball so that it would squirt forward from between his index and middle finger. Sutter had huge nba player hands and no other pitcher has ever talked about doing this. It was unique to sutter, and sutter kept this part quiet until he retired. This may explain why sutter had the best split finger ever. If you want to see his dominance watch his 2 inning pitched in the 1979 all star game. He made mlb all stars look like grade school kids that day. Greatest single game split finger game ever. Check it out to see for your self.
fernando cruz might have one of the most beautiful splitters going currently
Now I understand why there’s a splitter in Wii sports
Some of the modern splitters have that screwball action. I like it.
Including the drip… stirrups and mullets 😭
I’d say it’s been a thing over the last few years not just 2024 but good vid
I watched guys like Scott and Morris throw that pitch. It was just nasty.
Thank you baseball historian
Nice. I just started playing around with a splinker as well. Both as “fastball” grip and shift the fingers over to change up grip. Looks like it could be kinda gross
It's a dumb "pitch". There's a reason most pitchers want velocity differential with their offspeed. If you throw your offspeed super hard it needs better movement to be good and it won't be as good for whiffs, more of a groundball pitch. Probably best to learn a changeup as there as a bunch of different grips, evem though most nowadays use the circle grip you still have straight change grip and while we almost never hear the word palmball anymore some pitchers still use the grip but just call it a changeup like Jordan Montgommery. There's also several different splitter and forkball grips so purposfully trying to throw an offspeed with horrible velocity differential isn't really smart.
@somerandomguy5977 well you do want to throw your off speeds "hard." Every pitch you throw should be thrown with the same effort. The only velo differemce should come from grip and spin
But yah I agree. Definently should just learn a changeup. Circle change is good I just dont like it because it slips. "3 finger change" is really good Dan blewett has a video on it if you dont want thr ball to slip
Jhoan Duran started throwing the splinker first a few years ago, + his is more nasty
I knew it was going to be the sff...that was like the only pitch we knew existed as kids...
Opposing hitters have only made contact with Skenes' splinker and handful of times so far.
37 saves was a NL record?? jeez Ryan Helsley almost has that much at the All-Star break this year
Forkball and splitter are very different pitches.
I think guys are realizing a splitter is just a more effective change up
FratboyFishing You are one of few people that seem to know that! I agree with you, good comment brother!
I threw a splitter as a teenager. After shoulder surgery, i threw a splitter once. As soon as i released it, I knew why i had surgery.
I'm so scared of f***ing upy arm with this pitch again 😭
IS THAT THE MLB POWER PROS MUSIC????!!!
All this splitter footage and no Fernando Cruz? Regrettable
His pitch is probably a forkball. It has very big velocity differential and the spin is very low.
Pitches are like fashion trends, they tend to come and go. I'm waiting for screwballs and knuckleballs to make a comeback
screwballs aren't ever going to comeback. Its basically just like a curveball but way slower and with loopier spin. If youre gonna throw something that's a breaking down swing and miss pitch you'll throw a curveball. If you want to throw something that falls and runs armside you'll throw a changeup
There's just no place for a screwball in today's game
Isn't the pitch at 2:53 a knuckleball?
That's what a forkball looks like. It rotates quite slowly, but not as slow as a knuckler.
@@mattrinck7503 It was still a knuckleball
@shierawesome That was a forkball. He threw it with a forkball grip. I throw a forkball, and that is exactly what it does.
That was a more extreme example. Most forkballs still spin but around 500-850rpm ish. If you want to know look at velocity seperation, finger seperstion and spin rate. If the velocity is over 10mph off the fastball, the fingers are wide apart and the rpms are under 1000 it doesn't matter if statcadt and the pitcher call it a splitter, it's a forkball.
@@mattrinck7503 a knuckleball doesn't matter the grip, it's simply if it has no/very little spin rate, called knuckling. That's what that pitch had
What's funny is that my best pitch is the forkball and I throw a half decent spliter.
The MLB beast steals creative videos!
I've been using this pitch setup on mlb the show for almost 20 years
102 mph 4seam
93 slider with 9 inch plus break
85 Vulcan change or regular change 6 inches break plus
83 to 89 sweeping curve with 10 inch break
78 mph screwball with as much break as the game allows.
As a lefty.
Why are you lying about something so stupid? You can't throw harder than 99 for a 4 seam, can't throw harder than 92 for a slider, you can't throw a changeup harder than 84 which is insanely stupid, if you actually played mlb the show you wouldn't use any changeup but the circle change because pitches don't move like they do in real life and changeups cut and at that point it's like an awful breaking ball so you use the circle change to have movement away or you'd use the splitter as that's the best offspeed that goes straight down. The screwball is usable but I doubt it based on the rest of your lies and the fact that throwing it for strikes is very difficult and you don't get enough swings ang misses with it. I also doubt mlb the show even is 20 years old.
Technically you can throw 102 if you have outlier I but idk if you can get that on RTTS
But yeah this guy is full of shi
Nobody uses chsngeups they suck. I use circle changes all the time for the lateral movement. Normal change ups are just worthless
Also screwballs are awful. Devin Williams is the only one with an alright screwball and that's because its not really even a screwball. He throws a changeup but it moves so much that theyhad to give him a screwball to mimic movement but it has the velo of a changeup
I don’t think that’s true, but even if it is, what does it have to do with splitters?
So many awesome pitches get a reputation for destroying arms without much evidence for it. Now everyone is blowing their arms out throwing fastballs
I'm kind of not convinced that the splitter "went away". It was out of favor for certain, viewed as a breaking pitch for bottom-half of the rotation starters with inferior talent. But as a Twins fan, I've seen a lot of splitter throwers over the last 20 years.
Lincecum had one of the nastiest splitters I've ever seen.
Check out Bullet Joe's hitting stats...not bad for a pitcher
Maddox probably threw this in the 90s but he was beyond nasty.
Screwball was invented by Flathead Phillips in 1791
Splitter was one of Jonathan Papelbons out pitch for his entire career
Darvish's SFF when he was still in japan was gross.
As nasty as the pitch is it can probably be partially attributed to the uptick in injuries pitch is terrible for the elbow idk how guys can throw it either lol always found the change up to be easier and more effective to throw
The splitter has good synergy with the four seem, two seem, and/or slider. Joe Maddon is an idiot, but I think I get what he says, especially when I remember pitchers like Jose Contreras and Felix Heredia who had nothing else to throw. Wait them out for a walk or a flat fastball to tallywack for extra bases. Variety is a mid-level pitcher's only friend.
So many above average and top tier power pitchers of the early to mid-2000s threw great splitters, but those splits worked off an establishing four seem and usually something that would break glove side.
Makes sense if the previous trend was high fastballs why not go in the opposite direction.
Wasn’t it once referred to as the forkball?
Shoulda just watched the video.
Forkballs are still thrown but are almost always called splitters. Aroldis Chapman throws one, George Kirby, etc.
Kyle Finnehan
Get ready for the Twins fans who are upset you highlighted Skenes splinker over Jhoan Duran
Bring back the screwball
Mike Scott
@6:53 yikes, 1.24 WHIP isn't exactly great, I'd imagine he had quite a bit of luck with that ERA given he had 274 base runners in only 221 innings
Wake me when the screw ball comes back.
The screwball is a bit of a forgotten pitch.
I believe Don Gullet of the Yankees brought back the forkball before Bruce Sutterer brought the splitter to the Cardinals…
Reds?
@@DAVYMAC yeah I think Gullett came from somewhere else before you got to New York…
@@kineahora8736 Right on brother! You are way cool!
Is this the same guy as the gaming historian?
nah if you gonna mention big name pitchers with a splitter, you gotta mention eovaldi
Fr
Roger Craig has a terrible reputation because of his appalling 15-46 record with the expansion Mets and e.r.a. in the 4's during at a time when aces rarely had an e.r.a. that high. But in reality he was a fine pitcher. Aside from having little offensive pop in the lineup, the Amazin' Mets couldn't field at all. On their Strat-O-Matic cards, the starting players were assigned "4" (the lowest possible fielding rating) at almost every position. Their best position players were at the end of their careers and the others had never been worth anything. If Craig had pitched for a team of normal defensive skill his e.r.a. would probably have been around 3.00 or a little less.
There's a story of the time Stengel came out to remove a pitcher because the team behind him had made four straight misplays. The pitcher said something like "Why are you taking ME out when those should all have been outs?" Stengel replied: "You KNOW they can't field. You have to strike the batters out!"
I like your content but the background music is a nightmare on this one. please reconsider for future videos.
And Ohtani can't keep from getting pitching injuries.
3% of all pitches is “taking over baseball”?????
havent watch, we talking splitters???
What about Jeremiah Estrada and his "Chitter"
If that's supposed to be a "cut change" just call it that. Kyle Hendricks has 3 different changeups and has been using a cut change for years versus righties but "chitter" sounds fucking awful. If it's changeup cutter that just sounds like a slider. Whatever it is it's probably got a less stupid name, even if it is a unique pitch, hopefully.
@@somerandomguy5977 it's a split change, he calls it the chitter. It helped him on his way to setting a major league record of 13 consecutive strikeouts in May.