The Story Behind Craig Kimbrel's Sudden and Bizarre Decline

[@jacobschloneger443]

As a cubs fan it’s really weird to look back and see that he could actually throw strikes

[@MorgenBaird_888]

Same!

[@kcgamers2435]

CombineEdits ya he is so bad now

[@brandonbouchez7195]

As a Cubs fan, this man makes me sad. Very sad

[@maxlawson8954]

Same he sucks now

[@gforce97]

He needs a change in environment! The cubs pitching and bullpen staff arent allowing him to be himself and its the reason why their bullpen is bad and it will show towards the end of the season or postseason

[@taylorwinslette8061]

I remember watching him in Atlanta and it was almost always a lock when they showed that bullpen door open and Welcome to the Jungle started playing. It’s so sad to see what he’s turned into over the last couple seasons.

[@zassassin4950]

Yea...😭

[@codeecomah5920]

He gave up his best years in Atlanta... sad. At least in Boston he had a sorta return to form. Got a RING.

[@hmhm856]

I never imagined that after Smoltz, ATL was gonna find another elite closer ever. Man, Kimbrel was awesome.

[@jesposito4266]

Best of all time made me laugh, Mariano Rivera thinks that's cute..

[@taylorwinslette8061]

@@jesposito4266 as far as I know, nobody said he was the best of all time. Of course Mo is the greatest closer ever

[@cadenr06]

He should use his large ass contract and pay the medical bills for all the heart attacks he gave Red Sox fans in 2018

[@aaoflames3294]

cadenr06 Hahaha. That is so true!

[@mikelynch7271]

Great Point !!

[@phillyphan2938]

2021: One of the best relief pitchers in baseball, again

[@cro4194]

been terrible for the Wsox

[@smoothkid765]

For whatever reason they wanted him to develop a change up. The change up helped him develop a bad habit to drop his arm angle that carried over into his curve ball delivery. That threw the curve ball off the plate significantly and much more inconsistent of a pitch. Get behind in the count when you can't locate your second pitch and they can hone on the fastball. Fastballs are easy to hit 2-1, 3-1. Not so much at 0-2.

[@turnerstout9631]

who’s here when he’s back to the best closer in baseball now

[@cubzrulz]

I commented when this video came out he was going to be Darvish 2.0. He was trash but slowly would get into top notch mode.

[@dio696]

Noone, hader is the best closer in baseball

[@dio696]

@JOHN TOMAC hendriks only throws an inning, it isn't rare to see Hader pitch the final 2 innings and he gives up WAY fewer home runs

[@brocksasser7450]

*Chapman*

[@dio696]

@@brocksasser7450 chapman isn't even on the same level as hendriks and hader anymore

[@DylanQuitoriano]

I’ve always believed that the biggest factor is: in his prime only him and Chapman were the two main arms lighting up the radar gun. Now pretty much almost every pitcher is throwing 96+ with movement

[@MikeNapoli1989]

Agreed. Pitchers are a lot bigger and stronger now compared to last decade.

[@pliskin8116]

Very few relievers use low velo fastballs n they usually aren’t successful….look at his opposite in Liam hendriks … his velo increased to 98-100 with a wicked slider at about 90 mph wen in top form…he reinvented himself into an all star closer. Kimbrell is still good but hendriks is another animal

[@pochinesky]

Craig Kimbrel: Padre Legend

[@rocknrallsoul94rockero4]

🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@glusur76]

@@rocknrallsoul94rockero4 ??? What's so funny

[@rocknrallsoul94rockero4]

@@glusur76 He only played in SD for a season

[@glusur76]

@@rocknrallsoul94rockero4 true lol

[@johnbahler]

Do you want him back?

[@cubzrulz]

I commented 9 months ago that like Darvish, Kimbrel would return to proper form after 2 years. I was right you were wrong.

[@brandonmilligan7706]

Tommy Hottovy is incredible

[@CT-1255]

Darvish is having the worst season of his career

[@yankmyass]

Darvish was literally only good with sticky stuff

[@diemrcupcake]

Only in the first half he is terrible again.

[@starblitz_999]

Well now your wrong.

[@shermanngjazz]

He's back to elite form lol

[@papas_ash]

he’ll be in the hall of fame for the braves

[@JoseFlores-xh5cj]

What a terrible hall, who wants their picture in the same hall with Hank Aaron

[@papas_ash]

Jose Flores lol

[@izzyk15]

Jose Flores what’s that supposed to mean?

[@JoseFlores-xh5cj]

@@izzyk15 The comment seems like the Atlanta Braves hall of fame is a joke, my response was sarcasm as who would want to be in the same hall of fame with one of the greatest baseball players in history.

[@jdzeeb]

first 26 appearances of 2021 he has a 0.69 ERA 0.69 WHIP 16 Saves through 26.0 innings

[@Jrose11]

This was an amazing video! I love the way you broke down everything statistically and methodically, was a really fun watch. I know it's been mentioned by others, but Wade Davis was darn near uninhabitable on KC and now, well, I'm not sure he's major league quality. I'd love to hear about why he's had such a hard time lately. Is it just Coors, age, or something else? Nonetheless great video!

[@MH_0015]

Weird seeing you here, but nice.

[@DodgeChallengerRT]

No fucking way yo its Jrose! Your vids are legit bro!

[@mrmister1335]

he back, with vengeance

[@aquafydos]

Someone needs to send this to Ross on Twitter or something

[@gforce97]

I dont know cases where coaches or players listen to their fanbase about how to improve their performance or style of play, well lets see if he considers this.

[@SnipeyGaming]

Bryan Gonzalez Thats because they fan base 99% of the time is completely wrong. Not only is the fan base obviously not as experienced as a manager or coach but also don’t work with the player 1 on 1. You can’t just say oh change this when you’ve never even asked the dude his thoughts. And as mentioned previously managers and coaches do this for a living I’m pretty sure they’re gonna be better at finding what’s wrong with someone than a bunch of casual fans of the game.

[@mistaTVD3199]

@@SnipeyGaming exactly. Simply saying Kimbrel needs to add movement to his fastball and this will fix him is a lot easier said than done.

[@Bensaw11]

There’s a reason Sox fans nicknamed him Kardiac Kimbrel. He gave us a heart attack every time he took the mound.

[@zassassin4950]

Bensaw11 hahahahah lol

[@briangarcia5567]

That's how I feel as a Yankees fan, everytime Chapman comes out of the pen, knowing he's about to walk the bases full in a 2-run game, then end it with 3 strikeouts lol. Edit: Or give up a walkoff home run on a 102 mph curveball.

[@Bensaw11]

Brian Garcia You never know what you’re going to get with Chapman haha

[@clash5j]

"Everyone is bound to regress at some point" - Mariano Rivera would like to have a word with you

[@sammorse1673]

I remember watching this guy pitch for the Sox and seeing the warning signs. Underwhelming fastball control and hanging curves. This was only a matter of time

[@aaacomp1]

Yup, saw the writing on the wall with him. That's why I wasn't upset when they didn't re sign him. He's been trying to fool hitters with the breaking ball out of the zone, and they just wont bite.

[@sammorse1673]

Sabian Vorachev Well in the games I watched I literally remember thinking to myself “that’s a curveball right down the middle if he keeps doing that he’s gonna give up a nuke.” It seemed like the batters were fooled by it a lot because of the speed difference

[@WK-bo6qv]

Backyard Football League Cardiac Craig

[@emob9246]

As a yankee fan I could even see him declining. I believe he didn’t technically blow any saves in it, but he was bad in that 2018 postseason

[@WK-bo6qv]

Eimob _ Yes, he was good enough to just hold on and earn six saves but bad enough that he walked the bases loaded pretty much every time he pitched and allowed a run every other time he pitched. The fashion in which he earned the saves gave Red Sox fans heart attacks but the fact that he earned the saves gave his opponents’ fans heart attacks. Just not a fun time all around.

[@Jiltedin2007]

That’s O.K., we had him(Craig Kimbrel) long enough in Boston to bring us A World Series Ring. At times he was A Time Bomb, but there were moments when HE WAS CLUTCH WHEN IT MATTERED MOST!

[@jacoblarson4221]

This video didn’t age well…but it’s still super interesting!

[@DrPhilGoode]

I’m glad he’s “awful” now. Go Cubs

[@jacobrogers1505]

So when are you gonna do the updated version of this video??

[@certifiedhoodclassics6304]

Craig Kimbrel when he saw this And I took that personally...

[@loserxd8423]

this popped up into my recommended and i was shocked when i saw you only had 1k subs. Keep up the good work brotha

[@SportStorm23]

loserxd thanks man

[@Catcher34]

Same

[@rohanturnerr]

He only had 1k 2 weeks ago and now he’s at 5k? This guys growing fast

[@lukesander2079]

This video hasn’t aged quite so well

[@blackdeathgaming1351]

And now he’s one of the best closers again, a 2023 all star, and has perfect number of saves for the Phillies this season.

[@TheAnimalWolverine]

And he caused the Phillies to lose the lead in the game 4 which made the Phillies lose the series 😆

[@dillonmundy]

You should beat Foolish Baseball to the idea of a Rockies super bullpen failure (Shaw, McGee, Davis)

[@SportStorm23]

Dillon Mundy I tried connected Davis’ and Kimbrel’s declines in the same video, but I couldn’t really find anything. Still I definitely want to look more into what Rockies have been doing with their spending.

[@dillonmundy]

SportStorm I love the team to death, but free agent signing just hasn't been their strong suit. I'm glad Murphy is having a better year so far this year, but not signing DJ Lemahieu back really hurt

[@MorgenBaird_888]

As a cubs fan this guy is scary

[@MorgenBaird_888]

Thanks so much for the heart. I do not get these often

[@famguy218]

He is scary, but not for the other teams anymore. I hope he finds his form again

[@MorgenBaird_888]

@@famguy218 I do still think that he will get better

[@famguy218]

Morgen Baird I really hope so. I thought if he just fixed his mechanics he’d be ok. This vid makes me think otherwise. I just thought that long layoff after the 2018 season put him in a bad spot along with the long layoff because of covid

[@MorgenBaird_888]

@@famguy218 I was thinking it would be good for him this season to have a full one but he still this season did not get one.

[@derrickbennett671]

I've watched every inning of every cubs game this year cause thats what miserable fans do. It's so much to do with his location of both pitches. His last couple appearances he's used the curve to set up the fastball a lot and he's gotten more swings and misses on it. I hope its a sign of good things to come for him

[@SirAnthonyChirpsALot]

This content is fantastic! I'm shocked you don't have more views. Hopefully the algorithm will bless you

[@bonzi333]

Your channel is honestly excellent and im amazed you only have 5k subs. You are bound to have more man

[@mr.zeforume]

My God, now we might need a resurgence analysis. He. Is. Absolutely. DEALING.

[@a1gamer561]

Found this video And it felt like finding a gold mine. Great stuff man

[@billcosby668]

As relevant as ever now. I’d also like to include Aroldis Chapman, who physically cannot pitch anymore. Both him and Kimbrel have had the highest peaks as closers for years. Kimbrel’s decline has been steep, but Chapman’s has been even worse. And I don’t know if he can find it again.

[@WayOfKings]

I was upset but I understood why the Braves got rid of Kimbrel (beginning of a rebuild, what use is a closer?). But man his performances after made me feel like the Bravos dodged a bullet.

[@kimchifriedbass]

Great video! You should do Chris Davis next.

[@calebyoung5046]

Just by watching the braves clips, he had such a high spin rate on the 4seam riser

[@turdbasket5271]

Hello I’m from the future in 2021 and this did not age well

[@adamdavis4417]

The Braves knew exactly what was up. I was bummed when he left, boy that didn’t last long ..

[@ericlynch9560]

I remember seeing him start to lose it when he was down here in Atlanta. Didn't surprise me when Alex let him go. Didn't know any of those numbers, but it makes perfect sense.

[@htxthewild5553]

As an Astros fan even though I still hold a grudge, I'm just so surprised how he went from Legend to one of the worst, I always knew he was amazing but now he's just a former shell of himself

[@jamespatag8564]

he’s good again

[@sethsegal8333]

David Ross watching this video: WRITE THAT DOWN, WRITE THAT DOWN!!

[@matthewvanzandt6589]

He was SO good this year for the Cubs, I don't know what happened after he got traded though

[@lmnrz0814]

Well look at him now

[@LDQBBQ]

Great analysis. This all makes a lot of sense. Good job.

[@ryanberner04]

And now he’s back

[@mcmagiccracker]

Great hustle Mr. Storm

[@huddlelatestmedia7274]

im here and kimbrel's back to being a rock and has been splendid for CHC this szn

[@webinator9715]

So well researched and presented

[@cubpernicus]

I hope you come back to this. He got back to striking out 2+ batters an inning. Would love to see what he changed to finish out 2020 (probably throwing his curve down in the zone for strikes) Subscribed

[@BeefPapa]

Great video. Very complete. I'm not totally convinced pitchers are throwing harder today. I think the methodology for measuring speed has changed; making it tricky to compare. Speed guns now measures the ball coming out of the hand. If you pay attention to a game, watch the speed reading on the game ticker; it'll show before the ball reaches the plate. I think this makes a big difference since it assumes ball speed is constant throughout its trajectory.

[@alexanderanglin8160]

As a brewer fan kimbrel is my favorite cubs player, helped us win a lot of games in 2019 lol

[@MP-mp5vj]

how about now?

[@ChainsGoldMask]

Wild Thing! You make my heart sing!

[@daleftuprightatsoldierfield]

And he’s back to elite this year

[@fail.thunder]

Kimbrel is definitely a HOF pitcher

[@sportsfaniguess154]

Relievers have a really high standard, but he’s back on the right track.

[@swagerty91]

I remember when Kimbrel first came up and he was like a reverse copy of teammate Billy Wagner. Billy sustained a long and successful career, in addition to providing guidance to Craig- one would think Kimbrel would follow his footsteps in longevity... I have hopes he can re-invent (Rick Kranitz can do it!). Man he was so exciting to watch... Just as Billy was at age 38.

[@kyleherbert8257]

I personally think his problem is that he got to greedy for money, and signed to late into the season. If he had gone for less and started at a normal time I believe that he would have been all right, but he was out of the league for too long, and was so greedy for money that he caused his own downfall.

[@Pokefinch27]

From a braves fan it's really sad watching him now knowing what he used to be.

[@tavo22PTY]

i just find your channel, incredible content bro, keep it up!!!

[@Catcher34]

Very high quality video for such a small channel

[@trevorschmitt-ernst4813]

Haven't watches this channel in maybe a month or two, just saw this video with over 20k views and double the subscribers from before! Way to go! Also great video what a crazy story of Kimbrel

[@SportStorm23]

Trev dogg thank you!

[@trevorschmitt-ernst4813]

@@SportStorm23 Seriously great stuff! My brother and I always have wondered why Kimbrel is so bad now! Now I know!

[@samueljones7495]

As a cub fan, I've liked what I've seen from him lately. Yes the start of 2020 was a disaster and 2019 wasn't great, but he's been lights out for the past month and his velocity is back up to 98. I don't think he will be what he was on the Braves but I think if he can continue to do what he's doing now he can at least be what he was on San Diego. Which is all we need.

[@kenhudak2950]

What a great video. Very well done.

[@Sky_0413]

I’ve just started watching your videos and was wondering if you could make a video on Jason Kendall. Personally I believe he is one of the most underrated catchers in the game and wanted to know your thoughts on his career

[@lchang1326]

Agreed

[@WameisJinston]

Did anyone else see the royals fans cheer when their player struck out at 7:30 ?

[@BarryJowers]

His last 4 outings we've been seeing glimpses of the old Kimbrel whatever issues he was having whether it was mechanical, mental or a combination of both he looks to be on the right track. In those appearances he's pitched 3.2 innings 0 Hits 3 Walks 9 strikeouts with no runs allowed.

[@Catcher34]

Honestly though some thing that could have contributed to this is the late signing I mean name be a relief pitcher that has any success when being signed right before the season. And no I am not saying he would would be back at form if he signed early but he gotten thrown into the fire lost his mojo which is huge for a reliever and sped up his decline.

[@redfern2236]

But then in 2021, Kimbrel returned to what he was earlier in the early 2010s, posting an ERA, (so far, as of June 14 2021) of 0.68 with the Cubs.

[@AMAZSPIDEY]

Let's see how the rest of 2021 finish may need to add comeback year.

[@LTR1420]

I hope he finds some magic again. I played against him all through high school, so it was really cool to see someone from my hometown being so good in the league.

[@mchou880]

Hopefully Ross and Cubs pitching coach and learn from your video and use that to fix Kimbrel's past struggles, hope that will make him the guy to go back to his young days with the Braves.

[@YOUNGALEX207]

Great content 👍🏻 really like this channel

[@meola53]

In his last two outings this past week, he has done beautifully. On Wednesday, he struck out the side in the last inning!

[@ChiefBlue4298]

I saw the signs in Boston, he was shaky during the 2018 postseason. And it showed big time in Chicago now

[@marbury77]

Great video. Tons of great info and impressive research on Kimbrel. I will be a new subscriber!!

[@HomeStudioBasics]

Wondering if you could do a video on the 2020 Braves and the epic meltdown in the LCS.

[@hellsinvader]

Aaaaaaaaye a fellow OOTP player. My most notable achievements on that game are getting my Nats to the WS in 2019 and somehoe getting Britton for Barraclough

[@davidcrow3101]

The shelf life of an MLB closer is about a season to a season and a half. Most closers will have one spectacular season and then flame out. Some manage to stick around for a few years, but the vast majority are around just long enough to get a closer contract and then it becomes a white-knuckle ride every time they get to the mound. Typically they're two-pitch type pitchers. Usually it's a big fastball and some kind of "out" pitch like a nasty breaking ball or a cutter. If they had a third pitch they'd be starters. Over the course of 162 games they'll average about 68 to 70 relief appearances. During those appearances the professional MLB hitters are observing and watching film looking for patterns etc. Once they learn to recognize the "out" pitch or a pitching pattern they stop swinging at the "out" pitch and then it's just a matter of timing up the fastball, which all MLB hitters will eventually do no matter how fast it is. This speaks to how amazing Mariano Rivera really was. He threw a four seam fastball at around a 93 MPH average (good but not the 95+ type gas the usual closer has) and a cut fastball that averaged around 91 MPH. He threw the cutter for outs and everyone in the ballpark knew it was coming yet no one could barrel it up and he got everyone out for almost twenty years. I told my friends who were Yankee's fans when he retired, "now you're going to learn what the rest of the league feels when the "closer" comes into the game. For 20 years all you had to do was play Enter Sandman and, like clockwork, three outs later all the Yankee's fans went home happy." (Ask the Mets fans about how they feel when their "closer" Edwin Diaz starts for the mount. For one year with the Mariners and the guy is unhittable. Move him to the Mets with a big contract and now he's king of the blown save). With all that as a given, Craig Kimbrel had a very successful career as an MLB closer compared to most.

[@Higs8091]

This is exactly what I theorized about him without knowing all the stats; namely that his fastball command is not very good and he tries to get hitters to swing at his slider (not curveball) when he gets into trouble i.e. behind in the count. Also, his arm slot is very different now compared to what it was when he was successful and hopefully that's what the Cubs are talking about when they say it's "something mechanical" that he needs to fix. He actually looked good last night when he came in and it's a sign of more good things to come.

[@TheMisterthoms]

Great advice. Push for more movement on his fastball. How novel.

[@rtyable]

League caught up to him in that his mph no longer stands out and he never adjusted. Never picked up a new pitch or increased command.

[@AlexCliffordtheguitreg]

As a sox fan, watching 2018 post season Kimbrel was basically let's hold our breath and hope he can make it through the inning. He's gotta add something to his repertoire or he's done.

[@bmlooh193-z4o]

well this is weird

[@nadserellie69]

Bruh. The fact that you only have 16k subs is a travesty. Keep up the good work, great vids.

[@SportStorm23]

thank you!

[@arthursmith7694]

What if Rossy saw this video, showed Kimbrel & he cleaned it up. His last couple outings looked good, he finally recorded a save looking like the Kimbrel of old yesterday (8/19/20). The broadcast mentioned he is adding a change up to his repertoire

[@pliskin8116]

This hasn’t aged well…kimbrel is now wearing a diff color pair of sox…the White Sox…and kimbrel is back to dominate

[@remingtonbianchi9866]

He was on pace to become the second best closer in league history (by saves) during his age 30 season. Wack.

[@nox1ck589]

Iam happy to see now Craig is back to his elite form this year

[@turdfergusonoutdoors5070]

I loved Kimbrel when he was in ATL and wondered why they would let him go elsewhere...maybe they knew something we didnt

[@jakobwedel3168]

And now he's untouchable...

[@stashuu]

Nice video

[@SportStorm23]

Stashuu thanks!

[@stashuu]

SportStorm np you’re really underrated

[@samluttrell6961]

5:04 chris paddack is my second cousin :)

[@reedermh]

Closers seem to either do extremely well long term (Mariano, Trevor) or flame out (Neftali Feliz was the 2010 AL ROY but in 2011 was a shell of himself; Nelson Cruz gets blamed for the Rangers Game 6 collapse but how is a scrub infielder hitting the ball all the way to the fence except the pitcher is throwing what amounts to batting practice?)

[@MrBerg4ever]

This is ironic cause in my MLB the Show franshice I've played since 2019, it's 2022 and he started to decline after 2020. He went from a 95 rating to a 85 rating in a season and is still declining. Also the CPU won't put him as a closer either haha.

[@TheUpTownFan]

He needs to add a splitter and change up. Still throws hard enough to be effective. He should talk to the professor AKA Kyle Hendricks. Felix Hernandez started throwing change ups later in his career when he lost velocity and it worked for him

[@kennethpierson82]

Looking back, the ball changes have been notable and it is building into a huge conflict . Mlb taking over rawlings, etc The ball surface has changed dramatically since, I'm not exactly sure. But I can set this being a thing. Because that *could* impact location.

[@i.theworstguys298]

I’m a White Sox fan and seeing Kimbrel get lit the hell up even made me a bit sad. He made relieving look so cool when he was with the Braves and now he’s just been super hard to watch.

[@Lolord322]

Great vid dude

[@franklange7692]

Cubs fan here they need to send him on down the road..I think we could get 2 maybe 3 more player able to help make us another run towards the series..

[@cubzrulz]

Idk man it took Darvish a long time once he was with the Cubs to get it back together. Everyone said I was being overly optimistic and unrealistic. I have faith he can get it back together.