The SWEEPER: What is this HOT NEW Pitch Type that's thrown by Shohei Ohtani & other MLB Pitchers!

[@mcmann7149]

This combines two interests of mine, aerodynamics and Baseball. Imagine what stuff you could do if you really wanted to push the limits of drag and lift on a pitch.

[@PitchingNinjaVideos]

Love it!

[@HoratioNegersky]

If the human wrist had just one more degree of freedom...

[@Dudeman9339]

Imagine assuming that pitchers arent already pushing those limits.

[@mcmann7149]

@@Dudeman9339 With advances in sports medicine, I wouldn't be surprised if in the future, we do get people who can manipulate the ball in ways we can't today.

[@ethanniedorowski116]

You'd get Trevor B. A skinny kid that got smarter then the baseball ⚾️ (Love or hate him) im talking pitching a art 🎨 ✨️ 👌

[@KC-bg1th]

The 'Slurve' is this pitch in MLB The Show. They also have a 'Sweeping Curve' which is a less pronounced Sweeper with more vertical break. It's my favourite pitch because it hovers outside of the zone for so long and then falls back into the inside edge of the strike zone, or in the zone to outside of it.

[@TeemoQuinton]

Yup, and thats all it is IRL too. A sweeper doesnt exist. Its just a slurve called hy another name by people wanting rename the wheel

[@Just_Lionz]

@@TeemoQuinton not really because a slurve is a slider grip thrown like a curveball a sweeper like luetge explained is a 2seam like grip thrown like a curveball. But gets classified as a slider because it moves like one

[@teclishighloremasterofhoet7488]

@@Just_Lionz if you say the word slurve around some players, they will throw you out the dugout lol. People have been playing the name game for years

[@marcuswilliams7512]

Lmao if that's your favorite pitch you are a terrible pitcher. start using 4seam, Splitter, 12/6, slow Slider

[@TeemoQuinton]

@Marcus Williams lmaobl imagine knowing nothing. The pitch type doesn't make it good. If it did, everybody would throw cutters for example. The sweeper still doesn't exist. Its litwrally just the slurve

[@andrewjacks2716]

It's so cool to see developments in science and the technology available to athletes and coaches result in both changes to how we understand what is happening in baseball and to how baseball is played. What a terrific time to be a baseball fan!

[@emmanuela7528]

I thought it was just a slider with a ton of horizontal break. I’m a baseball newbie, so I use the clock system to identify pitches and a slider to me is a 1-7 break. The sweeper is more of a 2-8: less vertical and more angled horizontal. Like between 30 and 45° instead of a slider’s 60-75°. It’s now probably my second favourite pitch after the two-seam fastball. Thanks for the breakdown.

[@TeemoQuinton]

Yup. Its called a slurve and has existed for ages.

[@UnknownRaven0]

@@TeemoQuinton I was gonna say it’s just a slurve

[@TeemoQuinton]

@Josh Beavers Ninja and co just wanna rewrite history bruh. Keep that mindset up, can't let it happen.

[@TeemoQuinton]

@Dixonc42 a curve is vertical, a slider is diagonal, a slurve is horizontal. A sweeper is a slurve.

[@scottandvon]

Slurve. Mark Clear pitched for the Red Sox in the early '80's. That pitch had incredible movement.

[@Tyanmax99]

The Horse

[@pikaachoo3888]

Would love a follow up video discussing Seam Shifted wake in general or Seam shifted versions of other pitches. This new concept is so interesting to me after stumbling into it while trying to recreate that one ufo splitter that I accidentally threw in a bullpen that ran as if it had rocket thrusters pushing it side ways 🤣🤮

[@Jets999]

he has an interview on his channel about sean shifted wake it's the prof. barton smith interview

[@aljon5947]

u don really need to know the aerodynamics behind it. The important thing is knowing the seam orientation for it to occur.

[@Mr.Doge26]

Thanks alot for this cool video. Could you make breakdowns for other pitches (changeups, fastballs, splitters etc.) similar videos just different pitches like this one.

[@PitchingNinjaVideos]

Yep! Will do when I have some time.

[@wattsnex2725]

Great stuff…I appreciate that you explain that this isn’t new, but this is what’s happening here. Playing College baseball in the 90’s everyone threw the slider and soft slider/frisbee/sweeper. Largely because of John Smoltz who would take something off his slider and come around it a bit more. When i got to minor league baseball, the height of the seams made it challenging to manipulate it the same way unless you had elite hand speed. A long time pro named Michel LaPlante used to throw all of his pitches with a two seam grip. FB, curve, slider, change. He focused on getting the ball to escape off his middle finger or between the index and thumb.

[@PitchingNinjaVideos]

The science though is absolutely new and the way pitchers now can replicate it vs. trial and error. It's about getting the seams to be positioned in the right orientation to create a "wake" behind the ball vs. relying on 1 specific grip you picked up that may or may not work for any given pitcher

[@wattsnex2725]

@@PitchingNinjaVideos yeah its very cool. I mean the science isn’t necessarily knew, it’s just measurable and more understood now because we have better tools. That makes it something that can be taught or implemented with the right strategy. We didn’t understand these concepts before, mostly because we didn’t have the measuring tools or the mindset for learning. But these concepts go all the way back to Lyman Briggs. There will still be some who can, and some who can’t execute, but it definitely has a place as a mire “defined” pitch. I can watch vids like that all day!

[@KurageHikari]

As a physics student who just got into baseball and know nothing about pitch types, I really enjoyed your video.

[@joshuapatrick682]

Also thanks for clarifying because every time ive heard an analyst say “sweeper” I couldn’t tell the difference in movement from a slider. Btw slurve was a popular designation for this pitch 20 years ago I think, it could be a different pitch though.

[@Maverick7613]

They are different pitches, despite what some folks are blabbering on about in these comments about 'names change'. A slurve is a pitch held in a slider grip (fingers together, off-center, seam-gripped to pull for rotation), but thrown with curve ball arm action (wrist snap). A sweeper is a pitch held with a 2FB grip (fingers either together, or slightly split, along the narrow lanes where the seams come to the ball's logo) and thrown with curve ball arm action. Slurve's tend to have more vertical drop to them, as the combination of a slider's off-center grip and the torque required for a curve throw don't allow for it to have as much velocity, whereas the tighter, conventional grip on a sweeper allows for more arm power and spin to be transmitted through the throwing motion allowing the ball to remain elevated longer and to break side to side farther.

[@CallMeP5ycho]

Now all these years after leaving college baseball from two arm surgeries, I couldve finally described my "slurve but not a slurve vs slider" difference better to catchers than just saying one is slower and moves more. Turns out I was throwing a damn sweeper and a slider

[@TeemoQuinton]

Or... its a slurve for one and a slider the other. The sweeper is just a modern rebrand of the slurve. It annoys me greatly

[@Efilnikufesin76]

Oof, trust me, I know the feeling. Playing D1 for a top 20 team and finally making my bones in my sophomore year after being wild as hell freshman year. Fracture my elbow while pitching in fall ball while doing really well. Even struck the guy out on the pitch. Out for the year. Come back the next season pushing myself too fast and tear my labrum and supraspinatus. Never the same after.

[@bingboone9474]

Nah, you were throwing a slurve as all these examples in this video are just slurves…. And have been rebranded…. Like Dice K. Nothing new.

[@Efilnikufesin76]

@@bingboone9474 I don't think you have any idea what you are talking about, and I bet you could not give me a definition of what differentiates them. Please do enlighten me.

[@bingboone9474]

@@Efilnikufesin76 Google is your friend. I also was not replying to you “Mr. D1” pitcher Hahahaha

[@jamesaaron7211]

Stieb’s slider’s the best I’ve ever seen, ridiculous movement.

[@rpsnider85]

Yu Darvish has some of the nastiest shit I've ever seen. Dude can throw so many different pitches at different speeds and disguise them all to look like his delivery of everything else and that's messed up when you think you're getting a 95mph heater that breaks towards you as a righty and then the damn thing beyblade's itself off the plate behind where a lefty would be standing. And HE is giving Shohei, who is already disgusting with it, tuition on pitches? Man...Shohei is going to end up with. 027 BAA one of these seasons lol.

[@VanellaSchnellaDACRU]

Man, I loved science class growing up, but I also love just grabbing a baseball and throwing out 1000 different ways to see what it would do

[@FFdez-hr4yk]

During the 20 k outing I think I saw one from Kerry Wood that was like that. Nasty. Like some of Brash's stuff. It's almost alive, like early Matt Mantei fastballs with the Marlins. Just electric stuff.

[@PitchingNinjaVideos]

100%

[@benwyattjr]

This is what I thought of too. Wood’s slider basically jumped sideways right in front of the plate. Filthy.

[@the-golden-god]

Hey mate, as a person still learning pitches I've found the stadium's camera angle can be a big part! When the camera is not straight and kind of .... 10 feet to the right... when a left handed pitcher is pitching it makes the ball look SO WEIRD. What's your favorite camera angle?

[@mmclaurin8035]

This pitch is what I always imagined a curveball to be in my head.

[@29Braiden]

That the exact grip and action that I used to throw when I played in Rep. ball back in the 90s.

[@dannyrivera8300]

Really enjoying watching variations to different pitches like Senga's Ghost fork as well ... I'd really like to see the knuckleball come back

[@joshuapatrick682]

So Bauer seam shifts for his cutter if I’m not mistaken. Maybe all pitchers do but he’s the only one I’ve ever heard explain it.

[@redflyman4658]

Just curious, what’s the difference between a Sweeper and a Sweeping Curve? I’m still new to this stuff and trying to learn how to distinguish differences between similar pitch types. (My apologies if someone already asked, I haven’t scrolled through comments yet)

[@Gyxyeg]

I’m guessing that it has more vertical movement than a sweeper

[@RangeSniper23]

This is how I threw my slider in high school. I was a side arm pitcher so I just went with the theory of it had more horizontal movement because I was throwing horizontal. My curveball would be what a traditional slider looks like with some horizontal movement with vertical drop.

[@billmalec]

We called it a sidearm curve back in the day. It was my 'out pitch'. I combined it with a screwball and batters didn't know which was coming.

[@Draconisrex1]

The sweeper is just one of pitches in the slider family. Sergio Romo used to call it his 'Frisbee Slider.'

[@CatStevens-qd8il]

Randy Johnson's slider was filthy filthy filthy .,.I was blessed to sit behind home plate at Yankee stadium 🏟️ when he pitched? That pitch would make hitters flinch...looked like it was gonna beam them for sure!

[@zeekwolfe6251]

Gaylord Perry was throwing this pitch 50 years ago. Vin Scully, Dodger broadcaster, called it a "flat curve." Perry's 'sweeper' had the movement sometimes of a wiffle ball. That pitch and his spit ball got him into the Hall of Fame.

[@markdubois4882]

My 32-38 mph corkscrew: Sideways version of the screwball with lift and tons of spin. Lots of movement, first rising and going away from a righty (I'm a lefty), then comes down and breaks hard towards the batter.

[@benjaminwiner6220]

Cutter - fastball with sharp-late lateral break (3-9 rhp) Slutter - cutter with more slider-esque break (2-8 rhp) --------------- Sweeping slider - most lateral slider (3-9 break rhp) Slider - diagonal break (2-8 rhp) Slurve - with most vertical slider (1-7 rhp) --------------- Sweeping curve (2-8 rhp) Curveball (1-7 rhp) 12-6 curveball (12-6 rhp)

[@wishdeus]

Then the knuckleball takes all those physics we use for seam wake and magnus effect and says hold my beer lol

[@Bsk8erzero]

Is the "Sweeper" the same as the "Slurve" (Slider + Curveball)?

[@goroshigeno4129]

the sweeper is basically a Vertical slider or more known in japan like V.Slider

[@dumpnchase]

This is fascinating stuff. Thanks for it.

[@brentdonhauser]

Man you wanna see a slider watch Randy Johnson’s or Kerry Woods it will blow your mind.

[@lonewolf2point069]

I was watching a game this morning (I dvr all my tv so I don't know when it actually was) it was nats vs angles. There was a reliever for the nats that was throwing one of these but I didn't get his name. The scoreboard kept saying "unknown" for the pitch. It was kinda funny.

[@panthersfan3168]

Is the sweeper another name for the slurve? Or is it a sweeping curve? I’m so confused lol

[@chihayaayase1299]

Serious question. Is it normal for pitchers to discuss about their pitching know-how on tv or with other players? Like their grips, motion or ball movement. I just assumed it’s like revealing your cards to enemies. Especially in MLB everything is datafied. Aren’t they scared opponents will study and target the pitch? I’m noobs bout baseball so I don’t understand. Can someone kindly explain

[@humanperson7198]

all the data is already out there and public so talking about it doesn’t give opponents any sort of advantage

[@chihayaayase1299]

I see. Thank u for replying

[@monkmoore]

The magnus effect can create a sweeper movement also if it’s spinning like a curve on its side. I’d hesitate to say all sweepers are because of a SSW like in the vid.

[@ussbridgefour4666]

I love people being confused about it cause it's funny, especially with the knowledge that these are some of the principles of bob gibson's slider right? At least from the clip of him explaining grip and how he threw it.

[@PitchingNinjaVideos]

The key now is understanding WHY it moves the way it does. That makes it able to be replicated. Just knowing a grip doesn't help without that, since everyone has different releases, arm angles, etc. If you hold the ball the way Gibson did, you're unlikely to get that kind of movement, for that reason.

[@ussbridgefour4666]

@@PitchingNinjaVideos absolutely I find this stuff fascinating.

[@samore11]

Where/how do you see that page on Baseball Savant shown at 4:17?

[@PitchingNinjaVideos]

baseballsavant.mlb.com/leaderboard/spin-direction-pitches

[@tiorio7553]

that’s funny because i was at the a’s game on opening day, and the guys behind couldn’t stop laughing at the fact that they displayed some of ohtanis pitches as a sweeper, turns out they were just unaware of it

[@TTony-tu6dm]

Used to be called a slurve. Slider break with the velocity of a curve

[@Katsos44]

If it breaks down and away it’s a slider, emphasis on horizontal movement, that’s a sweeper, emphasis on vertical break it’s either a gryo ball or a curveball thrown with a slider grip, emphasis on a lotta both (Julio Urias and Rich Hill) that’s a Slurve. But they are ALL sliders (also if speed is the emphasis is MIGHT be a Slutter)

[@lordloquat]

So is this what some have coined the "Dodger" slider? Is that more of a slurve or is this what a slurve is? I'm even more confused when you throw sweeping curve in the mix, but it's all semantics anyway, albeit very interesting.

[@m.o.5291]

Old video I know. But what do we call ball with mostly sidespin now? Like Randy Johnson his slider. Following the logic it would be a curve now.. which is strange

[@robertgaumont5446]

How is this different from a curve/slider thrown from a more horizontal arm slot? I feel like David Cone was throwing those a lot.

[@Jono.]

Cool video! I wanted to know after I saw it on Ohtani's stat card on savant. All of this after watching an "identifying pitches video" so we're down the rabbit hole now.

[@BlueRad90]

A variation of Slider which moves and runs significantly more than the regular Slider.

[@TAKE2andPASS]

0:11 was that Dave Stieb he had a nasty as pitch right there....Bert Blyleven had something similar i think....maybe it was a curve ball but still nasty as hell....😮

[@KGBASEBALL]

It’s just a slight variation on a slider. The same way there are 12-6 curveballs and curveballs with a little more horizontal movement.

[@PitchingNinjaVideos]

If you watched the video, you'd know what I said. It's a variation of the slider designed to have more horizontal movement, due to a newly discovered scientific effect that was recently discovered

[@AlexZander688]

In the past, I remember this pitch being called the Slurve. A pitch that has some characteristics of the slider and curve. ...What I don't like is when pitchers try to throw this and it has no downward-diagonal movement. Then it just sits on the same plane and often ends up a meat ball right in the hitters hot zone. Justin Lawrence of the Rockies is a prime example. He tries to throw this pitch from near sidearm angle and it has no downward-diagonal movement. And he has horrible control of his sweeper.

[@calistudent6335]

20 years ago when I was a kid watching MLB, a "slider" was mostly horizontal and a slurve was diagonal and moved less. Seems like the definitions switched and today's sweeper is the slider of yesterday.

[@Efilnikufesin76]

If anyone is looking to throw this pitch. A very simple way to do it is to take a two seam or four seam fastball, but release it like a football, i.e. thumb facing your ear and index and middle (had to edit, I said thumb instead of middle originally) on opposite side. Sweeper idk, it was taught to me as a slider that puts less stress on your arm. Can throw it pretty hard hard.

[@PitchingNinjaVideos]

The grip is going to vary for everyone. The key to a sweeper is the seam orientation as it travels to the plate (the seams have to be in a very particular place) and it depends on a lot, including arm angle, release, finger length, grip, etc. That's why teams spend so much time and money trying to get it right, using slow mo cameras, trackman etc.

[@Efilnikufesin76]

@@PitchingNinjaVideos Was just informing those who may want to try a simple and very easy on the arm way to attempt it. Not everyone has access to the tools listed above, and is a very easy way to test it out having a catch with friends if you are a younger pitcher. Ps: To add, at least the way I threw the ball, maybe a bit between overhand and 3/4, gripping it like a 4 seam fastball seemed to have more horizontal movement, and gripping it like a 2 seam seemed to have more vertical drop.

[@Efilnikufesin76]

You can also adjust your grip on the seams and have your fingers grip hard into the two or four seam or straight across them and get different movement.

[@christopherfox7964]

I remember growing up in the 90s in medium sized cities and the pitchers trying to guess and/or figure out how to get the ball to move and then trying to match others...and how frustrating a grip difference or arm angle made the movement change.

[@baseballMMAgames]

I threw a 2 seam fastball once in a game way back in teener league baseball. Overhand arm slot and it ran from the right handed batters box to the left handed batters box and I was just trying to throw it straight. I don't know if something was wrong with the ball but I've never been able to do that again in my life and that was 25+ years ago 😂

[@Unknown-ih7pq]

Yeah I usually take the horizontal and vertical movement chart from BrooksBaseball and measure the degrees of tilt on the sliders. So for Ohtani’s 3/30/2023 game the most horizontal slider/sweeper was 60° and the most vertical one was 41° my 0° would be the 6 O’clock position.

[@nicholasfrench4374]

Your stuff is gold, Ninja.

[@NoUploadJustComment]

Is Ottavino’s horizontal slider a sweeper?

[@PitchingNinjaVideos]

Yep!

[@element720]

GREAT segment

[@aaronbone4572]

Charlie Morton throws what looks like a nasty sweeper with a knuckle curve grip, so it's technically a curve ball but he has so much spin that combined with his arm slot and action it plays like (and he uses it as) a sweeper.

[@jackpougher6866]

I’m pretty sure it has more vertical movement then a sweeper, which is why people call it a curveball, I could be wrong

[@michaelheu6303]

I totally threw this pitch when I played. It move a lot horizontally but because it wasn't a traditional sinking slider my coach though it was trash. Never got a chance to develop it and relied on 12-6 curveball. Makes me a little sad knowing that it is a popular MLB pitch currently.

[@disgruntledtaco3640]

“Hold ball, throw ball” 😂

[@TheGuyPaddylongname]

To clarify is this different than a slurve aka a slider mixed with a curveball? Never heard of the sweeper before honestly.

[@EdwardCabreraGoat]

Hey pitching ninja which pitcher has your favorite sweeper

[@PitchingNinjaVideos]

Right now it's probably Shohei's Sweeper. It's also one of the most valuable pitches in baseball in terms of run prevention.

[@csome2]

Thank you for explaining. I know I will forget it. I can used this on my mlb the show 2023. 😊

[@oggiggs]

1:51 Is just absolutely nutty

[@jamesoliver6625]

Iy's like a slurve with a dropped arm angle which changes the rotation axis. Mexican League has guys with about 20 versions of it.

[@drago5366]

Whats the comparison of a slurve versus sliders and sweepers?

[@PitchingNinjaVideos]

Slurve has more depth/drop...not designed to go straight horizontally

[@crsantin]

You were right to show Stieb’s slider. Best slider in the history of baseball.

[@nosupplz]

Seems like a lot of pitchers use the "throw it like a curveball" cue for the sweeper. Besides the difference in movement, is a sweeper not just a curveball thrown with a 2-seam grip?

[@PitchingNinjaVideos]

It has to be at almost the exact correct angle. Just a two seam grip doesn't necessarily work. It all depends on the release, arm angle, etc for the seam shifted wake effect to take place. Can't just copy a single grip

[@nosupplz]

@@PitchingNinjaVideos Ah, thanks! This disconnect has been in my mind for a while and that really clears things up.

[@g_the_p]

What site or tool is the table used at 4:18?

[@aljon5947]

he literally said it. baseballsavant statistics

[@bobfystro4935]

Slurve. Got my school paid for throwing it.

[@parkerfriend4]

Hey, i’m a 16 year old pitcher and I throw a slider and i’ve been getting the same type of movement on my slider but my grip is nothing like that I hold it with my pointer and middle finger together and my thumb on the bottom of the ball on a seam. I also put pressure on my thumb and my middle finger. But i don’t hold it like a 2 seam which makes no sense to me. Can you maybe clarify that for me?

[@matt909er]

Thats a slurve. It’s essentially just a faster curveball with more pressure put on the seems giving a faster rate of spin. I use to throw that in high school

[@emmanuela7528]

I like that Lucas Luetge dude that just doesn’t know why the ball moves the way it does.

[@stoneyj1a1]

Its great, but its hard to find videos on how to hit these sliders

[@HOTPLATEGAMING]

To sum it up, simplified Slider: Slides to the plate Sweeper: Sweeps to the plate

[@seanwallace89]

Sidearm to 3/4 angle slider isn't a new pitch. It was my strikeout pitch all through high school like 12 years ago. I even held it the same on the laces but my fingers were together. Throw it almost as hard as my fastball and it had a wicked and huge late break

[@sampleoffers1978]

If it's new science just apply it to the change up grip because the vertical slider/cutter chews through their arms a couple times through league.

[@nahmanlol9216]

What's the difference between a Slurve and a Sweeper?

[@PitchingNinjaVideos]

A slurve has more depth like a curveball, but also has some degree of horizontal movement. A sweeper is designed to be mostly horizontal with as little depth as possible.

[@TeemoQuinton]

There isnt one. Its the same pitch

[@dominicwanzer2057]

Loving the DAVE STIEB love here.

[@TBtheking405216]

Lmao at “Slutter”

[@nickluckovitch3288]

Would Chris Sale’s slider be considered a sweeper? And if not could he throw one?

[@PitchingNinjaVideos]

Sale's sweep has more to do with his arm angle...his slider doesn't really have that much horizontal break due to spin, it's more due to his low arm angle and position on the rubber. He could definitely throw one, but it'd be a different grip from what he throws now

[@jagoanneon722]

Cool explanation 🔥🔥👍🏻👍🏻

[@rustyknott-W.D]

AKA: "American Legion Curve". 'Nuff said. Just a new term for an old pitch, like "cutter". I was throwing that stuff, plus the "splitter" 50yrs ago. Worked like a charm, too! Don't believe me? Check out Greg Maddux.

[@willkase-jq1wz]

Do sweepers have more sided or gyro spin?

[@PitchingNinjaVideos]

Definitely some gyro spin but not bullet gyro spin like a lot of sliders

[@willkase-jq1wz]

@@PitchingNinjaVideos is the spin axis different?

[@aaron6402]

Awesome video!!!!!

[@sasda]

I have been a baseball fan for 17 years. So is a slutter simply a hanging slider? What's difference between a slurve and a sweeper? Slurves in 15 years ago were frowned upon because it isn't a true 6-12 curve that you can use it on both sided batters, and it isn't a slider with tight, sharp break. But sweepers seem to have both good movement & tight break and could be mirrored perfectly with change-ups.

[@IEatYouBabies]

a slutter is a combination of a slider and a cutter. more movement than a cutter, less movement than a slider. usually throw in the mid 90s with some left and downward movement by a righty. Degrom throws the best one. A slurve and a sweeper are the same thing, a combination of a curve and slider

[@putsomething]

That first one they show Ohtani throw is filthy

[@lou2056]

It's a slider. Saved you 8 min of your life.

[@user-ov4iv2nx7v]

Thanks man

[@PoloDavey]

This is why I love baseball

[@AFS-ht7bg]

Thank God you said it has been around

[@donaldzuramp4404]

Is the pitch that ohtani thrown against trout that struck him out is considered a sweeper?

[@Klocks420]

Jose Fernandez would be the KING of the sweeper if he was still around. His breaking ball was absolutely insane

[@gradyjones7017]

No, what? A sweeper is thrown with a two seam grip, not a curveball grip, and sweepers have a lot of gyro spin on them. The point of the sweeper isn’t to spin the ball perfectly sideways, it’s to create seam shifter wake

[@juicicles5881]

Slider plus cutter? Your bat is firewood! If you can even hit it. Both pitches are known for missing barrels. Nothing else moves anything like this. It is the two hardest things to hit put together into a Nightmare. That's why Dave Stieb is on top in the Nerdy, smart, designed to predict things off of stats in the 80s. Dude was Nasty as hell. Many people don't know him because they didnt see him destroy all the great hitters of his time

[@jwerdy5179]

For many years it was considered more effective to get a downward break on your slider. Recently, in the last decade, with advancement of technology/information, baseball has realized in the analytics that a horizontal break can be just as effective, if not more lethal, than a vertical break. Now we're seeing a phenomenon of pitchers switching their sliders to sweepers. It's the biggest trend in pitching, and it could be one of the causes of the strikeout crisis we're seeing in todays baseball

[@treenutperson4978]

Dave Stieb Mentioned 🎉🎉🎉

[@poindextertunes]

I know there was a pitcher for the Rockies that threw a wicked slurve 🔥 I think his name was Velasquez??

[@Win7ermu7e]

Dave Stieb had a wicked slider (sweeper?) combined with the brushback heat. My favorite Jay pitcher.

[@dominicwanzer2057]

Belongs in the HALL of FAME

[@DylanQuitoriano]

Prime Sergio Romo’s slider was so fun to watch every night

[@brycehawes38]

It’s unbelievable to me that Graham Ashcraft throws a sweeper that can get up to the low 90s

[@HT-sm9dm]

No he can’t. First of all there’s no “sweeper” lol. This pitch has existed for decades. It’s called a slurve. And the radar guns today are lying to you. Old measuring technology was showing the speed of pitches as they crossed the plate. Which makes way more sense as that’s how the actual person tasked with hitting the pitch sees it. Nowadays they’re measuring velocity the split second the ball is thrown. That adds like 2-4 mph on pitches depending on how hard they’re thrown.

[@brycehawes38]

@@HT-sm9dm 1. Pitches have always been measured out of the hand idk where that came from and 2. who really cares what it is it moves laterally like 2 feet and moves faster than some fastballs

[@HT-sm9dm]

@@brycehawes38 lol no they haven’t. That’s been clearly documented by actually baseball people. Not randoms on the internet. They’ve changed the way pitches are being tracked fairly recently.

[@brycehawes38]

@@HT-sm9dm if by recently you mean 20 years ago