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🤣
To everyone watching this video, the creator of this video who did all of the research and hours of editing and narration is being ripped off by MLB. They are claiming the rights to this, even though the amount of information used from MLB is minimal. Very discouraging to video creators when multimillion dollar organizations are so greedy that they try to suck every penny they can from baseball fans. They should be glad that these videos bring more attention to the baseball world. This is my grandson who has put house and days in creating this😡
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
I think it's because the speed is only slightly lower than a fastball, so the hitters instincts jump on it and whiff when it drops. Slower, high spin like a curve is easier to recognize and lay off.
My father taught me a splitter in grade school because he didn't want me throwing a curve at a young age and me not having the higher velocities due to shorter arms. That thing carried me all through high school and I loved it. Every pitch I threw was the exact same angle, release point, and arm velocity. 4seam, cut fb, change up and splitter. Got me multiple one hitters at the varsity level, but I never had the speed to play college. Moral is, it takes a very average pitcher and makes them better if not pretty dang good. Was a lot of fun to throw like that as well. If you have big enough hands, give it a try, kept me playing for a few more years and those times were a blast.
@@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.
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.
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.
I think it's because the speed is similar to a fastball and only slightly slower so its hard to lay off. A big curve that's spinning way different and slower is easier to recognize and make a judgement on. A splitter looks like a fastball until it drops and you whiff
The splitter is much easier to pick up than a typical change up. The change up is such a feel pitch and to get vertical and horizontal movement -- you have to have a good grip and pronate.
I think the speed being similar to a fastball is why hitters whiff on it. A big curve has different spin and slower speed so they recognize it easier. The splitters 88-92 look like a fastball so it's impossible to not swing at it but it drops so they whiff
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.
I was watching the Tevor Bauer UA-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.
I think the speed being very similar to a fastball is why it's so effective. A big curve they recognize the spin and slow speed immediately. The splitters 88-92 basically look like a fastball so the hitters instincts can't recongize and lay off it but it drops late so they whiff
Just recently found Trevor Bauer’s channel, and his mic’d up videos are both hilarious, and a fascinating peek into what goes on in his head for each batter. Interesting comment for the insight on why it’s popular in Japan. Great inside baseball info. I gotta add, I enjoy watching the Japanese pitchers who put some dramatic flair to their full windups.To me, it has a bit of both an old-timey look to it, mixed with a modern twist within the artistry of their motions.
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. Edit: not sure how I missed this, but I have been informed it was Jack Morris, not Morrison.
My favorite pitcher in the late 50's and early 60's was Elroy Face. A stud reliever that primary used the fork ball. He was the best reliever in baseball and helped the Pirates with the 1960 World Series against the New York Yankees. Maybe the best World Series games ever.
Roger Clemens extended his career with the splitter. He came up with, and was successful with, a tremendous fast ball, but when his velocity declined, he found the splitter and pitched another six or seven years featuring the splitter. Not every pitcher can control the pitch well enough to feature it in their mix.
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.
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.
My grandfather, Marty O'Toole, threw the spitball pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1908 - 1914. It was legal back then. He was a strikeout artist but he set the club record for most walks, 159. He was a teammate of Honus Wagner
The split was hot stuff in the 70s. I was a catcher and saw a 90 mph pitch bust a batters foot up pretty bad when it dove so fast the batter had no time to react
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'.
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.
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.
My grandma didn’t want me throwing breaking balls in little league so my grandpa showed me the splitter and told her my 2 seam just moved like that. Between that and my sarcastic change up, my 12 year old season was hilarious. (Late birthday and early puberty)
Jack McDowell, or “Black Jack”, threw the splitter for several years when it wrecked his arm. He won the Cy Young in 93’ and earned 3 straight All-Star games. Once he had arm surgery, he was never the same. To pull a quote from him; “The split-fingered fastball can be used both as a breaking pitch and a changeup. The difference is usually achieved by varying the grip and spreading the fingers. The most effective method is to create top-spin or down-spin on the ball.” I already see kids messing with breaking pitches at a very young age. Have them throwing the splitter now, arms will continue to be wrecked. John Smoltz talked about it and I liked his idea of tying the DH to the pitcher, meaning pull the DH when the SP comes out, will cause teams to reevaluate innings pitched as a higher priority leading to better arm care. There will be too much risk to only run a SP for 5-6 innings vs the reward of a DH.
Every time Scott's name comes up, someone says something absurd--like he "scuffed every splitter he ever threw." Stop and think about that for a moment: Scott had to have thrown thousands of splitters from 1985 on . . . and he managed to deface the ball on every one of them without getting caught? Bullshit.
@dfoxy14 TO be honest, I think that the catcher scuffed the ball for him. The pitch was almost unhittable. It was hard and the bottom just fell out of it like something from a video game. No reason to be upset.
@@chrislane3228 So Alan Ashby scuffed thousands of balls for Scott and never got caught or even warned? Yeah, that's bullshit too. I'm not saying that didn't happen occasionally. Elston Howard used to scuff the ball for Whitey Ford when the umps were looking out for Whitey's trickery (he cheated as much as any pitcher ever, Gaylord Perry included). I'm just not a fan of hyperbole (e.g. "Mike Scott scuffed every splitter he ever threw"). Davey Johnson and the Mets complained about Scott because he owned them in the '86 NLCS, and they wanted to have something to point to if the series went to seven games and they had to face Scott a third time. I'm pretty sure this is where 95% of the bullshit surrounding Scott's splitter comes from. Davey was a good manager in that regard: always looking for angles. I'm an Orioles fan, so I love the guy. You're right, that pitch was just about unhittable, video game shit. My theory is, Scott had great stuff all along, got beat up his first few years (with the Mets, which is why they were extra salty when he figured things out), and found a pitch that worked for him. And don't YOU worry, I don't get upset over UA-cam comments. My extra-long response probably doesn't convey that though.
@dfoxy14 I love it that you commented. It's fun. Ashby was a good dude. Mike Scott just threw something unhittable for quite a while. Look. I'm not attacking you. The scuffball was a thing. In my opinion, that is what Mike Scott threw. I'm sorry that you don't like it. I'm sorry, too, that it is probably true. I'm an old dude. I have seen a lot. I once saw Mike Scott throw a splitter to Dave Parker (I think that it was Parker). He hit it about 460 feet foul. Then Parker was waiting for it on the next pitch and he hit it about 480 feet fair. I was a catcher. Mike Scott's SCUFFBALL was hard to hit even if you don't like it.
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.
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.
The thing about the SFF is that some people are born to throw it. Sutter said that it just came to him, as if it was meant for him. He would be the best closer in the NL for the rest of his career.
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 ua-cam.com/video/ed9QbHGkFYE/v-deo.html . Umps will check players they are suspicious of and people like Max Scherzer have been suspended for using illegal sticky stuff.
Jose Contreras used to throw a version of a splitter with no spin at all that he called a "spluckler". It was basically a split fingered knuckleball. Only problem was that he had almost no control of it lol.
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
A dream is your creative vision for your life in the future. You must break out of your current comfort zone and become comfortable with the unfamiliar and the unknown.
The 90s and early 2000s used the splitter a lot, teams were throwing it instead of curveballs because all the hitters were loading up on launching fastballs and players would swing over the top of it
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
The fact this is set to my MLB power pros 06 is even better. I’m sitting next to my girl and I said “this video has to be on the splitter” and boom here he is
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.
WE have a low A minor league team in town. During pre-gam warm-ups I see these young guy toying with the knuckleball. I'd love to see it become a weapon for some guys.
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.
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 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
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.
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!
I grew up in the 80's... The splitter was really nice if you had a decent fastball... BUT.. I know myself when I threw it you could feel it in the elbow... It put more stress on my elbow than all other pitches except the screwball...
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?
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.
Splitters are safe to throw. The sliders take a toll. If you can do splitter, change up, 2-seam w/ some movement down and in and even a knuckler, you can pitch for a long time, safely
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.
wait...someone explain to me, please. How does a pitcher have the best ERA in all of MLB for a season and not have the best ERA+? Park or league factor?
My uncle taught me how to throw a split finger fastball when I was 10 years old and ever since I can't throw a ball normally. I played right field and still throw to my kids with a fork from outfield
Bring back the eephus pitch. If only for it's name. Jose Contreras threw a splitter for my beloved White Sox on our title run in 2005. That's the last I heard about it. He used a softball to stretch the webbing btw his fingers. P. S. Mike Scott doctored the ball with sandpaper.
Interesting but it comes down to location, movement, and change of speed. You can throw what you want if you get the above correct, and you'll dominate. Case in point, Greg Maddux
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
I just want pitchers to just start getting variety in what they throw. Forkballs, screwballs, knuckleballs, etcs. Get some uniqueness going. Like Waldron with his knuckleball, he instantly became my favorite in the league just for throwing that alone
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
To everyone watching this video, the creator of this video who did all of the research and hours of editing and narration is being ripped off by MLB. They are claiming the rights to this, even though the amount of information used from MLB is minimal. Very discouraging to video creators when multimillion dollar organizations are so greedy that they try to suck every penny they can from baseball fans. They should be glad that these videos bring more attention to the baseball world. This is my grandson who has put house and days in creating this😡
Your grandson knew that going in.....btw he did a great job...but stop crying, there's no crying baseball.
@@justinamenta7241 baseball is overrated Sir
@@mrazcr000terrible take
Sweeper is a slider.
Fork ball.
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
The splitter never disappeared what are you on about?
I think it's because the speed is only slightly lower than a fastball, so the hitters instincts jump on it and whiff when it drops. Slower, high spin like a curve is easier to recognize and lay off.
@@JoeyyIbarra Darvish got 50 mil pretty much based on that pitch yeah.
@@skinnie2838
10:00
It was
My father taught me a splitter in grade school because he didn't want me throwing a curve at a young age and me not having the higher velocities due to shorter arms. That thing carried me all through high school and I loved it. Every pitch I threw was the exact same angle, release point, and arm velocity. 4seam, cut fb, change up and splitter. Got me multiple one hitters at the varsity level, but I never had the speed to play college. Moral is, it takes a very average pitcher and makes them better if not pretty dang good. Was a lot of fun to throw like that as well. If you have big enough hands, give it a try, kept me playing for a few more years and those times were a blast.
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?
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.
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
That effin' traitor Sittch...
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.
I think it's because the speed is similar to a fastball and only slightly slower so its hard to lay off. A big curve that's spinning way different and slower is easier to recognize and make a judgement on. A splitter looks like a fastball until it drops and you whiff
The splitter is much easier to pick up than a typical change up. The change up is such a feel pitch and to get vertical and horizontal movement -- you have to have a good grip and pronate.
Splitter is the reason why Clemens in Houston was so dominant. His Splitter was nasty
I think the speed being similar to a fastball is why hitters whiff on it. A big curve has different spin and slower speed so they recognize it easier. The splitters 88-92 look like a fastball so it's impossible to not swing at it but it drops so they whiff
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.
I was watching the Tevor Bauer UA-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.
I think the speed being very similar to a fastball is why it's so effective. A big curve they recognize the spin and slow speed immediately. The splitters 88-92 basically look like a fastball so the hitters instincts can't recongize and lay off it but it drops late so they whiff
Just recently found Trevor Bauer’s channel, and his mic’d up videos are both hilarious, and a fascinating peek into what goes on in his head for each batter. Interesting comment for the insight on why it’s popular in Japan. Great inside baseball info. I gotta add, I enjoy watching the Japanese pitchers who put some dramatic flair to their full windups.To me, it has a bit of both an old-timey look to it, mixed with a modern twist within the artistry of their motions.
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.
Edit: not sure how I missed this, but I have been informed it was Jack Morris, not Morrison.
Dividog You mean Jack Morris.
Morris, not Morrison…
My favorite pitcher in the late 50's and early 60's was Elroy Face. A stud reliever that primary used the fork ball. He was the best reliever in baseball and helped the Pirates with the 1960 World Series against the New York Yankees. Maybe the best World Series games ever.
Roger Clemens extended his career with the splitter. He came up with, and was successful with, a tremendous fast ball, but when his velocity declined, he found the splitter and pitched another six or seven years featuring the splitter. Not every pitcher can control the pitch well enough to feature it in their mix.
Nomo got by in his last years in MLB by throwing his split-finger and then using his fastball as his offspeed. It actually worked for quite a while.
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.
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.
My grandfather, Marty O'Toole, threw the spitball pitching for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1908 - 1914. It was legal back then. He was a strikeout artist but he set the club record for most walks, 159. He was a teammate of Honus Wagner
The split was hot stuff in the 70s. I was a catcher and saw a 90 mph pitch bust a batters foot up pretty bad when it dove so fast the batter had no time to react
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'.
Yes!!! More content, more often please!!!
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.
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.
My grandma didn’t want me throwing breaking balls in little league so my grandpa showed me the splitter and told her my 2 seam just moved like that. Between that and my sarcastic change up, my 12 year old season was hilarious. (Late birthday and early puberty)
Amazing Video, I really enjoyed learning this today
Jack McDowell, or “Black Jack”, threw the splitter for several years when it wrecked his arm. He won the Cy Young in 93’ and earned 3 straight All-Star games. Once he had arm surgery, he was never the same. To pull a quote from him;
“The split-fingered fastball can be used both as a breaking pitch and a changeup. The difference is usually achieved by varying the grip and spreading the fingers. The most effective method is to create top-spin or down-spin on the ball.”
I already see kids messing with breaking pitches at a very young age. Have them throwing the splitter now, arms will continue to be wrecked. John Smoltz talked about it and I liked his idea of tying the DH to the pitcher, meaning pull the DH when the SP comes out, will cause teams to reevaluate innings pitched as a higher priority leading to better arm care. There will be too much risk to only run a SP for 5-6 innings vs the reward of a DH.
He was nasty in his prime
This guy's writing is top notch. Kept my attention through the whole video. Well done!
It was getting dark, and we weren’t there yet.
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!
Every time Scott's name comes up, someone says something absurd--like he "scuffed every splitter he ever threw." Stop and think about that for a moment: Scott had to have thrown thousands of splitters from 1985 on . . . and he managed to deface the ball on every one of them without getting caught? Bullshit.
@dfoxy14 TO be honest, I think that the catcher scuffed the ball for him. The pitch was almost unhittable. It was hard and the bottom just fell out of it like something from a video game. No reason to be upset.
@@chrislane3228 So Alan Ashby scuffed thousands of balls for Scott and never got caught or even warned? Yeah, that's bullshit too. I'm not saying that didn't happen occasionally. Elston Howard used to scuff the ball for Whitey Ford when the umps were looking out for Whitey's trickery (he cheated as much as any pitcher ever, Gaylord Perry included). I'm just not a fan of hyperbole (e.g. "Mike Scott scuffed every splitter he ever threw").
Davey Johnson and the Mets complained about Scott because he owned them in the '86 NLCS, and they wanted to have something to point to if the series went to seven games and they had to face Scott a third time. I'm pretty sure this is where 95% of the bullshit surrounding Scott's splitter comes from. Davey was a good manager in that regard: always looking for angles. I'm an Orioles fan, so I love the guy.
You're right, that pitch was just about unhittable, video game shit. My theory is, Scott had great stuff all along, got beat up his first few years (with the Mets, which is why they were extra salty when he figured things out), and found a pitch that worked for him.
And don't YOU worry, I don't get upset over UA-cam comments. My extra-long response probably doesn't convey that though.
@dfoxy14 I love it that you commented. It's fun. Ashby was a good dude. Mike Scott just threw something unhittable for quite a while. Look. I'm not attacking you. The scuffball was a thing. In my opinion, that is what Mike Scott threw. I'm sorry that you don't like it. I'm sorry, too, that it is probably true. I'm an old dude. I have seen a lot. I once saw Mike Scott throw a splitter to Dave Parker (I think that it was Parker). He hit it about 460 feet foul. Then Parker was waiting for it on the next pitch and he hit it about 480 feet fair. I was a catcher. Mike Scott's SCUFFBALL was hard to hit even if you don't like it.
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 was throwing this growing up striking people out, im happy that even tho my career ended the split finger's career is kept alive now
Two Roger Craig's in San Francisco during the same era in two different sports was always a peculiarity to me as a kid.
My first thought
Every pitch is back, because baseball is so god damn good.
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.
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?
ua-cam.com/video/InvplVveqQo/v-deo.htmlsi=3cGe6eoQfuwz9RqH
@@Jeffersonokaywell Scott has refused to say he wasn’t scuffing so take that as you will
@@AWolf-gq2vu then why didn’t he get caught, ejected, and suspended?
@@Jeffersonokay Beats me. Ofc, idk if he was really scuffing but it’s a bit weird he’s never denied it
The thing about the SFF is that some people are born to throw it. Sutter said that it just came to him, as if it was meant for him. He would be the best closer in the NL for the rest of his career.
Excellent video and history! Well done!
Screwball was invented by Flathead Phillips in 1791
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 ua-cam.com/video/ed9QbHGkFYE/v-deo.html . Umps will check players they are suspicious of and people like Max Scherzer have been suspended for using illegal sticky stuff.
Jose Contreras used to throw a version of a splitter with no spin at all that he called a "spluckler". It was basically a split fingered knuckleball. Only problem was that he had almost no control of it lol.
Koji had one of the greatest splitters of all time. Man he was amazing to watch.
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 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!
A dream is your creative vision for your life in the future. You must break out of your current comfort zone and become comfortable with the unfamiliar and the unknown.
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
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.
I love that pitches come and go in different eras. Hope the screwball makes a comeback too!
Terrific review! Thanks for posting.
Mike Scott from the Astros was a splitter master
Both
Great video. Love all the Tigers old timers in it 😍
The splitter is an AWESOME drop the basement out that ish NINJA pitch!
The 90s and early 2000s used the splitter a lot, teams were throwing it instead of curveballs because all the hitters were loading up on launching fastballs and players would swing over the top of it
Great video very in depth. Also made me nostalgic for MLB power pros lol
Skenes is phenomenal. I really hope he can keep his arm healthy man. Most exciting dude in the league today.
The knuckleball is making a pretty good splash for MLB with the Padre's Waldron.
I really dig your narration, writing style!
roger craig is smiling down from heaven
he loved teaching that pitch
it got the giants to the ws
1986 Mike Scott. Oh, you got it.
Makes me happy to see. Maybe we'll get to full fork ball next year.
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
Splitter should have more backspin than a forkball. Usually a forkball has hardly any rotation out of the hand.
The fact this is set to my MLB power pros 06 is even better. I’m sitting next to my girl and I said “this video has to be on the splitter” and boom here he is
Let us revere, let us worship, but erect and open-eyed, the highest, not the lowest; the future, not the past!
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.
WE have a low A minor league team in town. During pre-gam warm-ups I see these young guy toying with the knuckleball. I'd love to see it become a weapon for some guys.
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.
And a lot of people and experts say that the best splitter in the Majors rn belongs to Reds pitcher Fernando Cruz
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.
The splitter is the best way to battle the "launch angle" batting approach. Hence it's back.
Awesome video man I think the influx of Japanese pitchers and their love of the splitter has allowed for more use of it as well.
All the world is a stage, And all the men and women merely players.They have their exits and entrances; Each man in his time plays many parts.
And Tommy John is climbing with it. And Clayton did throw well in Game 1 of the 2023 playoff game against the Dbacks
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 old mlb power pros music just brought back memories
I grew up in the 80's... The splitter was really nice if you had a decent fastball... BUT.. I know myself when I threw it you could feel it in the elbow... It put more stress on my elbow than all other pitches except the screwball...
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.
Splitters are safe to throw. The sliders take a toll. If you can do splitter, change up, 2-seam w/ some movement down and in and even a knuckler, you can pitch for a long time, safely
yo the mlb power pros music makes me wanna play again 😭😭
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.
The nickname for Kazuhiro Sasaki's pitch was actually the "Thang," coined by Dave Niehaus.
It pairs nicely with the 4-seam fastballs.
The splitter never disappeared what are you on about?
wait...someone explain to me, please.
How does a pitcher have the best ERA in all of MLB for a season and not have the best ERA+? Park or league factor?
I knew it was going to be the sff...that was like the only pitch we knew existed as kids...
My uncle taught me how to throw a split finger fastball when I was 10 years old and ever since I can't throw a ball normally. I played right field and still throw to my kids with a fork from outfield
Thank you baseball historian
Bring back the eephus pitch. If only for it's name.
Jose Contreras threw a splitter for my beloved White Sox on our title run in 2005. That's the last I heard about it. He used a softball to stretch the webbing btw his fingers.
P. S. Mike Scott doctored the ball with sandpaper.
I’d say it’s been a thing over the last few years not just 2024 but good vid
Some of the modern splitters have that screwball action. I like it.
Well done video! Thank you
The MLB beast steals creative videos!
fernando cruz might have one of the most beautiful splitters going currently
Now I understand why there’s a splitter in Wii sports
Interesting but it comes down to location, movement, and change of speed. You can throw what you want if you get the above correct, and you'll dominate. Case in point, Greg Maddux
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
The splitter has always been here, homie.
Splitters were so hard to hit because they were SO rare in the 2009 minors. It was seen as an ‘arm destroyer’.
I just want pitchers to just start getting variety in what they throw. Forkballs, screwballs, knuckleballs, etcs. Get some uniqueness going. Like Waldron with his knuckleball, he instantly became my favorite in the league just for throwing that alone
Every man dies. Not every man really lives
Jose Contreras won a world series on the white sox with the splitter
Including the drip… stirrups and mullets 😭