Another reason why sometimes the batter swings at pitches miles away is that earlier in the at bat the pitcher set them up with a different pitch that looks similar to the pitch they end up throwing and there isn’t enough time to recognize it so they swing and miss. Pitching Ninja is a great channel that shows overlays of different pitches and how similar they look until the very end they change direction.
It's all about grip spin and velocity. The more spin the ball has the more movement it has at all velocities. but being able to ramp up adn dial down teh speed with a lot of spin is the key to being a great pitcher. This is why GREAT hitters in MLB only get a hit 30% of the time. The other 70% they're out.
The ball that had no spin on it is a Knuckleball. It is extremely hard to throw for anyone, let alone making it to the MLB because of it. It is the most wild pitch as it can move in any direction the wind takes it. Facing a good knuckleballer is hell
@@Alex-kd5xc Now throw 100 of them in competition without letting 6 of them tumble while being in a hittable position. Those pitches tend to get hammered, plus there are the ones that just didn't happen to move much, and get hit. If you allow 10 really hard hit balls, you might lose the game.
You have to check out Mariano Rivera, closer for the Yankees. He had one pitch, everyone knew what was coming they just couldn't hit it. It was a cut fastball. To this day the best closer in baseball IMO. The funky swing that was near the beginning is called an emergency swing, the last minute you realize it is going to be a strike and you just try to tip it away. These pitches also get easy to hit when they Hang. Essentially you didn't get enough spin and it just sits there, you can almost see it stop right by the batter as he lines it up. Edit: Having played both baseball and cricket, I believe baseball is the harder hit. In cricket the bat is flat, As the legendary hitter Ted Williams said the hardest thing to do in baseball is hit a round ball with a round bat. Enjoy your baseball journey
Man, Mariano Rivera was on another level. There have been and are incredible closers in the MLB but Rivera was just unreal. To the day he retired, even if he had to "massage" his fast ball a bit towards the final couple years of his career. Amazing pitcher, still doesn't get enough recognition imo.
I never really care too much for baseball. But my son is really into it he's been playing since he's three years old. Now he's 7 and he's starting to want to pitch so I'm all into baseball now LOL
When the dad said “Cleveland” I was thinking Wild Thing from Major league…..hated Rocker. He had that look like he was criminally insane when he played the Mets. 😵💫😠😤
The pitches are thrown with specific hand grips on the ball and specific twists of the hand and fingers upon releasing the ball. It takes lots of practice. And yes, the catcher already knows what kind of pitchwhere the pitch is going based on signal communication with the pitcher.
You guys should check out some of Jomboy’s videos in pitchers tipping their pitches. This is when they unknowingly let the opposing team know what pitch their going to throw. They could be looking a certain way before they throw a specific pitch, or they’re just doing something that gives it away. It’s really interesting to see how much is going on on both sides.
I remember the first time I faced a pitcher with a good slider in baseball, I realized it was time to focus on golf instead. I had hit against guys with curveballs, but a nasty slider might be the most difficult thing I've ever tried to hit and failed miserably.
@@btnhstillfire They folded like a cheap house of cards. I wasn't the only one so luckily I didn't look that stupid. He ended up playing for the Florida Gators he was that good and the rest of us were meh
In the MLB the ball is thrown so hard you cant actually watch it all the way in.. your brain actually only takes in when it leaves the hand to where it crosses in front of you your brain fills in the rest so the two images make sense so basically they are very good at seeing a ball leave a hand drawing a mental picture of where the ball should end up and swing at that before it gets to them
The Dad talking about the weather effecting the ball movement reminded me of the 'spit ball' in the old days that was outlawed here in the U.S. The umpire was always stopping play and inspecting the ball to see if it was koshur, so to speak.
Try tapping a strike zone on a garage door, place yourself about 40-50 away with a tennis ball and have at it. You’ll be surprised at how much control you will develop. You might actually throw a few strikes. Then get Daz to try and hit it with a 30 inch hunk of broom stick. Welcome to summer, gents.
UA-cam has videos comparing cricket and baseball, videos explaining the physics of pitch movement, videos showing how to grip the ball for each type of pitch, videos showing pitchers throwing from a variety of arm angles and release points. Sometimes it takes YEARS for pitchers to master specific pitches before they throw it in a real game. The rabbit hole is DEEP (and enjoyable).
At 5:40 (and 13:55) you have a slow-motion pitch of Boston's Tim Wakefield. He was the last of the "Knuckleball" pitchers. Please note the "lack of rotation" of the ball. There is no spin and the "seams" of the ball are quite visible...a classic Knukleball. At 7:52 you see a perfect example of a pitched ball traveling between sun and shadows. The pitcher is in a shadow and the batter is in a bright sun. It is very difficult for a batter to follow the path of a pitched ball when it comes in and out of shadows.
Plus catching a knuckle ball is difficult as well. Wakefield had Doug Mirabelli catching on his day in the rotation. The catchers also use a bigger glove like a first baseman’s glove or even a softball glove.
Absolutely right! The catcher knows what pitch is coming so he can anticipate where it's going to be when it reaches him. Sometimes a batter can see the rotation of the ball as it leaves the pitcher's hand (which is amazing) so he can anticipate which direction the ball is going move as it crosses the plate.
I think the pitcher you were talking about was John Rocker. He was known more for playing with the Atlanta Braves from 98 to 01, then he joined the Indians.
@@silverg9540 Ha, I remember Twisted Sister was pissed because he used to run on to the field to "I Wanna Rock" and they didn't like it. They complained to Congress about censorship in the 80s and bitched about this in the 90s. Thought it was very rock and roll sellout-ish.
@@silverg9540 The guy was money I'll give him that. Good closer although at the time nobody was better than Mariano Rivera. That dude was like betting on a Mike Tyson fight back in his prime.
This is where analytics comes into play big-time. Scouting reports will provide details on a pitcher and can tell a batter how likely a pitcher is to, say, throw a curve ball when there are already two strikes or some other pattern in their recent pitching history that the batter can then try and use to anticipate what is going to be coming at them.
4:27 Batters can tell pitch types depending on the spin of the ball sometimes you see a red circle from the seams indicating a curve, sometimes it’s off center for different pitches
In high school I faced a guy that would go on to be drafted by the Yankees and played in their minor league system. He never reached the majors but his stats are actually really really good. His name is Casey Erickson. Dude threw 90s w a high 80s slider. That slider was fn disgusting. Scariest pitch you will ever see. Looks like its coming right at your face and literally at the last 1/4 of a second it just snaps into the strike zone. Your knees are gone lol
I honestly felt proud that I even fouled one of those pitches off. I struck out but I felt good about just getting a foul tip lol. Thats how nasty this dude was.
It's not just about movement, it's about being able to throw different pitches on the same plane with the same release. It's about changing speeds and it's about dropping down sometimes and releasing the ball from a lower spot the batter isn't looking at. For precision pitchers you look up Greg Maddux. He was a guy that came up throwing mid 90s but settled into throwing low 90s/high 80s constantly changing speeds and location. Maddux rarely threw a ball outside the strike zone. For deception you look up a guy like David Cone who would not only change speeds but would also throw at different angles including an almost submarine delivery.
My beerleague softball teammates hated it when i tried to throw out base runners. I had played baseball in high school and learned to pitch a breaking ball. So my throws would constantly drop. Sometimes it worked out, and the throw would set up the tag beautifully. Other times, it would bounce all the way to the outfield.
Should also be pointed out, because I've seen people mention the signals between pitcher and catcher, but sign-stealing is a thing in baseball too and has been since the beginnings of the game. Batters are not supposed to peek behind them, but some manage to (at the risk or possibly catching a fastball to the head if the pitcher and catcher realize what he is doing). Runners on base, particularly second base, will also indicate to batters what pitch is coming (if the team has figured out what the signs mean what). Pitchers and catchers will often change signs in mid-game or even mid at-bat because of this. Coaches and players in the dugout are often tasked with stealing signs (I think it is considered part of your job when you are a pitcher who pitched the day before and is not slated to pitch that day, then you are keeping an eye on things and trying to relay anything you notice to your manager/teammates). Team's have been known to outright cheat too, using cameras and others means to steal signs and then relay the information to the dugout/players. There was a huge scandal a few years back where the Astros were caught blatantly stealing signs and using the information in real time while up to bat (and they were assholes about it when accused of it, even though there is pretty damning evidence), so it tarnished their first franchise world series victory. There is a whole Jomboy video about it that went viral, and then Foolish Baseball's follow up to that helped break things wide open.
It’s mostly grip on the laces of the ball and how you release it off your fingers that causes different spins resulting in movement. Sometimes gravity can play a part for additional drop on certain pitches.
There's a video on youtube that explains all the pitches. The order in which they get thrown against the batter also can matter a huge amount. Throwing 2 fastballs in a row, high or down the center and catching them looking; and then throwing a curve etc. that comes out the same way your fastball comes out but then breaks and goes a different way can really catch them off guard.
love the baseball vids, btw the weather can and sometimes does have a slight affect on the movement and or velocity of the ball thrown by the pitchers, some more than others. But believe it or not it will affect the hitters hitting the ball probably more so because of the time the ball stays in the air off of the bat.
For the batter it is incredibly difficult. That's why hitting a MLB Pitcher is considered one of the hardest things to do in sports. In order to figure out what kind of pitch it is and where to swing you have to pick up the seams when the pitcher throws it because the seams will look different based on the spin (different spin means different movement), calculate about how fast it's coming in because that'll narrow down what kind of pitch it is (fastball vs. offspeed), and look at it's trajectory (starting high means it may be a curveball meant to break into the zone) and that'll give you a guess at what kind of pitch it is and where it's going... Oh, but you have to do all of that, literally, quicker than you can blink because that's how much time you have to react. So if the pitch starts high, is moving slowly, and you pick up what looks like a "dot" on the baseball because the seams are spinning in a way that it looks like there is a dot in the middle of it that means it is a curveball and you need to wait a little longer (because it's a slower pitch) and swing way lower than it looks like the ball is going to go (because curveballs tend to break vertically, 12 to 6 on a clock) It's insane that anyone can hit a baseball, honestly.
one thing about pitching is the use of the seams on the ball. hold the ball one way and then the way you throw it gives you an outcome that youre looking for. you can see balls with little to no spin on them those are called a knuckleball, those are actually some of the hardest pitches to hit, youd think that theyd be easier but without a lot of spin they have some weird movements
Some of these pitches aren't actual strikes. The catcher also plays a part in a ball being called a strike or being called a ball. Some catchers in baseball are masters of the craft of catching as they have learned to move their glove in a certain way to make it seem like the ball was in the strike zone when it actually wasn't. It makes the game really interesting because the pitcher is trying to set up the batter all game for a certain type of pitch, and sometimes the pitcher really fools the batter. Other times the pitcher is trying to throw a certain pitch, but it's not perfectly thrown like he would like it, so the catcher comes in and can make the pitch look better than it actually was by framing the plate.
11:15 no Daz it takes more then two weeks or two months to learn how to throw accurately for most. If you go to any regular high school game you’re gonna see a good amount of wild throws and those are kids who have played most of their childhood.
The ball comes in so fast that the batter has to anticipate but can't actually see it. You have to remember that the ball is coming right at them. An example is when ppl try to cross a rail when the signal/barriers are lit and in place. The peek down the line and see the train coming but it looks to be far enough away that they try to cross before it arrives. What humans can't do is tell how far away something is when it is traveling at speed. So, when the driver get halfway cross, the train is 'suddenly' on top of them. The same thing happens when someone walks or pulls out into traffic. BAM! This phenomenon is occurring between the batter and ball. The batter knows he can't 'watch the ball', he'll miss every time. He has to try and anticipate where it will cross the plate. The mind-game is when the pitcher knows this and will move his body a certain way to 'fool' the batter. The pitcher also knows the types of pitches the batter favors. The pitcher tries to make it look like he's throwing the 'batter's favorite pitch', but doesn't. Curve balls/sliders and knuckle balls all fool the best batters. Change up pitches (throwing slow pitches when the batter is expecting a faster pitch) can also fool a batter. (remember the batter can't tell how fast the ball is traveling). The batter will swing before the ball even gets to the plate.
Thanks Daz!!! Welcome to an American sport. It has started to spread around the world. It is getting bigger in Japan. Some of the best Japanese players play in the majors here in the states.
These videos show why hitting a baseball is one of the hardest skills in all of sports. The most impressive thing for me is the speed at which the pitchers are moving the baseball ball. 100 MPH with a lot of break is almost unhittable.
if a pitch moves "arm side" so the same direction as a pitcher's throwing arm, it is typically a Changeup if its slower, or a 2-Seam/sinker if its fast. "Glove side" is the same thing except on the glove arm. Those are sliders if they are slower, and cutters if they are faster. Curveballs drop downwards, and 4 seam fastballs are the straightest pitches and can give the illusion of rising
There are some exceptions, like Dylan Cease's slider moves more downwards like a curveball 9:00, and Rich Hill's curveball moves more horizontal like a slider 9:30
The reason a baseball can be made to curve and drop, rise or slide, are the laces or seams. Baseballs are covered in leather that is stitched together. The thread that is used to stitch the cover onto the ball means it is longer perfectly round. In the hands of capable pitchers, the resistance that's caused by the raised stitching - seams - means they can manipulate the ball to spin in ways that causes it to move, sometimes quite dramatically.
Even if you had two weeks practicing pitching, you still wouldnt be able to. These guys you see playing baseball have been playing the game since elementary school. To do all those wicked pitches, they use different finger grips, throwing angles and spins to make this pitches look so unbelievable. The best baseball pitchers get paid hundreds of millions of dollars to play
One of the best hitters of all time Ted Williams said this about hitting a baseball. It's the only endeavor in sports were you can be successful only 3 out 10 times and still be considered to be good.
Should check out the MLB channels quick question video on the differences in pitch types to really gauge how difficult it is to throw and hit these pitches and the science that goes into it
I will forever assert that hitting a baseball from a pro pitcher is one of the hardest things anyone has to do in any sport. Think about it this way, you are an all-star multi-million dollar player if you successfully hit the ball 30% of the time you get a chance to hit. That's nuts. You fail at your job 70% of the time and you'd still be among the best hitters in the world.
To answer your question Re: how the batter can hit a curveball… If it’s coming right down the middle and you recognize it’s a curve, you can lay off of it because it will drop out of the strike zone and be called a ball. If the pitcher misplaces a curveball too high, it will drop in to the strike zone (as opposed to out of the zone or in the dirt) and the batter can hit it hard if he waits on it. Sometimes they throw them and the ball doesn’t curve/drop that much (often from being tired). Do, the ball just stays straight/flat. This is another mistake batters look to capitalize on…
Hitting a baseball has been scientifically proven to be the hardest thing to do in sports, it’s why you can fail 7/10 times and still be considered really damn good
Randy Johnson was six feet, ten inches tall. Randy had longish hair and a mustache, and was a lefty that threw with almost a sidearm motion. If you were a left handed hitter, he was releasing the ball behind the batter's head.
hilarious at-bat of Jon Kruk vs. Randy Johnson in an all-star game. Kruk, one of the better left hand batters in the league at the time, spent most of the at-bat jumping out of the way and looking absolutely terrified. I don't blame him. "The Big Unit" (Randy Johnson) was an absolute freak as a pitcher.
@@whimsofmim And I believe it was Larry Walker who the very next year, in the All-Star Game, when Johnson fired one over or behind him, he turned his helmet around and tried to bat righty.
The main game of risk with the breaking pitches being thrown is what is called “hanging” a breaking pitch. In place of dropping under/away from the bat and being an enigma, it stays where the hitter recognized it to be and simply spins. Then it gets deposited into the bleachers.
A MLB fastball takes about .5 seconds to get from the pitchers hand to home plate. So that means as a hitter you have basically .2 seconds to decide on whether you are going to swing or not and where to swing in the box
Major League batters are literally looking to see how the pitcher is holding the ball when he releases it, and how it spins when it's mid-air. They have to do insanely fast calculations in their head, mixed with intuition and knowledge of what pitches that particular guy throws and how often he tends to throw each. It's a very complex dance they're doing. But the best hitters can literally see the grip the pitcher has on the ball right as he's letting go of the ball.
Yall should watch someone throwing curves and sliders from the catcher's perspective, really shows you how insane these pitches are (even though most videos are highschoolers or college players).i think there are some of these types of videos scattered through youtube.
Yes the catcher is telling the pitcher what to pitch and location, the pitcher decides if that's the pitch he wants to throw, but they both know what type of pitch and approximate location
As others have pointed out, most of these nasty pitches were set up by other pitches earlier in the at bat. The best pitches are very skilled at making it so their motion and the way they release the ball looks very similar, despite the type of pitch they are throwing. Some of them will start a batter off earlier in the at bat with 90+ mph heat, but then yank the string on a breaking ball like these pitches (and when they leave the pitcher's hand, they look like they are going to be another fastball). Since batters only have a fraction of a second to identify and decide if they are going to swing, there is a real "cat and mouse" guessing game that is going on during the at-bat, and these pitches are particularly nasty because most of these batters were probably looking fastball and the pitchers fooled them badly with some really nasty breaking stuff. Even better, some of the batters were probably expecting a break ball and still missed it badly. That is when you know the pitch is especially nasty.
I've always thought that one of the very hardest things to do in any sport is to hit a baseball in the Major League. Most of those pitchers are throwing their fastballs in the mid-90 mph range, so you have a split second to attempt to determine where the ball's gonna be, whether or not you should swing at it, and attempt to hit it with a cylindrical bat. A really good hitter in the pros only hits .300 or above, meaning they get a hit only 3 out of 10 at-bats on average. That's a crazy low percentage...
If you look closely at some of those pitches there were two that I saw that has no spin at all. Talk about nasty! Those pitches can movie in multiple directions on the way to the plate. As far as ball placement goes few could come close to Greg Maddux. He had pin point accuracy and, he could throw the ball with the same arm motion and same release point 5 times, and the ball would end up at 5 different locations with a different speed every time. He was a master.
The way you get a hit against these type of pitchers is you MUST get ahead in the count. 2 balls and no strikes, 3 balls and 1 strike. In those scenarios the pitcher is most likely gonna throw a strike and then you have to convert once you shrink the pitchers zone.
In case you were wondering in professional baseball the batter has 0.3 seconds to swing the bat once the pitcher throws the ball and coincidentally 0.3 seconds is the same amount of time it takes to blink
It is all about disguising the pitch in the first two tenths of a second. The pitcher may throw a 95mph fastball above the strike zone, then follow it up with an 85 mph curve. In the first two tenths of a second the pitches look identical to the batter. The slower speed and spin of the ball make the ball drop faster so it might end up low in the strike zone. The batter may have already decided it was going to be a ball and never swings or tries to rush the swing. It could be that he swings to early because he is thinking it is going to be coming in a 95mph. 100mph fast balls are very hard to hit but if you start throwing in curves and change ups it starts getting really hard.
Baseball is a little slower (less this season with new pitch timer) than other sports, but is one of the most cerebral organized sports. Pitchers and catchers study lineups and analyze every single hitter's strengths and weaknesses like this guy hits really well low and inside or this guy struggles with identifying off-speed pitches. Batters do the same with the pitchers. When they're in the box, they only have like .02 of a second to determine where the pitch is going and swing. Hitting a Major League fastball is widely regarded as the most difficult thing to do in all of sports. First time I took a pitch in the 90+ mph range, felt like swinging in slow motion. Think the catcher had already thrown the ball back to the pitcher before my bat even came around.
A wide, flat cricket bat has 800% more hitting surface than a baseball bat. Also the fact that in cricket a ball hit behind the batsman is in play and can score runs as opposed to baseball where those would be foul balls into the stands, makes it even more difficult to score in baseball as compared with cricket.
can make arguments that cricket is harder in those aspects, defense strategy is extremely important in cricket, since there is no foul ground, you need fielders to be in the right place around the field. It's 2 completely different sports, cricket is more about wickets (outs) and baseball is more about runs. It's much harder in cricket to get an "out" than it is in baseball, and much harder to get a run in baseball than it is in cricket. In my opinion, it is harder to be a bowler in cricket than a pitcher in baseball (can't bend your elbow in cricket), but harder to be a hitter in baseball than in cricket. Both are amazing sports, i don't believe one or the other is more difficult than the other overall.
I'm a bit late on this but I am aware that altitude can effect the movement of pitches because the way pitches gain movement is through how much air is built up on the seems of the ball, so altitude can effect movement yes.
A lot of what makes these pitches nasty is what comes before it. Like you were talking about with deception, the perfect pitch is one that looks like a fastball for 1/2 of the way then moves. If all a guy throws is the best curveball over and over he will get crushed.
As an American I don’t know much about cricket but I’d love for yall to react to it and give a little insight on the sport. Also if y’all have never looked into it you should react to the AFL in Australia. I wish we could start a an Australian football league in the US.
What you miss in videos like this is that these are full at-bats and the pitchers have to get 3 pitches either across the plate in the zone for a called strike that the batters don't swing at, or 3 swings and misses, or a combination of those. So the final (strike 3) pitch is the culmination of "setting up" the batter. All the pitches that were thrown previously "set the batter up" which is why you see some of these wild swings at pitches they effectively stand no chance at hitting. In the pros, the release point of all these pitches is the same, so in the first few hundredths of seconds, every pitch looks effectively the same. It's on the batter to be able to both anticipate and identify the pitch being thrown, and then either choose to take or choose to swing, and then if choosing to swing, put the bat on precisely where they anticipate the pitch crossing the plate. It is a mental chess game that takes place both in the blink of an eye for each pitch, but also throughout the at-bat, throughout the game (in the case of starting pitchers), and throughout the entire season (via scouting reports and studying video). It is an insane interaction between pitcher/catcher and hitter, and it's the reason why getting a hit off a major league baseball pitcher is about the most difficult feat in all of sport.
You are on the right track. A pitch cannot, by the laws of physics, rise. However, a four-seam fastball is sometimes called a riser, because it "appears" to rise. What actually is happening is that it doesn't fall as fast as you anticipate, hence it appears to be rising.
When they say the ball is “rising” it’s not actually going higher in the air. The spin on the ball is so high that it makes it look like the ball is rising to the batter even though it’s not. It’s really just staying on the same plane or maybe an inch or two below where the pitcher threw it by time it gets to the batter
I saw a video where a cricket player learned to hit a baseball and he learned fast so I think cricket skills could apply to hit a baseball at the batting cages.
Yes, the catcher does call the plays and he does move around behind the batter to fool him where the ball is going, so you can only hear where he is. Your'e not allowed to look behind you as the batter as well. Such a nuanced sport.
Most of it is how they put there fingers on the ball, I've never pitched, but they have there fingers positioned different places to throw different pitches
Also anyone who is analytical gets sucked in. The manager can send in pitch types and based on the pitch type tell the position players where to stand because statistically that’s where the ball will be hit.
The stitches on the ball make the movement and if the air is heavy, cold, humid it moves more. It takes about half a second to get from the pitchers hand to the plate. "Last second" you missed the all.
Ball that hit umpire's foot was a knuckleball, no spin and floating around. You can see that catcher is using large outfielder's glove and not usual small thick padded catchers glove, because nobody knows where it's going.
As a batter you hit the ball by accounting for a few things. First you will know what a pitcher throws assuming there's a scouting report of some sort. So that narrows the options. Then it's the situation. No strikes and no balls it can be any pitch in the arsenal. Granted you'll probably know what a pitcher's favorite pitch is. But if you're a great hitter you also no he's not starting with pitches down the middle or pitches you hit good. And they'll know if you're good. So that narrows you down. Then it get's super situational0 balls and 2 strikes often means the next pitches are gonna be up and away or down in the dirt and away. Away so as not to make a mistake and hit you. down to try to get you to strike out on a ball you have zero chance of hitting. Knowing this if the count is O balls 2 strikes you're probably thinking about things like fast ball away, breaking ball down and away. So you're making an educated guess. Conversely, if it's a full count, 3 balls, 2 strikes, the pitcher must throw a strike or it's a walk and you're on first base so as a batter you're anticipating whatever the pitchers favorite pitches and anticipating them near the plate. So if his go to pitches are a fast ball and a slider well with a full count you're looking for fastball first but you're anticipating it might be a slider. Some batters can see spin on breaking balls to and react to that. It's a split second reaction so it's not like they are always picking our the exact pitch. also some pitchers have slightly different motions and release points for certain pitches so if you know those you can make educated guess when the pitch is released. The other thing is once you start hitting such high velocities it's very hard to stop a swing.
Wow! Some of those pitches were truly nasty. A lot of times the movement is so subtle you can't really see it from the camera's perspective. The pitch really only needs to move a couple inches to fool the batter.
Sometimes the camera angle and the pitchers handedness might not capture how much the ball runs. It might look straight on tv camera but it might start out running in to a hitter and break into the strikezone and the hitter turns away when it looks like the ball didn’t do much to us the viewer. There some videos where different pitches are thrown by the same pitcher where everything is identical but the ball breaks a different way which just showcases how tough it is to hit. The science behind what it takes to hit major league pitching is also fairly interesting. Talking about milliseconds to recognize, decide, and swing. Even heard how the last 15 feet or so the ball is basically invisible to the hitter. Which makes it easy to understand why some guys swing at pitches that’s are not even close to the strike zone. I think the purists will simply argue that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in pro sports. Simply because the superstars in this sport are only successful 3 times out of 10. If you hit .300 avg in baseball for your career is an accomplishment. The thing is you have to account for a baseball on an XY and Z axis. A pitcher could throw a baseball that looks like a fastball, the hitter recognizes it, and swings away but instead he was thrown a change up which might be 10 mph less than a fastball and you will swing and miss before the ball arrives.
From the pitchers mound to home plate is 60 feet., 6 inches. The ball gets there fast.... I am not an expert, but I think it comes down to spin and velocity. There is a pitcher these days named Chapman who has a 106 MPH fastball. That is blazing!!!! At this level, their off-speed stuff is in the 70's and 80's. Baseball is a fun sport! Enjoy men......
Another reason why sometimes the batter swings at pitches miles away is that earlier in the at bat the pitcher set them up with a different pitch that looks similar to the pitch they end up throwing and there isn’t enough time to recognize it so they swing and miss. Pitching Ninja is a great channel that shows overlays of different pitches and how similar they look until the very end they change direction.
😮😢
Welcome to the covenant Of Batters who Realize Hitting Is Hard.
It's all about grip spin and velocity. The more spin the ball has the more movement it has at all velocities. but being able to ramp up adn dial down teh speed with a lot of spin is the key to being a great pitcher. This is why GREAT hitters in MLB only get a hit 30% of the time. The other 70% they're out.
Not true. Hitters walk (on average) about 10% of the time. They also (albeit rarely) reach base on fielding errors. So your example is incorrect.
@@rogerodle8750 Ok, they're still out 60% of the time. If you failed 60% of the time in any other job you'd be canned almost immediately
The ball that had no spin on it is a Knuckleball. It is extremely hard to throw for anyone, let alone making it to the MLB because of it. It is the most wild pitch as it can move in any direction the wind takes it. Facing a good knuckleballer is hell
It’s not that hard to throw a knuckle. Throwing one that is good enough to get major leaguers is.
Most catchers agree, catching a knuckleballer is also hell!
@@Alex-kd5xc It takes a while to be able to consistently throw knuckleballs with good movement in real games, not just fooling around warming up
@@Alex-kd5xc Now throw 100 of them in competition without letting 6 of them tumble while being in a hittable position. Those pitches tend to get hammered, plus there are the ones that just didn't happen to move much, and get hit. If you allow 10 really hard hit balls, you might lose the game.
The knuckle ball does that because the pitcher intentionally negates the spin and the action of the air against the stitched seams.
You have to check out Mariano Rivera, closer for the Yankees. He had one pitch, everyone knew what was coming they just couldn't hit it. It was a cut fastball. To this day the best closer in baseball IMO.
The funky swing that was near the beginning is called an emergency swing, the last minute you realize it is going to be a strike and you just try to tip it away. These pitches also get easy to hit when they Hang. Essentially you didn't get enough spin and it just sits there, you can almost see it stop right by the batter as he lines it up.
Edit: Having played both baseball and cricket, I believe baseball is the harder hit. In cricket the bat is flat, As the legendary hitter Ted Williams said the hardest thing to do in baseball is hit a round ball with a round bat. Enjoy your baseball journey
Man, Mariano Rivera was on another level. There have been and are incredible closers in the MLB but Rivera was just unreal. To the day he retired, even if he had to "massage" his fast ball a bit towards the final couple years of his career. Amazing pitcher, still doesn't get enough recognition imo.
I never really care too much for baseball. But my son is really into it he's been playing since he's three years old. Now he's 7 and he's starting to want to pitch so I'm all into baseball now LOL
John Rocker is the pitcher that ran onto the field. He played for the Atlanta Braves.
Also known as Kenny Powers
And def not a fan of NY subways.....
Has a lot of problems with a lot of people
When the dad said “Cleveland” I was thinking Wild Thing from Major league…..hated Rocker. He had that look like he was criminally insane when he played the Mets. 😵💫😠😤
Knuckle ball pitches are great to see as well, not to many pitchers use that pitch cause it's so unpredictable.
this is my favorite channel i love watching you guys
The pitches are thrown with specific hand grips on the ball and specific twists of the hand and fingers upon releasing the ball. It takes lots of practice. And yes, the catcher already knows what kind of pitchwhere the pitch is going based on signal communication with the pitcher.
12:48 as a fellow dad, this moment was awesome to me. You’re a great dad, Daz.
You guys should check out some of Jomboy’s videos in pitchers tipping their pitches. This is when they unknowingly let the opposing team know what pitch their going to throw. They could be looking a certain way before they throw a specific pitch, or they’re just doing something that gives it away. It’s really interesting to see how much is going on on both sides.
Hope they see this
I try and comment jomboy under the videos I see. I think they’d love him.
@@RewardBread619 I agree. Not sure why the OB’s have never checked him out. I know lots of us have suggested him
Keep the baseball coming, and for the record I’m always down for a bit of cricket
I remember the first time I faced a pitcher with a good slider in baseball, I realized it was time to focus on golf instead. I had hit against guys with curveballs, but a nasty slider might be the most difficult thing I've ever tried to hit and failed miserably.
Howd your knees hold up on that slider? 😂🤣
@@btnhstillfire They folded like a cheap house of cards. I wasn't the only one so luckily I didn't look that stupid. He ended up playing for the Florida Gators he was that good and the rest of us were meh
In the MLB the ball is thrown so hard you cant actually watch it all the way in.. your brain actually only takes in when it leaves the hand to where it crosses in front of you your brain fills in the rest so the two images make sense so basically they are very good at seeing a ball leave a hand drawing a mental picture of where the ball should end up and swing at that before it gets to them
I grew up in America and love baseball myself. I played a couple years but I would swing at ANYTHING 😂😂
The Dad talking about the weather effecting the ball movement reminded me of the 'spit ball' in the old days that was outlawed here in the U.S. The umpire was always stopping play and inspecting the ball to see if it was koshur, so to speak.
Try tapping a strike zone on a garage door, place yourself about 40-50 away with a tennis ball and have at it. You’ll be surprised at how much control you will develop. You might actually throw a few strikes. Then get Daz to try and hit it with a 30 inch hunk of broom stick. Welcome to summer, gents.
UA-cam has videos comparing cricket and baseball, videos explaining the physics of pitch movement, videos showing how to grip the ball for each type of pitch, videos showing pitchers throwing from a variety of arm angles and release points. Sometimes it takes YEARS for pitchers to master specific pitches before they throw it in a real game. The rabbit hole is DEEP (and enjoyable).
At 5:40 (and 13:55) you have a slow-motion pitch of Boston's Tim Wakefield. He was the last of the "Knuckleball" pitchers. Please note the "lack of rotation" of the ball. There is no spin and the "seams" of the ball are quite visible...a classic Knukleball.
At 7:52 you see a perfect example of a pitched ball traveling between sun and shadows. The pitcher is in a shadow and the batter is in a bright sun. It is very difficult for a batter to follow the path of a pitched ball when it comes in and out of shadows.
Plus catching a knuckle ball is difficult as well. Wakefield had Doug Mirabelli catching on his day in the rotation. The catchers also use a bigger glove like a first baseman’s glove or even a softball glove.
R.A. Dickey was a knuckleball pitcher so Wakefield wasn’t the last.
Daz: "I'm not an expert at baseball."
Also Daz: *names every single Toledo Blue Stockings player from memory*
I can recall players from a ton of sports I know nothing about. Knowing players does not mean you know the game well.
@@HaiBeast it was a joke
Hitting a baseball is the hardest single skill in sports. Look it up. The Batter has only a fraction of a second, to recognize the pitch and swing.
Absolutely right! The catcher knows what pitch is coming so he can anticipate where it's going to be when it reaches him.
Sometimes a batter can see the rotation of the ball as it leaves the pitcher's hand (which is amazing) so he can anticipate which direction the ball is going move as it crosses the plate.
I think the pitcher you were talking about was John Rocker. He was known more for playing with the Atlanta Braves from 98 to 01, then he joined the Indians.
Ah Rocker. Gave an epic interview to SI back in 1999.
@@heywoodjablowme8120 Yeah. I remember the 99 NLCS.
@@silverg9540 Ha, I remember Twisted Sister was pissed because he used to run on to the field to "I Wanna Rock" and they didn't like it. They complained to Congress about censorship in the 80s and bitched about this in the 90s. Thought it was very rock and roll sellout-ish.
@@heywoodjablowme8120 They probably bitched because of that SI interview.
@@silverg9540 The guy was money I'll give him that. Good closer although at the time nobody was better than Mariano Rivera. That dude was like betting on a Mike Tyson fight back in his prime.
This is where analytics comes into play big-time. Scouting reports will provide details on a pitcher and can tell a batter how likely a pitcher is to, say, throw a curve ball when there are already two strikes or some other pattern in their recent pitching history that the batter can then try and use to anticipate what is going to be coming at them.
4:27 Batters can tell pitch types depending on the spin of the ball sometimes you see a red circle from the seams indicating a curve, sometimes it’s off center for different pitches
In high school I faced a guy that would go on to be drafted by the Yankees and played in their minor league system. He never reached the majors but his stats are actually really really good. His name is Casey Erickson. Dude threw 90s w a high 80s slider. That slider was fn disgusting. Scariest pitch you will ever see. Looks like its coming right at your face and literally at the last 1/4 of a second it just snaps into the strike zone. Your knees are gone lol
I honestly felt proud that I even fouled one of those pitches off. I struck out but I felt good about just getting a foul tip lol. Thats how nasty this dude was.
There's a conversation with the signals, but recently they've also added radio earpieces called pitchcoms.
It's not just about movement, it's about being able to throw different pitches on the same plane with the same release. It's about changing speeds and it's about dropping down sometimes and releasing the ball from a lower spot the batter isn't looking at.
For precision pitchers you look up Greg Maddux. He was a guy that came up throwing mid 90s but settled into throwing low 90s/high 80s constantly changing speeds and location. Maddux rarely threw a ball outside the strike zone.
For deception you look up a guy like David Cone who would not only change speeds but would also throw at different angles including an almost submarine delivery.
My beerleague softball teammates hated it when i tried to throw out base runners. I had played baseball in high school and learned to pitch a breaking ball. So my throws would constantly drop. Sometimes it worked out, and the throw would set up the tag beautifully. Other times, it would bounce all the way to the outfield.
Should also be pointed out, because I've seen people mention the signals between pitcher and catcher, but sign-stealing is a thing in baseball too and has been since the beginnings of the game.
Batters are not supposed to peek behind them, but some manage to (at the risk or possibly catching a fastball to the head if the pitcher and catcher realize what he is doing). Runners on base, particularly second base, will also indicate to batters what pitch is coming (if the team has figured out what the signs mean what). Pitchers and catchers will often change signs in mid-game or even mid at-bat because of this. Coaches and players in the dugout are often tasked with stealing signs (I think it is considered part of your job when you are a pitcher who pitched the day before and is not slated to pitch that day, then you are keeping an eye on things and trying to relay anything you notice to your manager/teammates).
Team's have been known to outright cheat too, using cameras and others means to steal signs and then relay the information to the dugout/players. There was a huge scandal a few years back where the Astros were caught blatantly stealing signs and using the information in real time while up to bat (and they were assholes about it when accused of it, even though there is pretty damning evidence), so it tarnished their first franchise world series victory. There is a whole Jomboy video about it that went viral, and then Foolish Baseball's follow up to that helped break things wide open.
Aw, no submarine pitchers made the compilation.
It’s mostly grip on the laces of the ball and how you release it off your fingers that causes different spins resulting in movement. Sometimes gravity can play a part for additional drop on certain pitches.
Sports explained does a good video on different pitch types and how to identify them.
There's a video on youtube that explains all the pitches. The order in which they get thrown against the batter also can matter a huge amount. Throwing 2 fastballs in a row, high or down the center and catching them looking; and then throwing a curve etc. that comes out the same way your fastball comes out but then breaks and goes a different way can really catch them off guard.
love the baseball vids, btw the weather can and sometimes does have a slight affect on the movement and or velocity of the ball thrown by the pitchers, some more than others. But believe it or not it will affect the hitters hitting the ball probably more so because of the time the ball stays in the air off of the bat.
will you be reacting to the cubs / cards in london ?
For the batter it is incredibly difficult. That's why hitting a MLB Pitcher is considered one of the hardest things to do in sports.
In order to figure out what kind of pitch it is and where to swing you have to pick up the seams when the pitcher throws it because the seams will look different based on the spin (different spin means different movement), calculate about how fast it's coming in because that'll narrow down what kind of pitch it is (fastball vs. offspeed), and look at it's trajectory (starting high means it may be a curveball meant to break into the zone) and that'll give you a guess at what kind of pitch it is and where it's going... Oh, but you have to do all of that, literally, quicker than you can blink because that's how much time you have to react.
So if the pitch starts high, is moving slowly, and you pick up what looks like a "dot" on the baseball because the seams are spinning in a way that it looks like there is a dot in the middle of it that means it is a curveball and you need to wait a little longer (because it's a slower pitch) and swing way lower than it looks like the ball is going to go (because curveballs tend to break vertically, 12 to 6 on a clock)
It's insane that anyone can hit a baseball, honestly.
one thing about pitching is the use of the seams on the ball. hold the ball one way and then the way you throw it gives you an outcome that youre looking for. you can see balls with little to no spin on them those are called a knuckleball, those are actually some of the hardest pitches to hit, youd think that theyd be easier but without a lot of spin they have some weird movements
13:56 that's a knuckleball. And the box is called the strike zone.
Some of these pitches aren't actual strikes. The catcher also plays a part in a ball being called a strike or being called a ball. Some catchers in baseball are masters of the craft of catching as they have learned to move their glove in a certain way to make it seem like the ball was in the strike zone when it actually wasn't. It makes the game really interesting because the pitcher is trying to set up the batter all game for a certain type of pitch, and sometimes the pitcher really fools the batter. Other times the pitcher is trying to throw a certain pitch, but it's not perfectly thrown like he would like it, so the catcher comes in and can make the pitch look better than it actually was by framing the plate.
11:15 no Daz it takes more then two weeks or two months to learn how to throw accurately for most. If you go to any regular high school game you’re gonna see a good amount of wild throws and those are kids who have played most of their childhood.
The ball comes in so fast that the batter has to anticipate but can't actually see it. You have to remember that the ball is coming right at them. An example is when ppl try to cross a rail when the signal/barriers are lit and in place. The peek down the line and see the train coming but it looks to be far enough away that they try to cross before it arrives. What humans can't do is tell how far away something is when it is traveling at speed. So, when the driver get halfway cross, the train is 'suddenly' on top of them.
The same thing happens when someone walks or pulls out into traffic. BAM!
This phenomenon is occurring between the batter and ball. The batter knows he can't 'watch the ball', he'll miss every time. He has to try and anticipate where it will cross the plate. The mind-game is when the pitcher knows this and will move his body a certain way to 'fool' the batter. The pitcher also knows the types of pitches the batter favors. The pitcher tries to make it look like he's throwing the 'batter's favorite pitch', but doesn't. Curve balls/sliders and knuckle balls all fool the best batters. Change up pitches (throwing slow pitches when the batter is expecting a faster pitch) can also fool a batter. (remember the batter can't tell how fast the ball is traveling). The batter will swing before the ball even gets to the plate.
Thanks Daz!!! Welcome to an American sport. It has started to spread around the world. It is getting bigger in Japan. Some of the best Japanese players play in the majors here in the states.
These videos show why hitting a baseball is one of the hardest skills in all of sports. The most impressive thing for me is the speed at which the pitchers are moving the baseball ball. 100 MPH with a lot of break is almost unhittable.
if a pitch moves "arm side" so the same direction as a pitcher's throwing arm, it is typically a Changeup if its slower, or a 2-Seam/sinker if its fast. "Glove side" is the same thing except on the glove arm. Those are sliders if they are slower, and cutters if they are faster. Curveballs drop downwards, and 4 seam fastballs are the straightest pitches and can give the illusion of rising
There are some exceptions, like Dylan Cease's slider moves more downwards like a curveball 9:00, and Rich Hill's curveball moves more horizontal like a slider 9:30
Each time I see a baseball vid pop up on your channel -> huge 😊 on my face. Thanks, boys ⚾️!
The batter will anticipate a pitch depending on the count. They also to can read the pitch depending if the can pick up the spin on the ball
The reason a baseball can be made to curve and drop, rise or slide, are the laces or seams. Baseballs are covered in leather that is stitched together. The thread that is used to stitch the cover onto the ball means it is longer perfectly round. In the hands of capable pitchers, the resistance that's caused by the raised stitching - seams - means they can manipulate the ball to spin in ways that causes it to move, sometimes quite dramatically.
Even if you had two weeks practicing pitching, you still wouldnt be able to. These guys you see playing baseball have been playing the game since elementary school. To do all those wicked pitches, they use different finger grips, throwing angles and spins to make this pitches look so unbelievable. The best baseball pitchers get paid hundreds of millions of dollars to play
One of the best hitters of all time Ted Williams said this about hitting a baseball. It's the only endeavor in sports were you can be successful only 3 out 10 times and still be considered to be good.
Should check out the MLB channels quick question video on the differences in pitch types to really gauge how difficult it is to throw and hit these pitches and the science that goes into it
I will forever assert that hitting a baseball from a pro pitcher is one of the hardest things anyone has to do in any sport. Think about it this way, you are an all-star multi-million dollar player if you successfully hit the ball 30% of the time you get a chance to hit. That's nuts. You fail at your job 70% of the time and you'd still be among the best hitters in the world.
Should check out a video of them showing the different grips when pitching
i wish you can see these pitches from the batters box. they would blow your mind
To answer your question Re: how the batter can hit a curveball… If it’s coming right down the middle and you recognize it’s a curve, you can lay off of it because it will drop out of the strike zone and be called a ball.
If the pitcher misplaces a curveball too high, it will drop in to the strike zone (as opposed to out of the zone or in the dirt) and the batter can hit it hard if he waits on it.
Sometimes they throw them and the ball doesn’t curve/drop that much (often from being tired). Do, the ball just stays straight/flat. This is another mistake batters look to capitalize on…
Hitting a baseball has been scientifically proven to be the hardest thing to do in sports, it’s why you can fail 7/10 times and still be considered really damn good
Hey guys! Loving the videos by the way. The only pitcher that I can remember clearly doing that was a guy named Jared Hughes with the Cincinatti Reds.
Randy Johnson was six feet, ten inches tall. Randy had longish hair and a mustache, and was a lefty that threw with almost a sidearm motion. If you were a left handed hitter, he was releasing the ball behind the batter's head.
Chris Sale reminds me a lot of Randy Johnson in terms of overall physique and pitching style
hilarious at-bat of Jon Kruk vs. Randy Johnson in an all-star game. Kruk, one of the better left hand batters in the league at the time, spent most of the at-bat jumping out of the way and looking absolutely terrified. I don't blame him. "The Big Unit" (Randy Johnson) was an absolute freak as a pitcher.
@@whimsofmim And I believe it was Larry Walker who the very next year, in the All-Star Game, when Johnson fired one over or behind him, he turned his helmet around and tried to bat righty.
@@phunkjnky lol I remember that now! That was hilarious XD
The main game of risk with the breaking pitches being thrown is what is called “hanging” a breaking pitch. In place of dropping under/away from the bat and being an enigma, it stays where the hitter recognized it to be and simply spins. Then it gets deposited into the bleachers.
A MLB fastball takes about .5 seconds to get from the pitchers hand to home plate. So that means as a hitter you have basically .2 seconds to decide on whether you are going to swing or not and where to swing in the box
Major League batters are literally looking to see how the pitcher is holding the ball when he releases it, and how it spins when it's mid-air. They have to do insanely fast calculations in their head, mixed with intuition and knowledge of what pitches that particular guy throws and how often he tends to throw each. It's a very complex dance they're doing. But the best hitters can literally see the grip the pitcher has on the ball right as he's letting go of the ball.
Yall should watch someone throwing curves and sliders from the catcher's perspective, really shows you how insane these pitches are (even though most videos are highschoolers or college players).i think there are some of these types of videos scattered through youtube.
Shoulda been some knuckleball throwers on this. Got some wild movement.
Yes the catcher is telling the pitcher what to pitch and location, the pitcher decides if that's the pitch he wants to throw, but they both know what type of pitch and approximate location
As others have pointed out, most of these nasty pitches were set up by other pitches earlier in the at bat. The best pitches are very skilled at making it so their motion and the way they release the ball looks very similar, despite the type of pitch they are throwing.
Some of them will start a batter off earlier in the at bat with 90+ mph heat, but then yank the string on a breaking ball like these pitches (and when they leave the pitcher's hand, they look like they are going to be another fastball). Since batters only have a fraction of a second to identify and decide if they are going to swing, there is a real "cat and mouse" guessing game that is going on during the at-bat, and these pitches are particularly nasty because most of these batters were probably looking fastball and the pitchers fooled them badly with some really nasty breaking stuff. Even better, some of the batters were probably expecting a break ball and still missed it badly. That is when you know the pitch is especially nasty.
I've always thought that one of the very hardest things to do in any sport is to hit a baseball in the Major League. Most of those pitchers are throwing their fastballs in the mid-90 mph range, so you have a split second to attempt to determine where the ball's gonna be, whether or not you should swing at it, and attempt to hit it with a cylindrical bat. A really good hitter in the pros only hits .300 or above, meaning they get a hit only 3 out of 10 at-bats on average. That's a crazy low percentage...
been to 4 Cricket bowls. Never once met a happy fan.
As a Rockies fan, I am not the slightest bit surprised that no Rockies pitchers qualified to make this compilation.
If you look closely at some of those pitches there were two that I saw that has no spin at all. Talk about nasty! Those pitches can movie in multiple directions on the way to the plate. As far as ball placement goes few could come close to Greg Maddux. He had pin point accuracy and, he could throw the ball with the same arm motion and same release point 5 times, and the ball would end up at 5 different locations with a different speed every time. He was a master.
The way you get a hit against these type of pitchers is you MUST get ahead in the count. 2 balls and no strikes, 3 balls and 1 strike. In those scenarios the pitcher is most likely gonna throw a strike and then you have to convert once you shrink the pitchers zone.
In case you were wondering in professional baseball the batter has 0.3 seconds to swing the bat once the pitcher throws the ball and coincidentally 0.3 seconds is the same amount of time it takes to blink
It is all about disguising the pitch in the first two tenths of a second. The pitcher may throw a 95mph fastball above the strike zone, then follow it up with an 85 mph curve. In the first two tenths of a second the pitches look identical to the batter. The slower speed and spin of the ball make the ball drop faster so it might end up low in the strike zone. The batter may have already decided it was going to be a ball and never swings or tries to rush the swing. It could be that he swings to early because he is thinking it is going to be coming in a 95mph. 100mph fast balls are very hard to hit but if you start throwing in curves and change ups it starts getting really hard.
Baseball is a little slower (less this season with new pitch timer) than other sports, but is one of the most cerebral organized sports. Pitchers and catchers study lineups and analyze every single hitter's strengths and weaknesses like this guy hits really well low and inside or this guy struggles with identifying off-speed pitches. Batters do the same with the pitchers. When they're in the box, they only have like .02 of a second to determine where the pitch is going and swing. Hitting a Major League fastball is widely regarded as the most difficult thing to do in all of sports. First time I took a pitch in the 90+ mph range, felt like swinging in slow motion. Think the catcher had already thrown the ball back to the pitcher before my bat even came around.
Its the direction the laces on the ball are spinning that determines which direction the ball will curve.
I’m watching this on Independence Day. Aaron Nola had an excellent day versus the Marlins today. 😀
A wide, flat cricket bat has 800% more hitting surface than a baseball bat. Also the fact that in cricket a ball hit behind the batsman is in play and can score runs as opposed to baseball where those would be foul balls into the stands, makes it even more difficult to score in baseball as compared with cricket.
can make arguments that cricket is harder in those aspects, defense strategy is extremely important in cricket, since there is no foul ground, you need fielders to be in the right place around the field. It's 2 completely different sports, cricket is more about wickets (outs) and baseball is more about runs. It's much harder in cricket to get an "out" than it is in baseball, and much harder to get a run in baseball than it is in cricket. In my opinion, it is harder to be a bowler in cricket than a pitcher in baseball (can't bend your elbow in cricket), but harder to be a hitter in baseball than in cricket. Both are amazing sports, i don't believe one or the other is more difficult than the other overall.
Congratulations to the National Champions 2023 LSU tigers Men NCAA Baseball team , and the 2023 LSU NCAA Women Basketball teams, geaux tigers!
No one cares unless it's football 🐘
I'm a bit late on this but I am aware that altitude can effect the movement of pitches because the way pitches gain movement is through how much air is built up on the seems of the ball, so altitude can effect movement yes.
A lot of what makes these pitches nasty is what comes before it. Like you were talking about with deception, the perfect pitch is one that looks like a fastball for 1/2 of the way then moves. If all a guy throws is the best curveball over and over he will get crushed.
As an American I don’t know much about cricket but I’d love for yall to react to it and give a little insight on the sport. Also if y’all have never looked into it you should react to the AFL in Australia. I wish we could start a an Australian football league in the US.
Hope they showed the Marinao Rivera cutter. Probably the most lethal pitch ever thrown.
What you miss in videos like this is that these are full at-bats and the pitchers have to get 3 pitches either across the plate in the zone for a called strike that the batters don't swing at, or 3 swings and misses, or a combination of those. So the final (strike 3) pitch is the culmination of "setting up" the batter. All the pitches that were thrown previously "set the batter up" which is why you see some of these wild swings at pitches they effectively stand no chance at hitting. In the pros, the release point of all these pitches is the same, so in the first few hundredths of seconds, every pitch looks effectively the same. It's on the batter to be able to both anticipate and identify the pitch being thrown, and then either choose to take or choose to swing, and then if choosing to swing, put the bat on precisely where they anticipate the pitch crossing the plate. It is a mental chess game that takes place both in the blink of an eye for each pitch, but also throughout the at-bat, throughout the game (in the case of starting pitchers), and throughout the entire season (via scouting reports and studying video). It is an insane interaction between pitcher/catcher and hitter, and it's the reason why getting a hit off a major league baseball pitcher is about the most difficult feat in all of sport.
You are on the right track. A pitch cannot, by the laws of physics, rise. However, a four-seam fastball is sometimes called a riser, because it "appears" to rise. What actually is happening is that it doesn't fall as fast as you anticipate, hence it appears to be rising.
When they say the ball is “rising” it’s not actually going higher in the air. The spin on the ball is so high that it makes it look like the ball is rising to the batter even though it’s not. It’s really just staying on the same plane or maybe an inch or two below where the pitcher threw it by time it gets to the batter
I saw a video where a cricket player learned to hit a baseball and he learned fast so I think cricket skills could apply to hit a baseball at the batting cages.
"five-day game" supports all American stereotypes of cricket... If they exist 😂
We do have three- and four-day series, though
Yes, the catcher does call the plays and he does move around behind the batter to fool him where the ball is going, so you can only hear where he is. Your'e not allowed to look behind you as the batter as well. Such a nuanced sport.
Recommend yall watch 'how to identify baseball pitches' for more background
There's a reason why they say hitting a baseball is one of if not the hardest thing to do in sports. It is no joke at that level.
Do you guys like Rugby?? I don’t know much about it but I’ve seen a couple of games in a local bar league & it was really good!
The cool thing is most of these batters are hitting legends. Gomes, trout, ohtani. The pitches are so good they make elite hitters look foolish
Most of it is how they put there fingers on the ball, I've never pitched, but they have there fingers positioned different places to throw different pitches
Also anyone who is analytical gets sucked in. The manager can send in pitch types and based on the pitch type tell the position players where to stand because statistically that’s where the ball will be hit.
The stitches on the ball make the movement and if the air is heavy, cold, humid it moves more. It takes about half a second to get from the pitchers hand to the plate. "Last second" you missed the all.
Ball that hit umpire's foot was a knuckleball, no spin and floating around. You can see that catcher is using large outfielder's glove and not usual small thick padded catchers glove, because nobody knows where it's going.
As a batter you hit the ball by accounting for a few things. First you will know what a pitcher throws assuming there's a scouting report of some sort. So that narrows the options. Then it's the situation. No strikes and no balls it can be any pitch in the arsenal. Granted you'll probably know what a pitcher's favorite pitch is. But if you're a great hitter you also no he's not starting with pitches down the middle or pitches you hit good. And they'll know if you're good. So that narrows you down. Then it get's super situational0 balls and 2 strikes often means the next pitches are gonna be up and away or down in the dirt and away. Away so as not to make a mistake and hit you. down to try to get you to strike out on a ball you have zero chance of hitting. Knowing this if the count is O balls 2 strikes you're probably thinking about things like fast ball away, breaking ball down and away. So you're making an educated guess. Conversely, if it's a full count, 3 balls, 2 strikes, the pitcher must throw a strike or it's a walk and you're on first base so as a batter you're anticipating whatever the pitchers favorite pitches and anticipating them near the plate. So if his go to pitches are a fast ball and a slider well with a full count you're looking for fastball first but you're anticipating it might be a slider. Some batters can see spin on breaking balls to and react to that. It's a split second reaction so it's not like they are always picking our the exact pitch. also some pitchers have slightly different motions and release points for certain pitches so if you know those you can make educated guess when the pitch is released. The other thing is once you start hitting such high velocities it's very hard to stop a swing.
i believe the pitcher your thinking of is Ricky 'wild thing' Vaughn
Wow! Some of those pitches were truly nasty. A lot of times the movement is so subtle you can't really see it from the camera's perspective. The pitch really only needs to move a couple inches to fool the batter.
How the WBC changed baseball is a great one by baseball doesn’t exist to check out
Sometimes the camera angle and the pitchers handedness might not capture how much the ball runs. It might look straight on tv camera but it might start out running in to a hitter and break into the strikezone and the hitter turns away when it looks like the ball didn’t do much to us the viewer.
There some videos where different pitches are thrown by the same pitcher where everything is identical but the ball breaks a different way which just showcases how tough it is to hit.
The science behind what it takes to hit major league pitching is also fairly interesting. Talking about milliseconds to recognize, decide, and swing. Even heard how the last 15 feet or so the ball is basically invisible to the hitter. Which makes it easy to understand why some guys swing at pitches that’s are not even close to the strike zone.
I think the purists will simply argue that hitting a baseball is the hardest thing to do in pro sports. Simply because the superstars in this sport are only successful 3 times out of 10. If you hit .300 avg in baseball for your career is an accomplishment. The thing is you have to account for a baseball on an XY and Z axis. A pitcher could throw a baseball that looks like a fastball, the hitter recognizes it, and swings away but instead he was thrown a change up which might be 10 mph less than a fastball and you will swing and miss before the ball arrives.
From the pitchers mound to home plate is 60 feet., 6 inches. The ball gets there fast.... I am not an expert, but I think it comes down to spin and velocity. There is a pitcher these days named Chapman who has a 106 MPH fastball. That is blazing!!!! At this level, their off-speed stuff is in the 70's and 80's. Baseball is a fun sport! Enjoy men......