If there’s one pitch that looks great regardless of how bad the camera angle is, it’s a slider. It’s also become the go-to breaking ball across the league, especially for relievers.
Although the 2019 season is young there have already been a ton of wipeout sliders. In fact, we’re just sticking with sliders this round. No curves, gas, or pulling the string in this tournament. Sliders only. Sixteen entered the tourney, only four still have a shot at the first regular season crown.
Here are the rules:
- All GIFs were pulled from the first two and a half weeks of the season.
- You can only vote on a matchup once, so make sure you pick the one you absolutely want. No take-backsies (very strict policy).
- Voting will continue until 12:00 a.m. EST the following morning. This is the third round.
Here are the results for Round 1:
American Bracket
1. Chaz Roe defeated 8. Mike Clevinger
7. Edwin Diaz defeated 2. Anthony DeSclafani
3. Matt Boyd defeated 6. Adam Ottavino
5. Yusei Kikuchi defeated 4. Caleb Smith
National Bracket
1. Jordan Hicks defeated 8. Max Scherzer
7. Yu Darvish defeated 2. Dylan Bundy
6. Sean Newcomb defeated 3. Collin McHugh
5. Shane Greene defeated 4. Andrew Miller
Here are the results for Round 2:
American Bracket
1. Chaz Roe defeated 5. Yusei Kikuchi
3. Matt Boyd defeated 7. Edwin Diaz
National Bracket
1. Jordan Hicks defeated 5. Shane Greene
6. Sean Newcomb defeated 7. Yu Darvish
Here are the matchups for the Semi-Finals:
American Bracket
1. Chaz Roe vs. 3. Matt Boyd
National Bracket
1. Jordan Hicks vs. 7. Yu Darvish
Watch the GIFs in the Links Below!
Chaz Roe vs. Matt Boyd
If we’re being honest, I didn’t realize until this round Chaz Roe’s slider only misses Rays catcher Mike Zunino’s target by a few inches. Zunino may have ripped it up to the middle of the zone, but if you look at where he sets up, the pitch isn’t far off the mark. Basically, Roe’s slider is the equivalent of Neo in The Matrix. This Matt Boyd slider is nice and all but not quite as nice as Roe’s. (Side note: This matchup features two Blue Jays hitters. That happened with the Phillies in the spring training tournament on more than one occasion. Each instance has been a coincidence.)
https://gfycat.com/giantgorgeoushoneyeater
VS.
https://gfycat.com/weirdfilthycoral
Which was the better pitch? Vote to decide which pitch advances to the next round!
[polldaddy poll=10298115]
Yu Darvish is riding high as the seventh seed, but it looks like the road ends here for the Cubs righty. His slider might have a little more depth, but Jordan Hicks‘ buckled Corey Dickerson in such a way that it looks like he got sniped in his Achilles midswing. In the end, it’s up for all of you to decide who advances to the finals — though I expect this one to be a landslide.
https://gfycat.com/softperkybackswimmer
VS.
https://gfycat.com/dishonestfearfulgalapagostortoise-baseball
Which was the better pitch? Vote to decide which pitch advances to the next round!
[polldaddy poll=10298121]