his August was a big one for pitchers. Aaron Sanchez tossed six frames in a combined no-no in his first start for Houston, Gerrit Cole and Chris Sale kept up their ludicrous strikeout rates, and other pitchers are starting to come to full form. Most importantly, some absurd GIFs emerged in August. So ridiculous that the list of honorable mentions from this month probably would have made most other tournaments in the past. Now it’s time to crown the best pitching GIF of them all from August 2019.
The best 16 have been pulled aside and ranked. Yesterday, that number, was halved and we’re down to eight. Now it’s on you, the voter, to decide which stands above the rest.
Here are the rules:
- All GIFs were pulled from August 2019.
- You can only vote on a matchup once, so make sure you pick the one you absolutely want.
- Voting will continue until 12:00 a.m. EDT the following morning. This is the second round.
Here are the results for Round 1:
American Bracket
1. Chaz Roe’s Slider defeated 8. Zack Wheeler’s Changeup
2. Charlie Morton’s Curveball defeated 7. Adrian Houser’s Two-Seamer
3. Hyun-Jin Ryu’s Curveball defeated 6. Yu Darvish’s Curveball
5. Chris Sale’s Slider defeated 4. Dustin May’s Sinker
National Bracket
1. Walker Buehler’s Curveball defeated 8. Brendan McKay’s Curveball
7. Stephen Strasburg’s Curveball defeated 2. Gerrit Cole’s Curveball
6. Sonny Gray’s Slider defeated 3. Trevor Bauer’s Two-Seamer
5. Joe Ross‘ Sinker defeated 4. Kirby Yates‘ Splitter
And here are the Round 2 matchups:
American Bracket
1. Chaz Roe’s Slider vs. 5. Chris Sale’s Slider
2. Charlie Morton’s Curveball vs. 3. Hyun-Jin Ryu’s Curveball
National Bracket
1. Walker Buehler’s Curveball vs. 5. Joe Ross‘ Sinker
6. Sonny Gray’s Slider vs. 7. Stephen Strasburg’s Curveball
Watch the GIFs in the Links Below!
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@freshmeatcomm on Twitter)
Chaz Roe’s Slider vs. Chris Sale’s Slider
Was it any surprise yesterday when Chaz Roe demolished his competition with upwards of 90% of the vote? I personally don’t think so. Roe’s slider is already established as one of the nastiest pitches in the sport (if not the nastiest), and here, it’s Eric Hosmer falling victim to Roe’s absurd pitch. But he’ll have to beat a tough opponent in Chris Sale, whose entire career is staked on the strength of his own slider. Sale’s slider has been his best stuff for the duration of his career, and it’s still just as good as it’s always been, getting a gorgeous whiff here on a pitch that runs away from Jason Kipnis.
https://gfycat.com/fairwaryindianpalmsquirrel-chaz-roe-sl-8-14-19-baseball
VS.
https://gfycat.com/saltyhandsomehorsechestnutleafminer-chris-sale-sl-8-14-19-baseball
Which was the better pitch? Vote to decide which pitch advances to the next round!
[polldaddy poll=10400587]
Charlie Morton’s Curveball vs. Hyun-Jin Ryu’s Curveball
Our second matchup today also includes our closest competition from yesterday. The vote went down to the wire, but in the end, Hyun-Jin Ryu pulled away to take the matchup by a single vote. Ryu’s filthy front-door curve will be going up against our No. 2 seed Charlie Morton and his own disgusting curveball. Morton and his fellow Rays pitchers have been throwing filthy stuff all season, and here, it’s more of the same from the Rays ace. The offering starts off on the inside part of the plate before breaking out of the outside edge to induce a whiff from Miguel Cabrera. Absolute filth.
https://gfycat.com/nextesteemedanglerfish-baseball
VS.
https://gfycat.com/lankyimportantfrilledlizard-baseball
Which was the better pitch? Vote to decide which pitch advances to the next round!
[polldaddy poll=10400588]
Walker Buehler’s Curveball vs. Joe Ross‘ Sinker
Walker Buehler easily defeated Brendan McKay yesterday, and it makes perfect sense. Look at this beautiful curve that he just buries below the zone to get a fine whiff from Josh Naylor. On the other side of this matchup we have Joe Ross and his devastating sinker. The pitch gets some absurd movement down and in and comes in at a blazing 95 mph to get a whiff from the hottest rookie hitter in the league right now.
https://gfycat.com/slimellipticalgallinule-walker-buehler-cu-8-27-19-baseball
VS.
https://gfycat.com/understatedimpassionedcaracal-joe-ross-si-8-14-19-baseball
Which was the better pitch? Vote to decide which pitch advances to the next round!
[polldaddy poll=10400589]
Sonny Gray’s Slider vs. Stephen Strasburg’s Curveball
In our final matchup of the day, we’re featuring two pitchers who picked up big upsets yesterday. First, we have Sonny Gray and his sharp slider, which zips out of the zone too fast for Austin Riley to realize he’s made a mistake with his swing. He’ll be going up against a filthy curveball courtesy of Stephen Strasburg that disappears into the glove of Kurt Suzuki for a swinging strike three. Both pitchers have been having fantastic seasons, but only one can take this matchup. So who will it be: Gray or Strasburg?
https://gfycat.com/splendidannualdanishswedishfarmdog-sonny-gray-sl-8-4-19-baseball
VS.
https://gfycat.com/faithfuluncomfortablebarbet-baseball
Which was the better pitch? Vote to decide which pitch advances to the next round!
[polldaddy poll=10400590]