This July was a big one for pitchers. Marcus Stroman became a Met, Trevor Bauer perfected the art of long tossing before being traded and other pitchers are starting to come to full form. Most importantly, some absurd GIFs emerged in July. 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 July 2019.
The best 16 have been pulled aside and ranked. Now it’s on you, the voter, to decide which stands above the rest.
Here are the rules:
- All GIFs were pulled from July 2019 (including the All-Star Game).
- 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. EST the following morning. This is the first round.
Here are the matchups for Round 1:
American Bracket
1. Oliver Drake’s Splitter vs. 8. Jose Alvarado’s Cutter
2. Jose Berrios’ Curveball vs. 7. Mike Clevinger’s Curveball
3. Adam Ottavino’s Slider vs. 6. Yonny Chirinos‘ Two-Seamer
4. Stephen Strasburg’s Fastball vs. 5. Gerrit Cole’s Fastball
National Bracket
1. Chaz Roe’s Slider 1 vs. 8. Chaz Roe’s Slider 2
2. Walker Buehler’s Two-Seamer vs. 7. Clayton Kershaw’s Curveball
3. Josh Hader’s Slider vs. 6. Kyle Crick’s Slider
4. Charlie Morton’s Curveball vs. 5. Mike Soroka’s Two-Seamer
Watch the GIFs in the Links Below!
Featured Image by Justin Paradis (@freshmeatcomm on Twitter)
Oliver Drake’s Splitter vs. Jose Alvarado’s Cutter
Jose Alvarado and Oliver Drake are just a few of the names the Rays have that throw absurd stuff. Starting with our 8 seed, Alvarado’s cutter gets some sick break to induce a whiff out of Rio Ruiz. But he faces some stiff competition from his teammate. Drake’s splitter won a whopping 86% of the vote when it was first featured in Nastiest Pitches, and I expect it will still get a nice majority. But, then again, maybe Alvarado will surprise us and pull off the upset.
https://gfycat.com/naturalgreathorsemouse-baseball
VS.
https://gfycat.com/honorableimpressiveiggypops-baseball
Which was the better pitch? Vote to decide which pitch advances to the next round!
[polldaddy poll=10379366]
Jose Berrios’ Curveball vs. Mike Clevinger’s Curveball
Mike Clevinger has been fantastic this season when he’s been healthy, and in this GIF he shows why he’s so dominant. He tosses a gorgeous curve with some 12-6 movement that gets a whiff, which he follows up with a lazy leg kick. He’ll be competing against a Jose Berrios curveball from this year’s All-Star game. Facing Ronald Acuña, Berrios throws a curve that sweeps out of the zone to get a satisfying swing-and-a-miss from the young phenom.
https://gfycat.com/linedminiatureappaloosa-jose-berrios-cu-7-9-19-baseball
VS.
https://gfycat.com/spicygranularbeardedcollie-baseball
Which was the better pitch? Vote to decide which pitch advances to the next round!
[polldaddy poll=10379368]
Adam Ottavino’s Slider vs. Yonny Chirinos‘ Two-Seamer
Our 3 vs. 6 matchup is a battle of the AL East. First up is our 3 seed, Adam Ottavino. Ottavino puts Rockies slugger Nolan Arenado into a spin cycle as his slider causes the perennial MVP candidate to look like a little leaguer. He’ll be going up against Yonny Chirinos and his two-seam fastball. Interestingly enough, the team Chirinos K’s is the Yanks themselves. The two-seamer gets some nasty movement as it absolutely freezes DJ Lemaiheu at the plate.
https://gfycat.com/likelymealyjunco-adam-ottavino-sl-7-21-19
VS.
https://gfycat.com/tastyorderlyharrier-baseball
Which was the better pitch? Vote to decide which pitch advances to the next round!
[polldaddy poll=10379372]
Stephen Strasburg’s Fastball vs. Gerrit Cole’s Fastball
Finishing off on the left side of our bracket, we’ve got two heaters delivered from some of the best in the game. Strasburg’s heater runs in and jams Scott Kingery to get a strike 3 on a full count, but Cole has one of the best fastballs in the game. His heater sits in the upper-90s and owns the second highest fastball pVAL in the league (his 18.8 is second only to Lance Lynn’s 22.3). This one is gonna come down to a personal preference. If you enjoy jamming hitters you’ll vote Strasburg, but if you love darts on the paint, you’ll go with Cole.
https://gfycat.com/weeklybluebeagle-baseball
VS.
https://gfycat.com/wideacclaimedindigowingedparrot-gerrit-cole-ff-7-22-19-baseball
Which was the better pitch? Vote to decide which pitch advances to the next round!
[polldaddy poll=10379376]
Chaz Roe’s Slider 1 vs. Chaz Roe’s Slider 2
In this matchup we’ve got Chaz Roe going up against… Chaz Roe? Yep, Chaz Roe is so filthy that he’s got two sliders to choose from in this tournament. In a different format, these would both be high seeds, but since we wanna keep things relatively fair, you have to select which one of his pitches has to be eliminated before the quarterfinals. Good luck making a decision between his slider that runs a foot off the plate and the front door breaking ball that freezes Gary Sanchez. It might not be an easy one.
https://gfycat.com/secondhanddisgustingbadger-chaz-roe-sl-7-28-19
VS.
https://gfycat.com/farawayimpassionediberianemeraldlizard-baseball
Which was the better pitch? Vote to decide which pitch advances to the next round!
[polldaddy poll=10379379]
Walker Buehler’s Two-Seamer vs. Clayton Kershaw’s Curveball
The Los Angeles Dodgers have one of the best rotations in baseball, mostly thanks to their three aces, Hyun-Jin Ryu, Clayton Kershaw and Walker Buehler. Let’s skip over Ryu for now though, because were talking about the latter two. There’s not much new with the Kershaw curve, it’s the same pitch as it’s always been. It drops quickly, it’s good at getting whiffs and it’s just pure filth. But dang, there’s something to be said for Buehler, who gets Rhys Hoskins to utterly collapse at the plate as he swings at one of the filthiest two-seamers we’ve seen all year.
https://gfycat.com/immaculatedensegosling-walker-uehler-ft-7-16-19
VS.
https://gfycat.com/frayedimmaterialdogfish-baseball
Which was the better pitch? Vote to decide which pitch advances to the next round!
[polldaddy poll=10379381]
Josh Hader’s Slider vs. Kyle Crick’s Slider
Perhaps the two nastiest bullpen arms in the NL Central, Kyle Crick and Josh Hader go head-to-head here with their sliders. Hader needs no introduction, as he’s been if not the most, one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball the past few years. Crick has been a mainstay of our Nastiest Pitches column thanks to his ridiculous slider that gets some extraordinary whiffs. Both of these pitches get some filthy back foot action, but only one of them can move on. So which one will it be?
https://gfycat.com/edibleuniqueagouti-baseball
VS.
https://gfycat.com/weepybrokenharrierhawk-baseball
Which was the better pitch? Vote to decide which pitch advances to the next round!
[polldaddy poll=10379383]
Charlie Morton’s Curveball vs. Mike Soroka’s Two-Seamer
For our last matchup in this round of 16, we’ve got two of the most pleasant fantasy surprises this year. Both Mike Soroka and Charlie Morton have been top assets this season, and both are likely to be in service into October baseball as well. Morton’s curve was featured in yesterday’s honorable mentions, but we have another version of it today—a back door gem that gets Brock Holt looking. Going up against him is Mike Soroka, who jams Wil Myers on an absolutely filthy two-seamer to complete his seventh inning of shutout ball.
https://gfycat.com/massiveagreeableinchworm-baseball
VS.
https://gfycat.com/necessaryobviousgrayreefshark-mike-soroka-ft-7-14-19
Which was the better pitch? Vote to decide which pitch advances to the next round!
[polldaddy poll=10379386]