This September was a big one for pitchers. Justin Verlander threw his third career no-no and hit 3,000 strikeouts for his career. His teammate Gerrit Cole also finished the year above 300 strikeouts and ended with the highest K/9 in a season in the history of the game. And that’s without mentioning other pitchers who are starting to come to full form. Most importantly, some absurd GIFs emerged in September. 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 September 2019.
The best 16 have been pulled aside and ranked. Yesterday, we cut that number in half. Now it’s on you, the voter, to decide which stands above the rest.
Here are the rules:
- All GIFs were pulled from September 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 from Round 1:
American Bracket
8. Jason Adam’s Curveball defeated 1. Brad Wieck’s Curveball
2. Brusdar Graterol’s Sinker defeated 7. Sandy Alcantara’s Sinker
3. Jose Berrios’ Curveball defeated 6. Justin Verlander’s Fastball
5. Gerrit Cole’s Slider defeated 4. Gerrit Cole’s Fastball
National Bracket
1. Yu Darvish’s Slider defeated 8. Josh Hader’s Slider
7. Stephen Strasburg’s Changeup defeated 2. Rich Hill’s Curveball
6. Anthony Kay’s Curveball defeated 3. Chaz Roe’s Slider
4. Trevor Bauer’s Two-Seamer defeated 5. Max Fried’s Curveball
And here are the Round 2 matchups:
American Bracket
5. Gerrit Cole’s Slider vs. 8. Jason Adam’s Curveball
2. Brusdar Graterol’s Sinker vs. 3. Jose Berrios’ Curveball
National Bracket
1. Yu Darvish’s Slider vs. 4. Trevor Bauer’s Two-Seamer
6. Anthony Kay’s Curveball vs. 7. Stephen Strasburg’s Changeup
Watch the GIFs in the Links Below!
Featured image by Justin Paradis (@freshmeatcomm on Twitter)
Gerrit Cole’s Slider vs. Jason Adam’s Curveball
So our first round definitely didn’t go as expected. Brad Wieck had one of the most popular pitches in individual Nastiest Pitches votes, but he couldn’t break the 50% threshold yesterday. Instead of Wieck, our biggest underdog of the tournament will look to continue his run. But Jason Adam’s curve that straight up freezes Gleyber Torres will have to overcome another tough opponent. He’ll be going up against Gerrit Cole and his disgusting slider that absolutely destroys J.P. Crawford’s balance.
https://gfycat.com/everlastingimpuregoat-gerrit-cole-sl-9-24-19-baseball
VS.
https://gfycat.com/velvetypowerfulelephantbeetle-baseball
Which was the better pitch? Vote to decide which pitch advances to the next round!
[polldaddy poll=10422636]
Brusdar Graterol’s Sinker vs. Jose Berrios’ Curveball
Our next matchup from the our American Bracket features a battle of two Twins. Our 2 seed, Brusdar Graterol, uses an absolutely devastating sinker to freeze Yasiel Puig. With Jordan Hicks riding the 60-day IL all season, it’s refreshing to see a dude throw his sinker with both elite power and finesse at the same time. His competition comes in the form of the Twins’ ace, Jose Berrios. Berrios opts for a high spin curveball which runs in and jams Matt Skole, who couldn’t possibly react in time to hold up on this wicked pitch.
https://gfycat.com/falseaccomplishedbandicoot-cleveland-indians-minnesota-twins-baseball
VS.
https://gfycat.com/waterywideeyedkudu-chicago-white-sox-minnesota-twins-baseball
Which was the better pitch? Vote to decide which pitch advances to the next round!
[polldaddy poll=10422635]
Yu Darvish’s Slider vs. Trevor Bauer’s Two-Seamer
Yu Darvish emerged as the clear favorite of our tournament after yesterday’s vote, in which he easily captured 80% of the vote. I mean, just look at this pitch, the right-to-left movement on it is just absurd. But his new NL Central rival, Trevor Bauer, can make a case against Darvish, with this two-seamer that gets some gorgeous spin and runs out of the zone. So will it be Darvish and his sweeping slider or Bauer and his trailing two-seamer?
https://gfycat.com/hastyplaincondor-yu-darvish-sl-9-22-19
VS.
https://gfycat.com/highleveldependentgoldfish-trevor-bauer-ft-9-15-19-baseball
Which was the better pitch? Vote to decide which pitch advances to the next round!
[polldaddy poll=10422634]
Anthony Kay’s Curveball vs. Stephen Strasburg’s Changeup
For our final quarterfinal matchup, we’re featuring two major upset pitches. Both Anthony Kay and Stephen Strasburg won their respective matchups to advance to our quarterfinal. Kay used his front door curve that gets Travis d’Arnaud turning around in fear, and Strasburg goes plain filthy on this changeup that swerves out of the zone. One of these guys will get a chance to push forward and continue their run into the final four, but which will it be?
https://gfycat.com/uglyspiffychameleon-baseball
VS.
https://gfycat.com/digitalpepperyindiancow-philadelphia-phillies-baseball
Which was the better pitch? Vote to decide which pitch advances to the next round!
[polldaddy poll=10422632]