2020 was a shorter season than we all hoped it would be, but it was also one we will never forget. While it lacked longevity, it certainly didn’t lack excitement—and around these parts, one of the most exciting aspects of a season is, of course, the selection of nasty pitches. There was no shortage of options to choose from for this year’s iteration of the Nastiest Pitches tournament and it was incredibly difficult to whittle the selection down to only 16 pitches. Alas, we have gone through hundreds of pitches to bring you what you’ll see below.
Now, there are a few rules we must follow:
- Please vote for whichever pitches you feel are the nastiest in each matchup. The best thing about Nastiest Pitches is that beauty is in the eye of the beholder—we all have different definitions of what we think a nasty pitch looks like, so there will likely be some surprises in the results.
- 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.
Without further ado, here’s how the 2020 bracket shapes up after the first two rounds:
Bracket Designed by James Peterson (Follow @jhp_design714 on Instagram & Twitter)
Sixto Sánchez‘ Changeup (1)
https://gfycat.com/unfinishedwideblesbok
vs.
Yu Darvish’s Slider (2)
https://gfycat.com/bittershoddygrayreefshark
Sixto Sánchez once again ran away with a victory, and he looks to be the clear favorite heading into this Filthy Four matchup against the always filthy Yu Darvish. Darvish and his slider beat out Kevin Gausman’s nasty splitter by only five votes, and he was ahead for most of the day by a pretty good margin. Gausman did pick up some late steam but the votes dried up just before the polls closed, and he couldn’t complete his second straight upset. Both of these pitches are awesome and they’re both worthy of the top spot, but only the best will move onto the finals.
Devin Williams‘ Changeup (1)
https://gfycat.com/livelysillyaidi
vs.
Tanner Houck’s Slider (2)
https://gfycat.com/warlikethisatlanticblackgoby
This matchup is between the pitch with the narrowest margin of victory and the pitch with the widest margin of victory in the Exciting Eight. We all know which is which, right? RIGHT?
Yes, Tanner Houck’s devastating slider won by a 32-vote margin. 32! Meanwhile, Devin Williams‘ changeup juuuuuust barely squeaked by Charlie Morton’s ankle-breaking curveball by a margin of only five four votes. Is the king about to be left without a crown? Both of these pitches are worthy of the top spot, and this is going to be a fun matchup to watch.
Tune in tomorrow to see who moves onto the Championship match!
Photo by Adam Davis/Icon Sportswire | Feature Graphic Designed by James Peterson (Follow @jhp_design714 on Instagram & Twitter)