Every week we review the nastiest pitches from the previous week in glorious HD GIFs. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite pitch and and check back this weekend to see if it will be in contention for the GIF of the First Half Contest. Did we miss your favorite pitch? Send us a tweet next time @ThePitcherList and we’ll GIF it up + give you a shoutout here in the article.
Aaron Nola’s Curveball – It’s great to see Nola pitching again after some back trouble, and he got back into the swing of things right from the start. His curveball also has amazing depth and he can spot it basically wherever he wants. This pitch causes a big flinch from pitcher Chad Kuhl that is a little mean to point out considering Kuhl’s job isn’t hitting.
Scott Feldman’s Fastball – It was one incredible evening for Feldman against the Indians as his struck out the first five batters his faced. The fourth was Carlos Santana on a Fastball that blew our mind as it bent a ton to zoom back over the plate from Santana’s hip.
Jose Berrios’ Curveball – Berrios was looking all kinds of filthy against the Orioles on Wednesday, with his crazy good breaking ball stealing the spotlight. There were plenty to choose from, but this strikeout pitch to Caleb Joseph looks just like a wiffleball.
Adam Ottavino’s Sliders – Ottavino’s windup is extremely closed so the ball seems like it’s coming from behind righty batters as it makes it’s way toward the plate. What makes Ottavino great is his Slider gets so much movement he’s able to fool lefties as well. These two Sliders to Odubel Herrera and Maikel Franco show how Ottavino gets hitters of both hands to look foolish.
Zack Greinke’s Eephus – Okay, this pitch is more like a slow-Curve than a true Eephus, but the Arizona scoreboard called it that and I’m going to roll with it. Greinke had a fantastic evening against the White Sox and he wanted to show something new in the ninth inning to Yolmer Sanchez. I think it did the trick.
Koda Glover’s Slider – Dusty Baker has finally given Glover the official “closer” label and it’s well deserved. Just look at what he can do with a baseball at a blistering 94mph. It’s on the border of Cutter and Slider, but with the amount of movement this pitch got, we’re calling it a slide piece…the fastest we’re seeing in the majors. (Thanks to Redditors gpgpg and Weegian for the tips!)
Clayton Kershaw’s Curveball – If you tuned in to this game, it was vintage Kershaw as he had a CGSHO stripped away from him by a “wild pitch”. Regardless, he fanned ten Cardinals hitters over nine innings, including many with his signature Curveball. Our favorite was this one to Stephen Piscotty that goes from noses to toes. (Thanks to Redditor SarcasticCroissant for the tip!)
Craig Kimbrel’s Curveball – Kimbrel had the pleasure of striking out 4 batters in one inning in his outing last night after his strikeout pitch to Nomar Mazara ended up hitting his back foot and rolling to the backstop. The slo motion shot shows just how far Mazara was from hitting the ball after the ridiculous break that Kimbrel gets on the pitch.
GIF Of The Week
Which was your favorite pitch? Vote below and the winner will be featured in the GIF of the First Half Contest.
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Nola’s curve should be right up there with Berrios