If you are a pitching coach, a network baseball analyst, or an obsessive stats fan, you know that a good pitcher can throw a variety of pitches, including different fastballs, curveballs, and off-speed pitches.
But for everyone else—and that’s probably 99% of baseball fans—they hear their broadcasters and announcers call out pitch types.
- “Strikes him on slider!”
- “Nasty sweeper for strike three!”
- “Slurve for strike three looking!”
- “Splinker gets him swinging!”
Splinker?
Yes. The “splinker” is the pitch thrown by the rookie right-hander for the Pittsburg Pirates, Paul Skenes. It’s a mix of a splitter and a sinker, so even though it has definite movement, it’s primarily a fastball.
As seen on TV.
And yet, true, die-hard fans who have never played the game (again, that’s most people) can’t tell the difference between one pitch and another, even when they’re watching it on TV.
Today, not only are pitchers throwing more versions of fastball, but they are also throwing a wide variety of breaking balls—including a brand new one sweeping the nation. Here’s a look at the different types of breaking balls and what makes them different. For simplicity’s sake, we’ll refer to right-handed pitchers and hitters. Breaking balls will move away from a right-handed batter, except for the quirky screwball, a reverse curve that few pitchers throw.
The curveball.
With a snap of the wrist, a different grip, and some strain on the elbow), a pitcher can throw a curveball that breaks either down and across or mostly straight down. Because a curveball is a slower pitch than a fastball, and it moves, so it’s a tough pitch to hit. Sandy Koufax’s curveball tended to break down like a ball falling off a table. When it tends to curve straight down, it’s referred to as a “12 to 6” curve, referring to the numbers on a clock. Pitchers were throwing a curveball in the 1800s, which was initially considered deceptive and dishonest. Still, it became a staple on the mound because it wasn't illegal. It’s also been called a hook, a deuce, and even "Uncle Charlie." If the pitch hangs too much over the plate, and because it’s a slower pitch, a hitter can give a curve for a ride out of the park.
The slider.
The slider is another breaking ball that many hurlers have in their arsenal. It is faster than a curveball but with a tighter movement. It’s typically faster than most breaking balls and breaks sharply as it crosses the plate. A good pitcher can often throw a slider and a curveball and use the two to keep hitters off balance. If mixed intermittently with a fastball, a hitter can quickly find himself behind the count. The best hard-throwing relievers develop an excellent slider to throw a batter’s timing just enough. The slider has been called a snapper and a sharp breaking ball. The pitch has been around 100 hundred years.
The slurve.
The slurve is more than a portmanteau of the words slider and curve. A pitcher who wants something to break more than his slider but who wants a little more zip than a curve ball will dial up a slurve. It’s all a matter of spin, grip, and how hard they want to throw it.
The hard-throwing relief pitcher Goose Gossage said that learning to throw the pitch rescued his career. Cubs pitcher Kerry Wood supposedly used his slurve effectively in a 20-strike game against the Astros in 1998. Two of the biggest names in baseball history, Cy Young and Walter Johnson, evidently threw the slurve.
Today, a handful of pitchers throw the slurve. It’s recognized as a pitch all its own and was named a pitch classification by Statcast in 2023. MLB has used Statcast technology to analyze player movements in every ballpark since 2015.
The sweeper is... sweeping the baseball nation.
The most recent breaking ball to hit the national scene is a sweeper. How is it different from a curve, a slurve, or a slider?
MLB.com refers to the sweeper as a “variant” of the slider, but that’s probably not accurate—it’s probably a variant of every breaking ball in some way or another. In a nutshell, it breaks more horizontally and much more than a slider. How much? A slider, on average, will break around half a foot, most horizontally but also with downward movement.
The average sweeper, by contrast, will break more than twice that much, around 15 inches, as it approaches the hitter and breaks across the plate, more horizontally and through the strike zone. That’s why it’s sometimes called a “Frisbee slider.” The sweeper probably causes the most inept-looking swings by hitters these days, as they flail away at a pitch tailing drastically away from them (right-handed batter vs. right-handed pitcher).
Shohei Ohtani of the Dodgers, who hasn’t pitched in 2024, has a great sweeper, as does Yu Darvish of the Padres. The sweeper might soon be one of the hottest pitches. Since 2022, dozens of pitchers have added it to their repertoire.
The new-pitch lingo throws some for a curve.
Not everyone agrees with the experts, analysts, and statisticians about the terms used for breaking balls or the differences between them. Tune into podcasts or watch YouTube videos from MLB network and you’ll hear some who don’t buy into it.
For instance, some say a pitch gets labeled a slurve simply because it’s somewhere between a slider and a curve. Retired Washington National Pitcher Stephen Strasburg claimed to throw a slurve, but the so-called “experts” disagree. You think the pitcher would know better.
Billy Ripken, Cal Jr.’s younger brother and former player, is now an analyst for MLB Network. He went on a major rant on air, insisting that the sweeper isn’t new and has been around for decades. “It’s a slider,” he screamed.
Not so fast, Billy. Statcast also added the sweeper as a new class of pitch type in 2023.
Resources: strawpoll.com/most-difficult-pitch-hit; blogs.fangraphs.com/a-league-wide-update-on-pitch-mix; wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitchesinbaseball; mlb.com/glossary/pitch-types/sinker; mlb.com/news/sweeper-slider-latest-explained; mlb.com/glossary/pitch-types/four-seam-fastball; wsj.com/sports/baseball/paul-skenes; si.com/mlb/angels/ohtanis-favorite-pitch; mlb.com/statcast
