I mentioned a bit yesterday during the pitch f/x overview about his slider and how it is not getting much horizontal depth like most other sliders do. David Price said earlier this year that he “lost” his slider. I can see what he means using pitch f/x. So here I will try to see why it isn’t getting that depth it should have using pitch f/x.
To compare Price’s slider to another left-hander, I choose CC Sabathia who gets some really good movement on his. Both are tall guys who can throw the fastball in the mid-90s and feature a slider as their primary breaking pitch.
And Sabathia’s:
Keep in mind that Sabthia throws his slider about 5-6 mph slower than the average Price slider. This means he will probably get much more of that sweeping movement than Price’s. That is not to say that you can’t get horizontal break on a high 80s slider.
Now, I will try to see what causes Price not to get that horizontal break he needs: either his velocity, release point, or spin.
The release point is split up into the positive and horizontal movement of Price’s slider.
Still no clue what it is. Not the release point nor the velocity at which it is thrown. More so it is likely that the movement is determined on how it is thrown. For this we use the spin chart.
Now we are getting somewhere. The vertical axis is revolutions per minute (RPM) and the vertical axis is the angle of the spin of the baseball in degrees. This will be easier to understand through a Brooks Baseball chart.
Anything below the 270-90 degree horizontal line indicates top spin, anything on top is backspin. Topspin is what gives breaking pitches that good depth and the “roll off the table effect”. Now most of Price’s sliders located in the middle of the image, are in that positive H-Movement. Which means that Price needs to get on top of his slider more causing it to get that good spin angle which in turn will give that horizontal movement he is looking for.
Here is a pick example of how the slider should be thrown as it leaves the hand.
In comparison of the release of the fastball.
(Images from the exploratorium)
I remember color commentator for the Rays Brian Anderson (more of him please) say yesterday after seeing on of David Price’s fastball is that he didn’t get over it with his hand and shoulder. What Price needs to work on in his bullpen sessions is to keep his hands of the slider in order to get that bite he once had on it. The good thing about yesterday’s start is that Price did throw it for strikes and in greater numbers of sliders period.
If he can get that movement back, look for hitters to swing and miss more, plus roll over on it getting more groundballs on it.
Brooks Baseball
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
what do all the red blue green dots mean in the brooks baseball chart
what do all the red blue green dots mean in the brooks baseball chart
red means a strike (not put into play) green is a ball and blue are pitches put into play
Red- S
Green- B
Blue- X
If you have any other pitch f/x questions, I would gladly answer them
Could you explain the difference between positive and negative h-movement?
The positive and negative movement refer to the horizontal line ong the charts from pitch f/x. Positive is to the right of home plate (facing pitcher) and negative is to the left of the plate. These charts are what the pitch did compared to one that was thrown without spin.
Look at this site for a good starting guide: http://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2009/4/17/841366/understanding-pitch-f-x-graphs