The eephus is one of the rarest pitches thrown in baseball, and it is known for its exceptionally low speed and ability to catch a hitter off guard.
It is considered a trick pitch because, in comparison to normal baseball pitches, which run from 70 to 100 miles per hour (110 to 160 km/h), an eephus pitch appears to move in slow motion at 55 mph (89 km/h) or less, sometimes as low as 35 mph (56 km/h).
Alfredo Simon's eephus was thrown like a fastball, while Greinke's was thrown like a curveball! This is a breakthrough in our investigation. Eephuses are thrown like fastballs, and curveballs are thrown like curveballs!
Is the MLB Eephus Pitch Legal? The Eephus pitch is legal in Major League Baseball to throw. As long as the pitcher does not deceive the batter by slowing down in their pitching rotation, there is no issue. Since there is no minimum speed that a pitcher needs to pitch, a pitcher can mix this pitch in their arsenal.
Definition. A screwball is a breaking ball designed to move in the opposite direction of just about every other breaking pitch. It is one of the rarest pitches thrown in baseball, mostly because of the tax it can put on a pitcher's arm.
Hitters, expecting a fastball that's nearly twice the velocity of the eephus, can get over-zealous and swing too early and hard. But for a hitter who is able to keep his weight back and put a normal swing on the pitch, it is the easiest pitch to hit in baseball -- one without unexpected movement or excessive velocity.
The pitch was invented by Rip Sewell of the Pittsburgh Pirates in the 1940s. The name Eephus pitch comes from the Hebrew word efes, which means "nothing." Pirates manager Frankie Frisch claimed that the pitch was named by outfielder Maurice Van Robays.
Pitching an altered baseball
Regardless of what pitch is being thrown, if a pitcher is caught applying any foreign substance to a baseball (saliva, petroleum jelly, etc. Also, purposely damaging the baseball (with sandpaper or a nail file) to create more spin is illegal.
In baseball, a pitcher can commit a number of illegal motions or actions that constitute a balk. Most of these violations involve pitchers pretending to pitch when they have no intention of doing so.
When throwing a forkball, a pitcher jams the baseball between his index and middle fingers before releasing the pitch with a downward snap of the wrist. This causes the extreme downward movement on the baseball as it approaches the plate, similar to that of a 12-to-6 curveball.
The slurve is a baseball pitch in which the pitcher throws a curve ball as if it were a slider. The pitch is gripped like a curve ball, but thrown with a slider velocity. The term is a portmanteau of slider and curve.
A gyroball is a type of baseball pitch used primarily by players in Japan. It is thrown with a spiral-like spin, so that there is no Magnus force on the ball as it arrives at home plate. The gyroball is sometimes confused with the shuuto, another pitch used in Japan.
The screwball is sometimes referred to as a reverse curveball. It's a breaking / off-speed pitch hybrid that moves away from an opposite-handed batter; a right-handed pitcher's screwball breaks away from a left-handed batter. Picture a curveball and reverse it. That's just about what a screwball does.
A sweeper is a variant of a slider that has become popular in the Major Leagues over the last few seasons. The main characteristic of a sweeper is a large amount of horizontal movement, as opposed to a traditional slider, which has "tighter" break.
The forkball has been favored by several current and former major league pitchers, including Tom Henke, Kevin Appier, Hideo Nomo, José Valverde, José Arredondo, Ken Hill, Justin Speier, Kazuhiro Sasaki, José Contreras, Chien-Ming Wang, Junichi Tazawa, Robert Coello, Edwar Ramírez and current rookie Kodai Senga.
It is illegal for the pitcher to deceive, rush, or surprise the batter by imitating a pitch while not in contact with the rubber. It is also illegal for a pitcher to “quick pitch” the batter by quickly stepping on the rubber and pitching without taking a sign.
6.02(c)(5): Pitcher may not deface the ball (cut, scratch, or in any way alter the natural state of the baseball). 6.02(c)(6): Pitcher may not deliver a ball that's been altered in any way. This covers the scenario where the catcher or other member of the team alters the ball.
The specific rules for balks were first introduced in 1898 to prevent pitchers from intentionally deceiving baserunners. Without balk rules, pitchers had any means of fooling baserunners, who had to act conservatively on the bases as a result.
By lubricating the ball—with saliva, Vaseline, hair grease, or something else—the pitcher can throw a pitch that slides off his fingers without generating too much backspin. A greased-up pitch behaves kind of like a split-fingered fastball—it drops to the ground faster than a typical pitch.
The league age pitch counts for Little League Baseball® are as follows: Ages 13-16 – 95 pitches per day. Ages 11-12 – 85 pitches per day. Ages 9-10 – 75 pitches per day.
An emery ball is an illegal pitch in baseball, in which the ball has been altered by scuffing it with a rough surface, such as an emery board or sandpaper. This technique alters the spin of the ball, causing it to move in an atypical manner, as more spin makes the ball rise, while less spin makes the ball drop.
The hardest pitch to hit in baseball is the splitter, followed closely by the slider. Hitting a baseball is extremely difficult for a variety of different reasons. Pitches vary in speed, movement, and breaking point.
The pitcher is allowed to rub the ball between his bare hands but cannot spit on the ball, his hands or his glove.
But perhaps most notably: Waldron threw 13 knuckleballs, becoming the first pitcher since Baltimore's Mickey Jannis in June 2021 to throw the pitch.