The Hardball Times:On curveballs

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The Hardball Times:On curveballs
The Hardball Times The Hardball Times found this 8/18/2008 on www.hardballtimes.com [flag]
A look at what makes a curveball effective, the most effective variation of curveball, and where it is best to throw a curveball in the strike zone. [link]

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Comments (5)

  • ultxmxpx ultxmxpx
    +1
    Nice article. I wonder though what the number of curveballs (and also the number of pitchers and their curveballs if that's possible or actually easier) that fall into each category of slurvy, 12-6, ect. The same numbers for the other stats and their bins would be informative as well.
    Posted 8/18/2008 [reply] [flag]
    • Derek Carty Derek Carty
      +1

      Hey ultxmxpx,

      Here are the numbers for the categories of curve.  The first number is overall, second is to same hand, third is to opposite hand.

      12/6 - 6848/4020/2828
      11/5 - 13839/8023/5816
      Slurvy - 8327/4394/3933
      Crappy - 7223/3585/3638

      77+ MPH Slurvy - 1685

      If you'd like to see the numbers for everything else in the article, send me an e-mail because they would be ridiculous to post on here since there are so many of them.

      Thanks!

      Posted 8/21/2008 [reply] [flag]
  • Skewtosis Skewtosis
    +1

    Quick correction to the first table.... I think the "crappy" curve should have horiz.  less than 4 and vert. GREATER than -4.  As it stands now it's the same as the "12-to-6". ;p

     

    Otherwise great read! 

    Posted 8/20/2008 [reply] [flag]
  • Derek Carty Derek Carty
    +1
    Also, everyone please note that the first portion of the article has been changed a little bit (changes made earlier this afternoon).  A botched find/replace screwed up the numbers that my database spit out.  The numbers currently in the article reflect the accurate numbers and the commentary has been adjusted as necessary.  Nothing too drastic changes, luckily.
    Posted 8/21/2008 [reply] [flag]

Links (4)

PITCHf/x Curveballs
Published 8/18/2008 by Tangotiger (tangotiger@yahoo.com) at THE BOOK--Playing The Percentages In Baseball
Derek Carty takes a look. (Because of all the charts, I could only take a cursory look at the article.  Gotta wait to print it and read it at lunch and away from prying office-eyes.  Looks good though.)

Around The Web: Scheduling And Season Analysis
Published 8/23/2008 by kensai (noreply@blogger.com) at Fire Ned Colletti Now
... Angeles Times: Simers says that Manny is nothing like what he was in Boston. He also takes a shot at the Boston media, which is always entertaining. Yahoo Sports: Ned Colletti's job is apparently safe. I puked. MLB: Joe Torre has a freakin' blog. Seriously. I'm not sure what to think. On one hand, it's pretty cool that's trying to "get with the times". On the other, he uses creepy chat language that 14-year-old girls use. The Hardball Times: I always love their analysis on different pitches. This one is on the curveball. ...

Link Dump and Open Thread 5/26
Published 8/26/2008 by colintj at South Side Sox
... On curveballs - Derek Carty dissects the curve using pitch f/x.  How and where to throw it is discussed in good detail.  I'm a little skeptical on his groupings, but they're still very illustrative. ...

World Famous StatSpeak Roundtable: September 24
Published 9/24/2008 by Pizza Cutter at Statistically Speaking
... could look at that hasn’t been done yet? Derek Carty: We see movement and speed graphs and figures everywhere now, but there is more to pitching than these two things. The whole mental side of pitching has been largely untouched, though it can play a large role in pitcher success. Location is a facet of pitching that is widely recognized as important and commonly talked about during television broadcasts, yet it has received little attention in the way of PITCHf/x. I penned a recent article about curveballs (and have plans for forthcoming articles), and my colleague John ...