Arrows in the Quiver: Classifying Pitches by Role
<p>The desire to name and classify even the most niche minutiae into groups is an innate human tendency. In no arena is this more evident than in chess, where “a Dragon” or “a Scotch” have very different meanings from a mythical beast or a drink after work. The specific names may sound silly, but groupings themselves are quite useful. After all, who wants to say “I played an e4 c5 Nf3 d6 d4 cxd4 Nxd4 Nf6 Nc3 g6 opening last weekend?” Classifications are a useful shorthand that convey an abundance of meaning, albeit only to those who know the lingo. While not quite yet on the level of chess vernacular, pitching jargon has increased tremendously in the past few years. Gone is the simple “breaking ball,” replaced by the <a href="https://www.mlb.com/glossary/pitch-types/sweeper" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">sweeper</a>, <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/38669556/mlb-2023-playoffs-alcs-rangers-pitching-astros-yordan-alvarez" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">death ball</a>, gyro slider and more. While these more granular classifications may frustrate traditionalists, their utility is clear. A sweeper and down-breaking gyro slider move very differently, so they shouldn’t be termed identically.</p>
<p><a href="https://medium.com/@matan_k/arrows-in-the-quiver-classifying-pitches-by-role-59e053c92198"><strong>Website</strong></a></p>