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Breaking ball

Niche

Slow Curve

aka slow hook · ephus curve (at the slow extreme)

A curveball thrown way down in speed, a big slow looping change of pace meant to wreck a hitter's timing. Dialed down far enough, it starts to blur into the lobbing eephus.

Schematic baseball cover. This pitch has no filed seam geometry yet; the grip and shape below are sourced in words, not measured here.

The grip

Essentially the same curveball shape, just dialed way down in effort and speed to function as a big looping change-of-pace.

What it does

A high, slow, looping arc meant to disrupt timing; at the extreme slow end it blurs into the eephus — Zack Greinke has floated curves slow enough to brush that line, the modern descendant of the classic lob pitch.

Who throws itZack Greinke

Study this first

Dialed down far enough, the slow curve blurs into the lob. The filed Eephus is that extreme, the rainbow change-of-pace this one is reaching toward when Greinke floats it.

Filed specimenEephus

Basic file

This pitch has a sourced one-line grip and movement and an honest explanation, not yet a filed specimen with authored grip geometry and a full craft chapter. A fuller breakdown is coming. Sourced, not corrected.

Others in the breaking ball

Everything above wears its source. When you want the set again, start at the front door: the Pitch Index.

I'm pretty excited to keep doing both. At the end of the day, if a team wants me only on the right side, I'm happy to do it because at the end of the day I just want to win games. But I think (pitching) from both sides is what I really want to do.
Jurrangelo Cijntje · Switch-pitching

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