Mets pitcher Kodai Senga’s ridiculous ghost fork had Dansby Swanson fuming after a strikeout

Can’t blame him after that pitch.

There haven’t been many positives to take away from the New York Mets’ 2023 season, but first-year pitcher Kodai Senga has certainly held up his end of the bargain.

Senga arrived from Japan’s NPB after signing a five-year, $75 million deal with the Mets in December. And he quickly introduced big-league hitters to his signature pitch: the ghost fork.

The pitch is amazingly deceptive and looks like a fastball to the hitter until the pitch takes a life of its own with forkball movement. In Monday’s 11-2 win over the Chicago Cubs, Senga’s ghost fork basically had shortstop Dansby Swanson in disbelief after a strikeout.

Swanson struck out against the ghost fork in his first at-bat. And his second at-bat didn’t go any better in the third inning. Swanson fell behind in the count, and Senga finished him off with a 79 mph ghost fork that broke 49 inches vertically.

Again, that’s a pitch that initially looks like a fastball to the batter. There’s not much anyone can do about that, and Swanson couldn’t hold back his frustration after the strikeout. He spiked his bat and helmet as the inning came to a close.

Fans were also impressed with the pitch. A ghost fork like that one is almost impossible to hit.