Tag: tipping pitches

Fascinating breakdown video showed how the Giants noticed Michael Kopech tipping his pitches

This is the game within the game.

Major League Baseball players don’t get to that level on talent alone. They’re also elite at the game within the game — an attention to detail that separates themselves from other players.

You’d be shocked by what a big-league hitter can notice during an at-bat. That’s why the slightest fundamental flaw or inconsistent mechanics can derail a pitcher’s day. That exact scenario played out last week with Michael Kopech’s rough day against the San Francisco Giants.

He was slightly tipping his pitches, and that was enough to help the Giants hit five home runs and score seven runs against the right-hander. The folks at Jomboy Media took notice to what happened and broke it down in an excellent video.

Basically, Kopech’s glove was the major issue for him. When he was throwing a curveball, the glove would flare just enough for the hitter to notice. When Kopech’s glove remained flat on his wrist, he’d throw one of his other pitches (fastball, slider or changeup). The Giants were able to sit on that curveball when the glove flared, but they managed to put great swings on the other three pitches as well.

Still, when an MLB hitter is able to identify a pitch, the job becomes markedly easier. That minor inconsistency from Kopech was all the Giants needed. And to the White Sox pitcher’s credit, he identified the issue and cleaned it up for Sunday’s appearance where he allowed one run on two hits in six innings. You just would have liked the White Sox to spot it during the initial game.

Fans also appreciated the great explanation video.

Elvin Rodriguez found out he was tipping pitches against the Yankees from a fascinating video breakdown

Just … wow.

From a fan’s perspective, the game within the game of baseball can be so intriguing. And the entire concept of tipping pitches seems so difficult to pick up on in real time. But the New York Yankees are among the best at noticing when a pitcher is tipping, and that ability absolutely paid off in the Yankees’ 13-0 win over the Tigers on Friday.

Basically, the Yankees seemed determined to get Tigers rookie pitcher Elvin Rodriguez to pitch from the stretch that night. That was because whenever Rodriguez went into the stretch, he would stare at third base for several seconds on a fastball but only briefly glance (or not even look at all) towards third on breaking pitches. That allowed the Yankees to lay off the breaking ball and jump on fastballs.

Jomboy Media noticed exactly what was happening and broke down how the Yankees were able to spot Rodriguez’s tipping from the stretch.

Braves pitcher Max Fried appeared to be tipping his pitches to the Astros during Game 2

That could explain Max Fried’s recent struggles.

While the Atlanta Braves failed to close out the World Series at home with Sunday’s Game 5 loss, they head to Houston with their top (healthy) pitchers — Max Fried and Ian Anderson — ready to go on normal rest. And all eyes will be on Fried for Tuesday’s Game 6, particularly after his rough outings in the NLCS and World Series Game 2.

But one former Braves player thinks he and the team both spotted the problem: Fried was tipping his pitches.

No matter the level of baseball, teams are always looking for a tell from the opposing pitchers. After all — as the Astros know all too well — it makes baseball a whole lot easier when you have an idea of what pitch is coming. This isn’t sign-stealing, though. It’s a mechanical mistake from the pitcher, and even the slightest deviation from a pitcher’s normal mechanics can be enough to tip off an offense.

During Game 2, former Braves player Matt Diaz noticed that Fried was slightly wiggling his glove from the stretch before throwing an off-speed pitch.