Page 32 - Sports Illustrated Kids (April 2019)

the plate looking for a slider, he
would have no time to react if
instead he got a screaming fastball.
“[Throwing hard] allows you to do
more things in terms of attacking
hitters and sequencing your
pitches,” says Bieber.

Bieber is an interesting case.
In college, his fastball was good
enough to get past most hitters he
faced, but it wasn’t the kind of elite
gas that makes scouts drool.
His outstanding control was what
motivated the Indians to draft
him in the fourth round in 2016.
But he saw the benefit of—or
maybe even the need to—throw
harder in the pros. He made a
conscious decision to do so, which
loosened up his body and caused
his arm slot (the position of his arm
during delivery) to naturally rise.

fifth in the AL with 10.8 strikeouts
per nine innings. He was 15–3 with
your body’s going to naturally do a 3.13 ERA. In the offseason he
signed a two-year contract with the
Rays worth $15 million a season.
year, his fastball was comfortably
in the mid-90s. Mixing it in with a
slider and a curveball, he fanned Last year Morton was part of a staff
118 hitters in 114 ⁄3 innings. that included Gerrit Cole (whose fastballs. He accused Houston
2
fastball averaged 96.5 mph) and pitchers of using a foreign substance
found that simply trying to throw Justin Verlander (95.0). Even with to give them better grip on the ball.
harder can yield results. Charlie Morton’s departure, Houston’s That wouldn’t necessarily increase
starters could be even faster this their velocity, but it would give them
in 2015, when he had an ERA of year with the addition of Josh James. more of something else: spin.
4.81. Then in an early-season 2016 The rookie was called up in In recent years teams have gained
game, he just decided to let loose. September and pitched out of the access to a wealth of data about
“For some reason,” Morton told bullpen in the playoffs, where he pitches and batted balls, including
Philly.com at the time, “I just went regularly exceeded 100 mph and how fast they spin. When a pitcher
out there and tried to throw the topped out at 102.4. releases the ball, the longer his
ball hard one game. I wound up During the regular season, fingers are in contact with the
throwing it harder.” Last year—as Cleveland pitcher Trevor Bauer surface, the more backspin he
a 34-year-old with the Astros—his suggested that the Astros were using imparts on the pitch. More backspin
average was 95.7 mph and he was illegal means to throw more effective means that a pitch doesn’t sink as

YEAH, BUT HOW 149.1 mph
40 mph 80 mph 93.2 mph
Formula Rossa
Velociraptor Black marlin Fastball
FAST IS ITREALLY? roller coaster

34 / SPORTS ILLUSTRATED KIDS