What is a ghost forkball?

The ghost forkball is his top putaway pitch, leaving his hand like a fastball and traveling to the plate as such before the bottom simply drops out just as it reaches home plate. Kodai Senga at his introductory press conference with Mets general manager Billy Eppler on Monday at Citi Field. ( Photo: Joe Pantorno/AMNY)

What does a forkball do?

Definition. One of the rarest pitches in baseball, the forkball is known for its severe downward break as it approaches the plate. Because of the torque involved with snapping off a forkball, it can be one of the more taxing pitches to throw.

Do any MLB pitchers throw a forkball?

Use in the Major Leagues

The forkball has been favored by several current and former major league pitchers, including Tom Henke, Kevin Appier, Hideo Nomo, José Valverde, José Arredondo, Ken Hill, Justin Speier, Kazuhiro Sasaki, José Contreras, Chien-Ming Wang, Junichi Tazawa, Robert Coello, and Edwar Ramírez.

What is the difference between a forkball and a splitter?

The splitter evolved from the forkball. The two pitches are gripped in almost the same way, except a splitter is generally held with more ease and placed toward the top of the fingers. Splitters are also thrown with the same minimal wrist action as a fastball, unlike the wrist-snap used for a forkball.

Is a forkball a breaking ball?

Fastballs: Four-seam, Two-seam, Cutter, Splitter, and Forkball. Breaking Balls: Curveball, Slider, Slurve, and Screwball. Changeups: Changeup, Palmball, Circle Changeup.

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What is the rarest pitch in baseball?

Definition. A screwball is a breaking ball designed to move in the opposite direction of just about every other breaking pitch. It is one of the rarest pitches thrown in baseball, mostly because of the tax it can put on a pitcher's arm.

Does a forkball hurt your arm?

The forkball, if thrown correctly, is known to be a cause of significant and increasingly common damage to the shoulder and elbow. Famous forkballers, particularly Japanese players, have often required surgery to remove bone fractures or to repair damaged tendons, sometimes several times in their careers.

What pitch is illegal in baseball?

There are four main categories of illegal pitching activity: altering the baseball, pitching when the batter is not ready, throwing at a batter, or making pitching motions when not actually stepping on the pitching plate (also known as pitching rubber).

How do you release a forkball?

Start with your index and middle fingers along the seams like a two-seam fast-ball. Spread your fingers out as far as possible around the ball. The ball should be jammed further between your index and middle fingers than in a split-fingered fastball. When releasing the ball, snap your wrist.

Is a forkball like a knuckleball?

Years later, Bush said of the forkball, "It dances, too, like a knuckleball, but it's thrown much harder than a knuckler."

Why it's almost impossible to throw a 110 mph fastball?

The number of pitchers who can break the 100 MPH has gone up dramatically in the last decade, with one who can throw 105. But breaking 110 MPH is nearly impossible, due to the physical limitations of human bones, muscles, and ligaments.

Does anyone throw a forkball anymore?

The forkball is a rare and complicated pitch that is rarely used in the major leagues anymore.

What is the hardest ball to throw?

4-seam fastball

This pitch is the hardest of the fastballs, it rotates backwards keeping the ball straight with not much movement.

How fast is a forkball?

This forkball travels at around 80 MPH and tumbles downward with little rotation, after initially popping up out of Linebrink's hand. Essentially it acts like a curveball, but doesn't spin like a curveball, and in turn it makes many hitters return to the dugout scratching their heads.

Is forkball hard to hit?

There is no one definitive way to throw a forkball, but many MLB pitchers do use this pitch. Forks are thrown using the same motion as a fastball, but with more of an upward and outward spin. This makes it harder for hitters to hit because it curves in opposite directions at once.

Why is it called a forkball?

But there was another pitch, too, even more bizarre, called the forkball. To throw the fork, we held it between our index and middle fingers, splitting them wide so the ball was jammed in between. As you can imagine, this pitch did … nothing.

What is a slurve ball?

The slurve is a baseball pitch in which the pitcher throws a curve ball as if it were a slider. The pitch is gripped like a curve ball, but thrown with a slider velocity. The term is a portmanteau of slider and curve.

What does putting Vaseline on a baseball do?

Saliva or Vaseline smooths the baseball, while the emery paper roughens it. The general term for altering the ball in any way is doctoring.

What is an Uncle Charlie in baseball?

One of the early nicknames of the curveball was Uncle Charlie, or sometimes, Lord Charles. This was derived from the name of Harvard President Charles Elliot, who was opposed to the adoption of the curveball and considered it to be cheating. No surprise there, because Harvard was the curveball's original victim.

Why is spitball illegal?

Why is the spitball pitch illegal? The spitball is illegal because it gives the pitcher an unfair advantage and because of the tragic death of Ray Chapman in 1920.

What pitch is hardest on the arm?

Sliders had the highest arm stress (54.6 ± 12.9 N·m) while curveballs had the lowest (46.8 ± 16.3 N·m). Fastball arm stress was 50.1 ± 16.8 N·m and changeup arm stress was 51.3 ± 15.5 N·m.

What position in baseball has the weakest arm?

First base is by far the easiest position on a baseball diamond. It is not a coincidence that players that have the least amount of range or are a step slower than the average athlete find themselves playing the first base position. A first baseman simply doesn't move around that much.

Do any MLB pitchers throw a knuckleball?

Bob Purkey. Purkey pitched for the Pirates, Reds and Cardinals over the course of his 13-year MLB career, and his successful implementation of the knuckleball enabled him to be enshrined in the Reds' Hall of Fame.