![]() ![]() Roberts uses it with his four-seamer, and Norris trusts it’ll make his changeup all the more effective. The sweeping slider can be paired with a traditional two-seamer, but Moskos doesn’t want to pigeonhole it that way. Norris also has a strong changeup, which he calls his best pitch. He’s continued to search for other lefties who use it as well and honed in on what they do with the offering. Dodgers starter Julio Urías, who garnered down-ballot Cy Young votes last season, is someone Norris has been watching, diving into video to see how he sequences the pitch. Norris said he’s been texting Moskos at night to give him pointers on other lefties who throw the pitch. Although a batter may have eyesight keen enough to recognize the spin and anticipate how the ball is supposed to move with that spin, the seam-shifted wake causes a pitch to break suddenly and in an unexpected manner, sometimes throwing even the most impressive offensive performer for a loop. But seam-shifted wake explains the science behind why some balls move differently than how the spin of the ball would suggest, allowing certain organizations, like the Cubs, to better leverage this concept.Įssentially, when gripped and thrown properly, the air traveling around the ball hits the seams in a way that forces the ball to break in an unexpected fashion. Then I see the flight of the ball and then all of a sudden - they call it seam-shifted wake - I can see it catch a seam and wham! That’s kind of wild.”Ĭoaches and players have long known that while gripping the ball, orienting the seams in various ways can cause the baseball to move differently. The one that Marte swung over, when I released it I thought I hung it. “As it’s progressed, in my head I just grip it and think about flipping a curve with that grip. “But Daniel (Moskos) has been really good, he said think of throwing a curveball and the grip will take care of the movement. “The process of learning it, when I hear sweepy, you think side spin,” Norris said. Even Norris has been surprised with how it all has worked out. ![]() He threw another one that he felt he got too far up, but it ended up getting in on the hitter’s hands, inducing weak contact.Įssentially, the pitches move in an unexpected way, as a seam-shifted wake pitch is supposed to do, and these sliders are impacted by the science behind this concept. He got Ketel Marte to swing and miss at a backfoot slider, something he’s never really been able to pull off with his slider before. ![]() Last Friday when facing the Diamondbacks at Talking Stick, Norris felt the slider was working well. Norris said he’s been able to keep the depth of his slider while adding more horizontal movement to the pitch. So when the Cubs presented this idea to Norris, he jumped at the opportunity. His interest was piqued when he worked with Yankees reliever Clay Holmes, who throws the slider, in Florida during the lockout. Norris had heard some buzz about the pitch during the offseason and was intrigued. “Once I got here, I got to work and I’ve been throwing it in games and it feels good.” “When I was deciding where to sign, I talked to guys over here and they mentioned that they had a slider that would be good for my arm slot,” lefty Daniel Norris said. The pitch is also utilized by other forward-thinking organizations like the Dodgers. It is a slider that became popular within the Yankees organization, where Moskos spent last year coaching after a year at Driveline. He’s seen his four-seam fastball tick up to touch 97 mph, and he’s added a wrinkle to his slider with the help of assistant pitching coach Daniel Moskos.īut Roberts isn’t the only one Moskos has helped teach a pitch called the sweeper. Youngster Ethan Roberts is exciting, someone the Cubs believe can be a high-leverage reliever in short order. The Cubs are going into another season with many questions in the bullpen but plenty of upside.
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