In baseball, fastballs are extremely valuable. It’s a trump card that can give you an advantage and put pressure on hitters. This is why pitchers work tirelessly to increase their fastball velocity by 1-2 km/h, 온라인바카라 and why the art of throwing fastballs is so popular.
However, this doesn’t mean that pitchers with fastballs always win. In baseball, a fastball can be hit badly if it is not controlled, and a slowball can overwhelm a hitter based on its control and control.
This was the case for Ryu Hyun-jin (36, Toronto Blue Jays) against the Cincinnati Reds on April 21, when he averaged 87.4 miles per hour (140.7 km/h) on his fastball and topped out at 89.6 miles per hour (144.2 km/h).
These are hardly competitive velocities, even by KBO standards. However, Ryu had his best outing since returning from the disabled list, going five innings and four hits, one walk, seven strikeouts and two runs (unearned). He barely touches 140 mph and doesn’t top out at 145, but he struck out seven big league-level hitters.
This was thanks to Ryu’s flawless command of his pitches and his changeup. In addition to his changeup, which is his main weapon, Ryu used a slow curveball to throw off hitters’ timing.
Ryu threw 16 slow curveballs on the day, including a low of 66.8 miles per hour (107.5 kilometers per hour). His fastest was 71 mph (115 km/h). It was a combination of perfect timing and a full arsenal of pitches that left Cincinnati’s young hitters scratching their heads.
Even with runners on first and second in the bottom of the fifth, Ryu threw back-to-back curveballs to Eli de la Cruz, striking him out on three pitches. The final out of the inning was also a slow curveball that gave Ryu the win.
After the game, MLB.com, the official website of Major League Baseball, said, “Ryu doesn’t throw harder than other pitchers, and he doesn’t have a wow factor, but he’s smart, and he’s a threat to young, aggressive hitters because he reads their swings so well.”
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Hunter Green. AFP=News1
Ryu’s “kwan-rok” was overshadowed by his opponent, 24-year-old Hunter “Young Gun” Green, who is known for his hard-hitting fastball.
Green is known beyond the major leagues as a starting pitcher with one of the fastest fastballs in the world. His average velocity is nearly 100 miles per hour (160.9 kilometers per hour) and his fastball tops out at 104 miles per hour (167.4 kilometers per hour).
On this day, he used his fastball to his advantage in the first inning, but it didn’t work. He struggled with his command and gave up a lot of long balls to Toronto hitters.
After giving up a run in the first, he gave up back-to-back two-run homers to Kevin Kiermaier and Brandon Belt in the second.
He barely made it out of the third inning unscathed, but gave up back-to-back homers to Bo Bichette and Belt in the fourth and a two-run shot to George Springer.
In three innings, he gave up a whopping nine runs (eight earned) on 10 hits, five of which were home runs, with three walks. He also struck out four, fewer than Ryu.
While Green should have had a better game based on the strikeout numbers, it was quite the opposite: the “veteran” Ryu taught the young pitcher a lesson that “strikes aren’t everything”.