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Screwball
A screwball is a baseball and fastpitch softball pitch that is thrown so as to break in the opposite direction of a slider or curveball. Depending on the pitcher's arm angle, the ball may also have a sinking action. The pitch is sometimes known as the scroogie or airbender. Carl Hubbell was one of the most renowned screwball pitchers in the history of Major League Baseball. Hubbell was known as the "scroogie king" for his mastery of the pitch and the frequency with which he threw it. Other famous screwball artists include Tug McGraw, inaugural Hall of Fame member Christy Matthewson, and Cy Young Award winners Mike Cuellar, Fernando Valenzuela, Mike Marshall, and Willie Hernández. Grip and action The baseball is held with the open end of the horseshoe shape (where the seams are closest together) facing upward. The thumb is placed just beneath the bottom of the horseshoe, the index finger is curled against the top of the thumb, forming a tight circle to the side of the b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tug McGraw
Frank Edwin "Tug" McGraw Jr. (August 30, 1944 – January 5, 2004) was an American professional baseball relief pitcher and long-time Major League Baseball (MLB) player, often remembered for coining the phrase "Ya Gotta Believe", which became the rallying cry for the 1973 New York Mets. McGraw recorded the final out of the 1980 World Series against the Kansas City Royals, striking out Willie Wilson to bring the Philadelphia Phillies their first World Series championship, ending the Phillies' 77-year drought. McGraw's strikeout of Wilson is one of the most famed plays in Philadelphia Phillies history. He was the last active big league player to have played under manager Casey Stengel. Early life Frank Edwin "Tug" McGraw Jr. was born August 30, 1944, in Martinez, California, northeast of San Francisco, to Frank Edwin "Big Mac" McGraw, Sr. and Mable McKenna. McGraw got the nickname "Tug" from his mother because of the particularly aggressive way he breast-fed. Frank Sr. w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Willie Hernández
Guillermo Hernández Villanueva (born November 14, 1954) is a Puerto Rican former baseball relief pitcher. He won both the American League Cy Young Award and the American League Most Valuable Player Award in 1984 after leading the Detroit Tigers to the World Series championship. Hernández was born and raised in Aguada, Puerto Rico. He signed with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1973 and played in their minor-league system as a starting pitcher from 1974 to 1976. He was acquired by the Chicago Cubs in the 1976 Rule 5 Draft and played for the Cubs, principally as a relief pitcher, from 1977 to 1983. His performance improved markedly after adding a screwball and cut fastball to his pitching repertoire. He was traded to the Phillies in May 1983, helped lead them to the National League pennant, and appeared in three games in the 1983 World Series, giving up zero hits and zero runs in three games. In March 1984, he was traded to the Detroit Tigers. As the Tigers' closer in 1984, he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Cuellar
Miguel Ángel Cuellar Santana (; May 8, 1937 – April 2, 2010) was a Cuban professional baseball player. He played for 15 seasons in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher in 1959 and from 1964 through 1977, most prominently as a member of the Baltimore Orioles who won the American League (AL) pennant in each of Cuellar's first three seasons with the team. During that time, Cuellar and the Orioles won the 1970 World Series. Cuellar also played for the Cincinnati Reds, St. Louis Cardinals, Houston Astros and California Angels. Cuellar and Denny McLain each won the AL Cy Young Award in 1969, due to a tie in the voting. For the Orioles, Cuellar won 20-or-more games in a season four times from 1969 through 1974. Along with Jim Palmer, Dave McNally, and Pat Dobson, he was one of four Oriole starters to win at least 20 games in 1971. Cuellar, nicknamed ''Crazy Horse'' because of his superstitious nature, ranks among Baltimore's top five career leaders in wins (143) ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cy Blanton
Darrell Elijah (Cy) Blanton (July 6, 1908 – September 13, 1945) was a starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Philadelphia Phillies. Blanton batted left-handed and threw right-handed. Blanton was a screwball pitcher. Pitching career Blanton grew up in Trousdale, Oklahoma, and was living in Shawnee, Oklahoma, playing on sandlot teams. In 1929 he joined the Shawnee Robins, a C Class team in the Western Association. Blanton was a pitcher for the Independence Producers in 1931. The Independence Producers were a Class C minor league team located in Independence, Kansas. Blanton had twelve wins and eight losses for the season. Blanton was one of the mainstays of the Pittsburgh Pirates rotation in the mid 1930s. He pitched for the Albany Senators in 1934, being promoted to Pittsburgh to pitch one game. Earlier he pitched in the Piedmont League and the Western Association. In his 1935 rookie season he recorded 18 wins with 142 strikeouts ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pitch (baseball)
In baseball, the pitch is the act of throwing the baseball toward home plate to start a play. The term comes from the Knickerbocker Rules. Originally, the ball had to be thrown underhand, much like "pitching in horseshoes". Overhand pitching was not allowed in baseball until 1884. The biomechanics of pitching have been studied extensively. The phases of pitching include the windup, early cocking, late cocking, early acceleration, late acceleration, deceleration, and follow-through. Pitchers throw a variety of pitches, each of which has a slightly different velocity, trajectory, movement, hand position, wrist position and/or arm angle. These variations are introduced to confuse the batter and ultimately aid the defensive team in getting the batter or baserunners out. To obtain variety, and therefore enhance defensive baseball strategy, the pitcher manipulates the grip on the ball at the point of release. Variations in the grip cause the seams to catch the air differently, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jim Brewer (baseball)
James Thomas Brewer (November 14, 1937 – November 16, 1987) was an American relief pitcher in Major League Baseball. From 1960 through 1976, Brewer played for the Chicago Cubs, Los Angeles Dodgers, and California Angels. He batted and threw left-handed. Following the advice of Warren Spahn, Brewer developed a screwball to become one of the most successful relievers in the National League in the 1960s and 1970s. Career A graduate of Broken Arrow Senior High in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Brewer compiled a 69–65 record with 810 strikeouts and a 3.07 earned run average in a 17-year career that began with the Cubs and ended with the Angels, and in between spent twelve seasons with the Dodgers. In his career, Brewer recorded 133 saves, 126 with the Dodgers, appearing in 474 games for the club. Only two Dodgers pitchers, Don Sutton and Don Drysdale, have more appearances—550 and 518, respectively. As a Dodger, Brewer appeared in the 1973 All-Star Game and in three World Series (1 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christy Mathewson
Christopher Mathewson (August 12, 1880 – October 7, 1925), nicknamed "Big Six", "the Christian Gentleman", "Matty", and "the Gentleman's Hurler", was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher, who played 17 seasons with the New York Giants. He stood tall and weighed . He was among the most dominant pitchers in baseball history, and ranks in the all-time top 10 in several key pitching categories, including wins, shutouts, and earned run average. In 1936, Mathewson was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its first five members. Mathewson grew up in Factoryville, Pennsylvania, and began playing semiprofessional baseball when he was 14 years old. He played in the minor leagues in 1899, recording a record of 21 wins and two losses. He pitched for the New York Giants the next season, but was sent back to the minors. He eventually returned to the Giants, and went on to win a National League record 373 career games, tied Grover Cleveland Alexander for the third m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carl Hubbell
Carl Owen Hubbell (June 22, 1903 – November 21, 1988), nicknamed "the Meal Ticket" and "King Carl", was an American Major League Baseball player. He was a pitcher for the New York Giants of the National League from 1928 to 1943, and remained on the team's payroll for the rest of his life, long after their move to San Francisco. Twice voted the National League's Most Valuable Player, Hubbell was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1947. During 1936 and 1937, Hubbell set the major league record for consecutive wins by a pitcher with 24. He is perhaps best remembered for his performance in the 1934 All-Star Game, when he struck out five future Hall of Famers – Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx, Al Simmons and Joe Cronin – in succession. Hubbell's primary pitch was the screwball. Early years Hubbell was born in Carthage, Missouri and raised in Meeker, Oklahoma. Minor league career Hubbell was originally signed by the Detroit Tigers and was invited to spring training ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christy Matthewson
Christopher Mathewson (August 12, 1880 – October 7, 1925), nicknamed "Big Six", "the Christian Gentleman", "Matty", and "the Gentleman's Hurler", was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher, who played 17 seasons with the New York Giants. He stood tall and weighed . He was among the most dominant pitchers in baseball history, and ranks in the all-time top 10 in several key pitching categories, including wins, shutouts, and earned run average. In 1936, Mathewson was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame as one of its first five members. Mathewson grew up in Factoryville, Pennsylvania, and began playing semiprofessional baseball when he was 14 years old. He played in the minor leagues in 1899, recording a record of 21 wins and two losses. He pitched for the New York Giants the next season, but was sent back to the minors. He eventually returned to the Giants, and went on to win a National League record 373 career games, tied Grover Cleveland Alexander for the third m ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack Baldschun
Jack Edward Baldschun (born October 16, 1936) is an American former professional baseball player. He was a relief pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for all or part of nine seasons (1961–67; 1969–70), for the Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds and San Diego Padres. Baldschun threw and batted right-handed, and was listed as tall, weighing . Personal life Baldschun was a graduate of Greenville High School in his native Greenville, Ohio. He was originally signed by the Washington Senators out of Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, in 1956. Baldschun spent only one year in the Washington organization before he was acquired by Cincinnati and assigned to their Class C affiliate in Wausau, Wisconsin. In 1957, while playing minor league baseball for the Lumberjacks, he met his future wife, Charlotte Kolbe. They were married April 10, 1958 and had two children, Kim and Brad. Baseball career He was selected by the Phillies in the Rule 5 draft on November 28, 1960. After lear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fernando Valenzuela
Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea (, born November 1, 1960) is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. Valenzuela played 17 Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons, from to and to . While he played for six MLB teams, he is best remembered for his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Valenzuela batted and threw left-handed. His career highlights include a win-loss record of 173–153, with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.54. Valenzuela was notable for his unorthodox windup and for being one of a small number of pitchers who threw a screwball regularly. Never a particularly hard thrower, the Dodgers felt he needed another pitch; he was taught the screwball in 1979 by teammate Bobby Castillo. Valenzuela was signed by the Dodgers on July 6, 1979, and he made his debut late in the season. In , in what came to be called "Fernandomania," Valenzuela rose from relative obscurity to achieve super-stardom. He won his first eight starts (five of them shutouts). Valenzuela finished with ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mike Marshall (pitcher)
Michael Grant "Iron Mike" Marshall (January 15, 1943 – May 31, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1967 and from 1969 through 1981 for nine different teams. Marshall won the National League Cy Young Award in 1974 as a Los Angeles Dodger and was a two-time All-Star selection. He was the first relief pitcher to receive the Cy Young Award. Early life Marshall was born in Adrian, Michigan, on January 15, 1943. He attended Adrian High School in his hometown, before studying at Michigan State University. He was signed as an amateur free agent by the Philadelphia Phillies on September 13, 1960. Career Marshall did not pitch professionally until 1965 in the minor leagues. Marshall was purchased by the Detroit Tigers in 1966. He made his Major League debut with the Tigers on May 31, 1967, pitching one inning against the Cleveland Indians. He pitched in 37 games for the Tigers that season, all in relief, recorded 10 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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