![Folkball 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c2/Folkball_2.JPG)
The forkball is a type of
pitch in
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
. Related to the
split-finger fastball
A split-finger fastball or splitter is an off-speed pitch in baseball that looks to the batter like a fastball until it drops suddenly. Derived from the forkball, it is so named because the pitcher puts the index and middle finger on different ...
, the forkball is held between the first two fingers and thrown hard, snapping the wrist.
The forkball differs from the split-fingered fastball, however, in that the ball is jammed deeper between the first two fingers. The result is that the forkball is generally thrown slightly slower than the splitter, but has more of a "tumbling" action akin to the movement of a
12–6 curveball
The 12–6 curveball is one of the types of pitches thrown in baseball. It is categorized as a breaking ball because of its downward break. The 12–6 curveball, unlike the normal curveball (also referred to as the "11 to 5 curve" or a "2 to 8 ...
, as it will drop off the plate before it gets to the catcher's mitt.
Use in the Major Leagues
The forkball has been favored by several current and former major league pitchers, including
Tom Henke
Thomas Anthony Henke (born December 21, 1957), nicknamed "the Terminator", is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. He was one of the most dominant and feared closers during the late 1980s and early 1990s, pitching for the Texas Rangers ...
,
Kevin Appier
Robert Kevin Appier (; born December 6, 1967) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Kansas City Royals, Oakland Athletics, New York Mets, and Anaheim Angels. Appi ...
,
Hideo Nomo
is a Japanese former baseball pitcher who played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and Major League Baseball (MLB). He achieved early success in his native country, where he played with the Kintetsu Buffaloes from to . He then exploited a l ...
,
José Valverde
José Rafael Valverde (born March 24, 1978) is a Dominican former professional baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Arizona Diamondbacks, Houston Astros, Detroit Tigers, and New York Mets. He is nicknamed ...
,
José Arredondo
José Juan Arredondo (born March 12, 1984) is a Dominican Republic, Dominican former professional baseball relief pitcher. He also played for the Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the Cincinnati Reds of the Major League Baseba ...
,
Ken Hill,
Justin Speier
Justin James Speier (born November 6, 1973) is an American former professional baseball pitcher in Major League Baseball.
He attended Brophy College Preparatory in Phoenix, Arizona. Upon graduation from Brophy Prep, Speier attended the University ...
,
Kazuhiro Sasaki
Kazuhiro "Daimajin" Sasaki (佐々木 主浩 ''Sasaki Kazuhiro'', born February 22, 1968) is a former Nippon Professional Baseball and Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. He played his entire NPB career with the Yokohama Taiyo W ...
,
José Contreras
José Ariel Contreras Camejo (born December 6, 1971), is a Cuban former professional baseball pitcher, who played in the Cuban National Series (CNS), Major League Baseball (MLB), and internationally for the Cuban national baseball team.
Contr ...
,
Chien-Ming Wang
Chien-Ming Wang (; born March 31, 1980) is a Taiwanese former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Washington Nationals, Toronto Blue Jays and Kansas City Royals. He also played for ...
,
Junichi Tazawa
is a Japanese professional baseball pitcher for ENEOS of the Japanese Industrial League. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Angels. He also played in the Chinese Professional Baseba ...
,
Robert Coello
Robert Coello (; born November 23, 1984) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox, Toronto Blue Jays, and Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, and in the KBO League for the Ne ...
, and
Edwar Ramírez
Edwar Emilio Ramírez (born March 28, 1981) is a Dominican professional baseball pitcher. Ramírez appeared in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a relief pitcher for the New York Yankees (2007–2009) and Oakland Athletics (2010). After finding him ...
. Two-time
Cy Young Award
The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL). The award was first introduced in 1956 by Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick in honor of Hall ...
winner
Tim Lincecum
Timothy Leroy Lincecum ( ; born June 15, 1984), nicknamed "The Freak", "The Franchise", "The Freaky Franchise" and "Big Time Timmy Jim", is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San ...
used a changeup with forkball movement as his strike-out pitch. Hall of Famer
Gaylord Perry
Gaylord Jackson Perry (September 15, 1938 – December 1, 2022) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher for eight different teams from 1962 to 1983. During a 22-year baseb ...
, winner of the Cy Young Award in both leagues, was arguably the greatest practitioner of the forkball. In addition, a number of
NPB
or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''.
Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...
players throw forkballs, including
Kazumi Saito
is a Japanese former professional baseball starting pitcher, and current first squad pitching coach for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. He was a two-time winner of the Eiji Sawamura Award (, ), but did not pitch in a regular season game after Octob ...
of the
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks
The are a Japanese professional baseball team based in Fukuoka, Fukuoka Prefecture. They compete in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) as a member of the Pacific League.
The team was formerly known as the Nankai Hawks and was based in Osaka. ...
, who has ridden his forkball to two
Eiji Sawamura Award
The , commonly known as the Sawamura Award, is an honor bestowed upon the top starting pitcher in Nippon Professional Baseball each year.
The award was originally established by Japanese magazine "Nekkyū" in 1947 to honor the career of Eiji Sawa ...
s. In actuality, the forkball is more popular than the splitter in Japan, and the majority of the best pitchers in Japan have one in their arsenal. Former Major League pitchers
Dave Stewart and
Mélido Pérez
Mélido Turpen Gross Pérez (born February 15, 1966), is a former right-handed Major League Baseball pitcher who played from through for the Kansas City Royals, Chicago White Sox, and New York Yankees.
Career
Kansas City Royals
The Kansas City ...
were two of the most highly regarded forkball pitchers in the late 1980s. Late in his career, the forkball was also used by
Sandy Koufax
Sanford Koufax (; born Sanford Braun; December 30, 1935) is an American former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played his entire career for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. He has been hailed as one of t ...
. In his fourth MLB season (1980),
Jack Morris
John Scott Morris (born May 16, 1955) is an American former professional baseball starting pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1977 and 1994, mainly for the Detroit Tigers. Morris won 254 games throughout his career.
Armed ...
learned the forkball from pitching coach
Roger Craig, and it became his primary strikeout pitch while he won more games than any other pitcher in the 1980s.
Roy Face
Elroy Leon Face (born February 20, 1928), nicknamed The Bullpen Baron, is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. During a 17-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he pitched primarily for the Pittsburgh Pirates. A pioneer of ...
and
Lindy McDaniel
Lyndall Dale McDaniel (December 13, 1935 – November 14, 2020), known as Lindy McDaniel, was an American professional baseball pitcher who had a 21-year career in Major League Baseball from 1955 to 1975. During his career, he witnessed approxim ...
were relief pitchers who pitched for 16 and 21 years, respectively, in the Major Leagues and were forkballers. Face started his career in 1953 and McDaniel in 1955.
Throwing mechanics
The forkball is thrown with the same arm motion and speed of a fastball, but at release point, the wrist is snapped downward. Additionally, allowing the ball to spin off the middle or index finger may result in additional movement.
Origin of the forkball
"Bullet" Joe Bush of the
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
is credited with the invention of the forkball, shortly following World War I.
However, it was popularized by former relief pitcher
Elroy Face
Elroy Leon Face (born February 20, 1928), nicknamed The Bullpen Baron, is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. During a 17-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, he pitched primarily for the Pittsburgh Pirates. A pioneer o ...
of the
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
. Face single-handedly made the forkball a topic of popularized discussion through his effective use of the pitch.
Medical concerns
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 repair bone fractures or damaged tendons, sometimes several times in their careers. Younger players are discouraged from attempting to throw the forkball before reaching the age of 17–18. One such pitcher was former
Yokohama BayStars
The are a professional baseball team in the Japan, Japanese Central League. Their home field is Yokohama Stadium, located in central Yokohama. The team has been known by several names since becoming a professional team in 1950. It adopted its c ...
and
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West division. The team joined the American League ...
closer
Kazuhiro Sasaki
Kazuhiro "Daimajin" Sasaki (佐々木 主浩 ''Sasaki Kazuhiro'', born February 22, 1968) is a former Nippon Professional Baseball and Major League Baseball right-handed relief pitcher. He played his entire NPB career with the Yokohama Taiyo W ...
. However, these injuries are avoidable; if the pitcher does not snap his wrist in the motion, then the forkball theoretically should have no damaging effect to his arm. The only tradeoff is a slight decrease in speed; the pitch should still break the same way.
References
{{Baseball pitches
Baseball pitches