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 ...

, the vulcan changeup pitch (otherwise known as a vulcan or trekkie) is a type of

changeup A changeup is a type of pitch in baseball and fastpitch softball. The changeup is a staple off-speed pitch often used in a pitcher's arsenal, usually thrown to look like a fastball but arriving much more slowly to the plate. Its reduced speed ...

; it closely resembles a

forkball The forkball is a type of pitch in baseball. Related to the split-finger fastball, 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 tha ...

and

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 ...

. It is a variation of the

circle changeup In baseball, a circle changeup (also called the "okay changeup", related to the thumb and index finger touching) is a pitch (baseball), pitch thrown with a grip that includes a circle formation, hence the name circle changeup. The circle is fo ...

, and when mastered can be extremely effective. Much like a forkball, the vulcan is gripped between two fingers on the hand, but rather than the middle and index finger as with the forkball or

, it sits in between the middle and ring fingers to make a v-shape (

Vulcan salute The Vulcan salute ("🖖") is a hand gesture popularized by the 1960s television series ''Star Trek''. It consists of a raised hand with the palm forward and the thumb extended, while the fingers are parted between the middle and ring fing ...

) when releasing to the catcher. It is thrown with fastball arm speed but by pronating the hand by turning the thumb down, to get good downward movement on it. The pitch is uncommon in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

Ian Kennedy Ian Patrick Kennedy (born December 19, 1984) is an American professional baseball pitcher who is a free agent. He has played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Diego Padres, Kansas City Royals, ...

throws this style of changeup instead of others because he "found it more comfortable and had more movement". Among the others who have thrown it are John Gant, former relievers

Randy Tomlin Randy Leon Tomlin (born June 14, 1966) is a former left-handed starting pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1990-94). He stands 5'11" and weighs 170 pounds. In five seasons, he had a 3.43 earned run average (ERA). Tomlin grew up around Lynchb ...

and

Joe Nelson Joseph George Nelson (born October 25, 1974) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. High school Nelson attended St. Joseph's High School in Alameda, California. At St. Joseph, Nelson played basketball with NBA star Jason Kidd. Colle ...

, and most notably former all-star closer

Éric Gagné Éric Serge Gagné (; born January 7, 1976) is a Canadian former professional baseball pitcher who played 10 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), most notably for the Los Angeles Dodgers. After signing with the Dodgers as a free agent in 1995 ...

, for whom the vulcan changeup was considered one of his best pitches.

Roy Oswalt Roy Edward Oswalt (; born August 29, 1977) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Oswalt played for the majority of his Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the Houston Astros. He also played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Texa ...

adopted this pitch during the 2010 offseason and preferred it over the circle changeup. Nelson explained his choice for naming the pitch: "It was either going to be Nanu Nanu or the Vulcan.

Spock Spock is a Character (arts), fictional character in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. He first appeared in the Star Trek: The Original Series, original ''Star Trek'' series serving aboard the starship USS Enterprise (NCC-1701), USS ''Enterprise ...

just seemed like a cooler character than Mork." The pitch has been nicknamed the "Trekkie", because of the

Vulcan Vulcan may refer to: Mythology * Vulcan (mythology), the god of fire, volcanoes, metalworking, and the forge in Roman mythology Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * Vulcan (''Star Trek''), name of a fictional race and their home p ...

symbol, from the television show ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'', that appears in the grip of the ball.

References

Baseball pitches Star Trek fandom {{Baseball-stub