and the best FB in baseball is......

Seems as if I am not the only one who says the best pitch in baseball is the CU.

I went to the stat site and did my own research and found that of the top 5 NL pitchers who throw CU the most, 4 of them 5 are in the top 20 in strike-outs, 3 of the 5 are in the top 12 in ERA, and 3 of them 5 are also in the top ten for wins. It seems to me that there is a striking connection to being a dominant pitcher and throwing a lot of change-ups.

Wheter the CU is used in front or back of a great fastball, the connection to being dominant in baseball is having/can be, a great CU.

BOF,
Got hooked on Fangraphs last year, good stuff.

One thing I have learned each pitcher is unique with what works best for him. I don't agree the best pitch in baseball is the change up, it may be for some but not others. And yuou got to know who you are facing, and his weakness.

It's been said by many that the best pitch in baseball is strike one. I'm a big proponent of changing speeds, but there really is no one type of off-speed pitch that can be called the best, or even essential. Mo Rivera has a change up, but he only takes it out of his glove maybe once in a season (ask Josh Hamilton). TPM nailed it, each pitcher is unique and must have knowledge of the enemy.

I have to agree with Spizz on strike one being the best pitch in baseball but I also have to agree with TPM that each pitcher has their own "best" pitch.

Ultimately though if you want to be successful at pitching then you better have at the VERY least two good pitches. You might have one better than the other but they better be able to play off each other.

Think about it this way - if you got a guy throwing 100 MPH only you will find a large number of MLB hitters who will adjust to hit that. If you got a guy throwing a great change up only pretty much all hitters will hit it. But if you can throw 100 and then follow it up with 85 you are going to be very good. Even if you pitch backwards and start change and come back with fast.

If you want to be successful have two pitches (but let's be honest you need at least three).

quote:

Think about it this way - if you got a guy throwing 100 MPH only you will find a large number of MLB hitters who will adjust to hit that. If you got a guy throwing a great change up only pretty much all hitters will hit it. But if you can throw 100 and then follow it up with 85 you are going to be very good. Even if you pitch backwards and start change and come back with fast.

If you want to be successful have two pitches (but let's be honest you need at least three).

Steve Carelton sits very solidly in the hall throwing 2 pitches..neither being a change.
I see a pitcher like Rich Harden who is strictly a fb cu guy. He has 98 mph gas and a solid change...k's a whole lot..but gives up seemingly higher volumes of gopher balls. My opinion is that this is a super closer combo as in Hoffman..but to successfully start at a major league level 3 pitches are the very minimum you can get away with and maintain dominance over time. Even the Great Greg used a sinker, a cutter (Might even throw a 4 seamer to mess some people up), a change and once a game or so a curve. I try to teach proficiency in throwing several pitches to location.
My point about old Lefty was that I bet he thinks #1 pitch would be a quality slide piece..who could argue with his success..even on the worst team of the decade (His turn was termed "Win day" in that crummy Phillies team he was on).
I myself think the sinker/cutter..two seam variants, is the winner pitch..but I have always loved an ugly hook.