Jim Kaat on the Slider

Great article, thanks for posting. I would not have any meaningful opinion myself because I don't know enough about pitching, but what he says makes sense and is in line with everything that I have ever heard about the effectivness of combining a strong fastball with a well-crafted changeup. It's interesting to get the perspective of a guy like Jim Kaat. One would think that lots of baseball people would pay attention to what he has to say.

I have had the good fortune of being able to listen the Jim Kaat for a number of years as he did NY Yankee games on TV---I have the utmost respect for his baseball acumen.

As for the slider my son said it was the first major adjustment he had to make as a hitter when he got to college, not having seen it in HS

Interesting comments about sliders. I will start paying more attention to success of sliders.

The LittlestSultan pitches in his first HS game tomorrow. He throws a few sliders.

That's an interesting article and one I hope many of our younger members will pay attention to. I sent it to all the pitchers on my clubs, and suggested that they pay attention to what Jim Kaat says, especially since he pitched longer in the big leagues than any of my players have been alive.

the stress on young arms from the slider should be reason enough.

Really good advice, IMO. My pitcher didn't learn to throw a true slider until second year in college. I agree that in many cases, if a pitcher finds success with it, they tend to rely on it more than they should, so it should be the last pitch a pitcher learns and used with, not instead of his arsenal.

Some refer it to the college pitch of choice, because it does get hitters out, for awhile, but very seldom do you see someone having an outstanding one. My opinion is learn how to throw to the corners as a young pitcher, in time add the slider and use it when necessary.

quote:

Originally posted by 20dad:
the stress on young arms from the slider should be reason enough.

I was surprised Kaat never mentioned this. He just gives a whole new set of reasons to be wary of the pitch.

quote:

Originally posted by TPM:
I agree that in many cases, if a pitcher finds success with it, they tend to rely on it more than they should, so it should be the last pitch a pitcher learns and used with, not instead of his arsenal.

Well said, TPM. I think this was the most interesting thought in the article.

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The slider is the hardest hit pitch in the majors. All it takes is a simple mistake by the pitcher hanging it up a bit, which flattens it out and BAM! It's, it's, it's outta here!!!!!!

I guess it's a preference thing, but I believe the curveball is a better pitch. It may be harder to master and harder to throw for a strike, but most of the greatest HOF pitchers of all time threw great curveballs...not sliders. There are exceptions of course, as Randy Johnson proved with his devastating sliders...

As for a breaking ball, my bet is on learning an effective curveball...

Also, if a kid is good at getting around a ball while pitching by pronating his hand/wrist on release of the ball, I encourage development of this as a sinker because of the action of the ball downward. With some work this becomes another pitch in a young pitchers arsenal...