Matsuzaka's gyroball

[Pudge77]

On sportscenter they did a segment on the gyroball. They said it looks like a slider but with NO movement. They then called it a "nothing pitch"

If you think about it this could fool a hitter bigtime... if the hitter saw a slider coming they would be ready for it to break and know when to swing but if the pitch doesnt break the hitter would be jammed

So i think this is possible to make just give Matsuzaka a slider but put little or no movement on it. also it doesnt not have much velocity

So if someone wants to make this for their rosters it would be pretty cool

Sorry if this has been mentioned, i check a lot of forums and didnt see anything

[krawhitham]

So i think this is possible to make just give Matsuzaka a slider but put little or no movement on it. also it doesnt not have much velocity

In real life it would be great, but in a game it will get hammered

[Pudge77]

In real life it would be great, but in a game it will get hammered

yeah i see what you mean

[TheMadcap]

I heard it described as a changeup with screwball motion to it. That might be a tough pitch to hit in-game.

[kgbaseball]

Shouldn't all of this talk about it's motion (which has never been described the same way more than once) lead you to believe it's fake?

[Kelvarr]

I heard it described as a changeup with screwball motion to it. That might be a tough pitch to hit in-game.

This is how I most often hear it described also.

I swear I have seen a changeup with screwball drift to it in MVP.

[kgbaseball]

Most changeups have a screwball motion, especially circle changes.

[ragamuffindaniel]

i listened to a great podcast from Baseball Prospectus on this.. its very good.

id recommend listening to it. Its about halfway down labeled. BPR extended edition. These guys say the gyroball is real and have written researched it in Japan. etc. There is also an indication that Ichiro uses a gyroball type grip to give him more velocity when he makes his throws. something to think about.

the link--> http://www.baseballprospectus.com/radio/

also here is a breakdown of his mechanics

the link --> http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/events/matsuzaka/index.jsp

[SESbb30]

from what ive seen, its a few mph slower than your fastball, but drops off the table at the end, kinda like a slider/cutter, but faster. there's a video on youtoube of some japanese guy really throwing a gyroball, not a slider or a curve, a gyroball.

[TwentySeven]

It doesn't really matter, because nobody in the majors really throws a gyroball.

[SESbb30]

somebody is learning it, i forgot who though.

[kgbaseball]

Supposedly CJ Wilson, but I doubt he'll ever use it.

[superciuc]

from what ive seen, its a few mph slower than your fastball, but drops off the table at the end, kinda like a slider/cutter, but faster. there's a video on youtoube of some japanese guy really throwing a gyroball, not a slider or a curve, a gyroball.

Yes,it looks like a slider that breaks in,but at the end it goes like a normal fastball

[skibz]

no no. a gyroball is pitch strictly in manga. matsuzaka doesn't throw a gyroball at all. no one throws a gyroball. matsuzaka throws a changeup but turns it over with a wrist flick which gives it screwball spin but it's still only his changeup. even in UR 8.2 and kgbaseball's rosters, it's a changeup with 2seam action... like a circle change but drops several inches.

[superciuc]

no no. a gyroball is pitch strictly in manga. matsuzaka doesn't throw a gyroball at all. no one throws a gyroball. matsuzaka throws a changeup but turns it over with a wrist flick which gives it screwball spin but it's still only his changeup. even in UR 8.2 and kgbaseball's rosters, it's a changeup with 2seam action... like a circle change but drops several inches.

Matsusaka said that he tryied to pitch a gyroball but he doesn't trow the gyroball in game situations.

[philliesphan18]

Matsusaka said that he tryied to pitch a gyroball but he doesn't trow the gyroball in game situations.

I heard the announcers on ESPN in that King Felix almost no-hitter game speculating that he indeed did throw it that night. But, I doubt he really did.

[el_jefe061]

The gyroball is real, but Matsuzaka doesn't throw it. There was a great article, and in my mind the definitive one, by Jim Caple. He basically researched everything about the Gyroball, went to Japan, and even saw some pitchers who throw it. He talked to the creator too. What he basically took from it is that it was originally intended to be a changeup and have no movement at all. In essence the Gyroball is nothing. However, when these pitchers threw it, it moved downward slightly and has decent velocity. I gave Matsuzaka the Gyroball in my game by setting a slider to drop 12-6.

[JaFFiTh]

no no. a gyroball is pitch strictly in manga. matsuzaka doesn't throw a gyroball at all. no one throws a gyroball. matsuzaka throws a changeup but turns it over with a wrist flick which gives it screwball spin but it's still only his changeup. even in UR 8.2 and kgbaseball's rosters, it's a changeup with 2seam action... like a circle change but drops several inches.

Oh yeah, he doesn't throw a gyroball..how come there's a couple of youtubes on him... like this one

K-Dice's gyroball

[drbeep97]

the pitch that the guys on ESPN were freaking out about was a change-up

dice-k has said that he's expirementing with the pitch but doesn't plan on throwing it in a game

the pitch exists... last year they had a kid in a highschool in Indiana work on the pitch and he threw it behind the batter and it cut back over the plate

from what i've seen, this pitch would be a waste of time to learn... but it'd be sweet to have (i've tried to throw one)

[D-Unit]

I should try it, maybe it would be good enough to let me make the team in this political town i live in lol.

[el_jefe061]

K-Dice's gyroball

From what I've read, that's just his slider.

[JaFFiTh]

I saw him throw one against the Jays yesterday, that was pretty sweet. It actually acts like a screwball, goes the opposite way from the slider/curve. IT comes back instead of going away if ya know what i mean. Not just by a slight movement, it really comes back Well for that pitch at least :D

[northpaw]

how come know one agrees on the actual movement....if there isn't a clear definition of a gyroball how can we tell when its thrown. Im thinking there are a lot of people being fooled by a changeup, cutter, curve, two seam, slider, and fastball thinking its a gyroball.

As of now it may be real but no one throws it

[SESbb30]

how come know one agrees on the actual movement....if there isn't a clear definition of a gyroball how can we tell when its thrown. Im thinking there are a lot of people being fooled by a changeup, cutter, curve, two seam, slider, and fastball thinking its a gyroball.

As of now it may be real but no one throws it

some people dont think it exists because of all the idiots that say it rises and moves like a screwball. there is a video of a japaneese guy really throwing a gyroball, you really have to look for it to find it, and yeah, it does look like a slider, but its faster than a slider with slightly later.

[seanzarelli]

The one game I pitched in, in little league before getting kicked out of the league for good, I threw a pitch that moved 3 different times like a zigzag from what the catcher told me. Don't know how I did it, maybe that could be the new Gyroball, lol.

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