Sidearm pitchers throw off batters in the Big Ten

EVANSTON, Ill. “”mdash; As Northwestern reliever Chris Hayes
dropped down to fire a pitch in an April 27 game against Illinois,
a few kids in the stands looked at each other in confusion.

“What the heck is that guy doing?” one of them
asked.

“I don’t know,” the other replied.
“He’s throwing weird.”

Many baseball-crazed dads, older brothers and the great pitchers
of baseball’s past preach the same pitching strategy to
today’s American youth ““ a strong wind-up, followed by
an over-the-top delivery.

But Hayes’ delivery flies in the face of traditional
wind-ups and follows a recent trend that has grown more popular in
Major League Baseball ““ sidearm pitching.

Byung-Hyun Kim of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Chad Bradford of
the Oakland Athletics have emerged as two of MLB’s elite
sidearm pitchers.

Their styles have been replicated in the professional ranks. And
while this new breed of pitchers has been a fixture in Japan and
South Korea for some time, only recently has it become a common
sight in North American baseball.

“The number has definitely increased over the
years,” Michigan State sidearmer Bryan Gale said.
“I’d say up to 60 or 70 percent of major league teams
have at least one pitcher coming out of the bullpen who sometimes
drops down to the side.”

But in the Big Ten, full-time sidearm pitchers are few and far
between.

“There aren’t as many as there used to be, but I
think they just come in random spurts,” NU coach Paul Stevens
said. “It’s different ““ it’s a completely
different arm slot they’re throwing out of.”

Gale is the only starting pitcher in the Big Ten who has a
sidearm delivery.

Gale estimates he throws sidearm 45 percent of the time and
almost underhanded another 45 percent.

“I come out from over the top every once in a
while,” Gale said. “But for the most part I come from
underneath or from the side. It’s just been my
style.”

Gale isn’t the only Big Ten hurler that employs this
method. NU’s Hayes comes out of the bullpen throwing from the
side.

“I started out coming from the top just like everyone else
does,” Hayes said. “I only used to (drop down) every
once in a while in high school when I was ahead in the
count.”

Hayes and Gale began experimenting with different deliveries for
different reasons. Hayes thought it would be a good way to break
out of a slump, while Gale made the switch with a long-term goal in
mind.

“It’s not like I ever struggled coming over the
top,” Gale said. “But I was looking towards the next
level, and throwing 84-86 miles an hour over the top wasn’t
going to be good enough to get drafted. This way I give scouts
another thing to look at.”

Gale and Hayes wind up the same way any normal pitcher would.
But once they kick up the front leg, they grip the ball well below
belt level and fling their pitching arm in an almost-diagonal
direction as the ball is released.

They follow through with their hands ending up near their
opposite shoulders.

Although it seems unnatural to others, Hayes and Gale insist
that their style of throwing is easier on their arms.

“I don’t think that it’s bad for my arm or
anything,” Hayes said. “I’ve never been
unfortunate enough to have any kind of arm trouble. Compared to
throwing over the top, I feel better throwing from underneath or
from the side.”

The style may be more comfortable for Hayes and Gale, but
batters used to having pitchers release the ball near eye level
need to focus on pitches coming out from almost underneath
them.

“You have to change the way you approach an at-bat,
especially if the guy throwing at me sidearm is left-handed,”
said NU outfielder David Gresky, a lefty. “You definitely
have to change the way you hit. It’s still the same strike
zone, but now your eyes have to focus on a whole different
spot.”

Throwing sidearm causes pitchers to lose velocity on their
fastballs, but what frustrates batters are breaking balls.

Breaking balls from sidearm pitchers don’t follow the
up-and-down pattern most batters are used to seeing. Instead, these
pitches break in a left-to-right manner.

Sometimes pitches can appear to be breaking in an upward
direction made famous by Kim’s “Nintendo slider,”
which seems to be something from out of a video game.

Stevens said the drastic difference from an over-the-top
delivery makes sidearmers especially effective out of the
bullpen.

“I think they’re much more effective short-term and
in relief,” Stevens said. “If he’s out there
longer, batters will get a better look at him and adjust
better.”

Stevens knows the difficulty of facing sidearmers first-hand.
The Wildcats have had a love-hate relationship with Gale through
his three seasons.

As a freshman, the Spartans’ hurler tossed a complete game
against NU while striking out a career-high eight batters. After
being defeated in Evanston, Ill., his sophomore year, Gale came
back this year to shut down the Cats in another complete game,
again striking out eight.

Gale has emerged as one of the conference’s top starters.
The Decatur, Mich., native is currently leading the Big Ten in
innings pitched. He is sixth in ERA and second in opposing batting
average.

Meanwhile, Hayes is holding his own as a reliever for the Cats.
Hayes has an ERA of 0.84 in eight appearances this year.

But while these two continue to enjoy success throwing from the
side, they also understand why there are only a select few like
them.

“I definitely think it has its advantages,” Gale
said. “But some guys just aren’t flexible enough to do
it.”

Hayes finds that pitches are harder to aim when throwing from
the side.

“It’s good because batters aren’t used to it,
but it’s definitely harder to control,” Hayes said.
“The key is to keep the ball down and get a lot of ground
balls.”

While sidearm hurlers continue to infiltrate the professional
ranks, Gale hopes to be another one of them.

And he has some advice for other aspiring pitchers as well.

“If you’re in high school and you throw maybe 82-86
miles an hour, it’s hard to get recruited,” he said.
“But if you can drop down, it’ll increase your chances
of going somewhere.”

University Wire