Eephus Ain't Nothing

May 12, 2020 8:46 AM

While we wait for the first pitch of the 2020 season, take a couple of minutes to learn more about the mysterious, rare, junky eephus pitch.

The Eephus grip

A selection of eephus pitches

posted by chavenet (15 comments total)

This is great! The looks on some the batters' faces as they watch the pitch go by are priceless.
posted by TedW at 9:32 AM on May 12, 2020 [2 favorites]

I didn't see it in any of the links, but I remember a Dodgers World Series or playoff game where the score was about 12-0 Dodgers and one of the Dodger pitchers threw one of these pitches. Maybe in the Ron Cey era.I thought I remembered it almost starting a brawl. Sounds like something the Dodgers would do.

Go Giants.

But honestly, I'd settle for a Dodger game right now.
posted by Kafkaesque at 10:06 AM on May 12, 2020 [1 favorite]

Heh, the clip linked at "selection of" made me laugh out loud. I'm not a baseball guy. But I've never, ever seen a pitch like that in a pro game in my life. There should be more tricky stuff like this in the game, might even make it worth watching!
posted by SoberHighland at 10:13 AM on May 12, 2020 [2 favorites]

MLB owners OK plan that could lead to July start
a plan that envisioned expanding the designated hitter to the National League for 2020.

What.
posted by 1970s Antihero at 10:23 AM on May 12, 2020 [4 favorites]

I've remembered the hilarious first pitch of that "selection of" clip since I was a kid, but for some reason thought it was Ron Guidry--thank you so much for bringing that to the fore of my moldy brain!!
posted by riverlife at 10:28 AM on May 12, 2020 [1 favorite]

Eephus League makes my favourite design tragic scoring books. I'm nearly done with the original kickstarter ones, and looking forward to ordering The Halfliner.
posted by zamboni at 10:45 AM on May 12, 2020 [2 favorites]

I don't think those last two links of Yu Darvish pitches are eephuses. They just look like slow, looping curves.
posted by schoolgirl report at 11:35 AM on May 12, 2020 [3 favorites]

Why financial battle over 2020 MLB season is about to get really, really ugly • ESPN; Jeff Passan; 05/12/2020

What is in the return-to-play proposal?

In broad terms:

• A 50-50 split of revenue from the 2020 season

• An 82-game schedule instead of the standard 162

• A mid-June "spring training" and early-July Opening Day

• A 14-team postseason rather than the typical 10

• Games played in home stadiums where allowed

• Designated hitters in the American and National League

• Games against only divisional and regional opponents -- i.e., AL West teams, for example, play AL West and NL West teams

• Expanded rosters from 26 to as many as 30 active players with a 20-man taxi squad of minor league players and prospects

• No fans in stadiums to begin the season

And many more bullet points to agree or disagree on. Revenue sharing alone seems very complex.
posted by ZeusHumms at 12:00 PM on May 12, 2020 [1 favorite]

Maybe baseball restarting could be it's own FPP? Not really related to the eephus pitch.
posted by Chrysostom at 1:03 PM on May 12, 2020 [3 favorites]

Chrysostom: "Maybe baseball restarting could be it's own FPP? Not really related to the eephus pitch."

Oh, I don't know. Throwing the "designated-hitter-in-the-NL" in there is kind of an eephus in its own way; purposely designed to baffle, irk and irritate. And there's always the risk someone will whack it out of the park this time.
posted by chavenet at 1:13 PM on May 12, 2020

Was musing about doing a sports industry/coronavirus FPP
posted by ZeusHumms at 1:34 PM on May 12, 2020 [1 favorite]

Extremely on-brand reactions to an eephus: Beltre dropping to a knee, ARod's baseball computer brain perfectly assessing the pitch and sending a dinger 15 rows deep.
posted by protocoach at 1:54 PM on May 12, 2020 [2 favorites]

I don't think those last two links of Yu Darvish pitches are eephuses. They just look like slow, looping curves.

There is certainly a range with that first pitch in the "selection of" link almost reaching LEO and some of Darvish's pitches which just seem to be extremely slow fast ball type pitches.
posted by Mitheral at 2:32 PM on May 12, 2020 [2 favorites]

There's a previously about Darvish, featuring a link to an MLB.com story about how he's a massive outlier for the number of different styles of pitches he can and will use in a season. Even as a very mild Japanese Baseball fan (woo, go Chiba Lotte Marines!) and not all that into the sport, it's a pretty great read and goes into just how special of a player Darvish is.
posted by Ghidorah at 9:58 PM on May 12, 2020 [2 favorites]

We need a ripsewell tag on this.
posted by Chrysostom at 3:55 PM on May 19, 2020