Slurve

The slurve is a baseball pitch in which the pitcher throws a curve ball as if it were a slider. The pitch is gripped like a curve ball, but thrown with a slider velocity. The term is a portmanteau of slider and curve.

History

The first pitcher to use the slurve pitch is unknown. Johnny Sain of the Boston Braves was known to throw a slurve in the 1940s. On May 6, 1998 Kerry Wood of the Chicago Cubs utilized the slurve in a major-league record tying twenty strikeout game. Japanese former Los Angeles Dodgers, Yakult Swallows and Seibu Lions pitcher Kazuhisa Ishii, despite his well-documented control problems, uses a slurve almost exclusively against left-handers. Alfredo Aceves from the Boston Red Sox was also known to throw a slurve. Stephen Strasburg claims to throw a slurve, although experts still call his pitch a curve ball. Hall of Fame relief pitcher Goose Gossage stated that learning how to throw a slurve changed his career in his Yankeeography. Both Cy Young and Walter Johnson had slurves in their arsenals and Cy Young is the earliest known user of the pitch, having started his career in 1890.

Notable slurve pitchers

• Alfredo Aceves
• Dellin Betances
• Dallas Braden
• Yu Darvish
• Craig Kimbrel
• Dámaso Marte
• Michael Pineda
• Jonathan Sánchez
• Drew Smyly
• Taijuan Walker
• Kerry Wood
• Stephen Strasburg
• José Fernández
• Roberto Osuna

Concerns in pitching

Critics of the slurve call the pitch a sloppy slider because of its wide break. They claim that the slurve produces more home runs than a late breaking slider. The usefulness of the slurve is debated. The slurve is also claimed to cause problems to a pitcher. In 1998 Kerry Wood claimed his elbow soreness was caused by throwing the slurve.

External links

• The Mechanics Of A Breaking Pitch at Popular Mechanics