What is the meaning eephus?
a junk pitch of extremely low speed and with a characteristically high arc: He baffled many a hitter with his eephus pitch.
Who threw an eephus?
LOOK: Rangers’ Brock Holt tosses 31 mph eephus pitch for strike during game against A’s.
Who made the eephus pitch famous?
Rip Sewell
The eephus pitch was first made famous by Rip Sewell in the 1940s. He would throw the ball as much as 25 feet up in the air. But the eephus likely received its unique name due to a misunderstanding. After throwing the pitch during a spring training game, Sewell’s manager wanted to know what type of pitch it was.
Is an eephus a good pitch?
An eephus pitch (also spelled ephus) in baseball is a very high-arcing off-speed pitch. The delivery from the pitcher has very low velocity and often catches the hitter off-guard. The corresponding slow velocity bears more resemblance to a slow-pitch softball delivery than to a traditional baseball pitch.
Why did Brock Holt pitch?
“The plan was to see how slow I could throw it and still throw strikes,” Holt said after the game. “So I was able to execute my plan to perfection today.” Holt added to the spectacle around position players pitching by approaching the umpires after the end of the inning and asking to be checked for foreign substances.
How fast was Randy Johnson’s fastball?
102 mph
Pitching style In the prime of his career, Johnson’s fastball was clocked as high as 102 mph (164 km/h), with a low three-quarters delivery (nearly sidearm). His signature pitch was a slider that broke down and away from left-handed hitters and down and in to right-handed hitters.
What kind of pitch is an eephus pitch?
An eephus pitch in baseball is a slow curveball thrown at an absurdly low speed, usually 60 miles per hour or less. Since it’s much slower than a typical baseball pitch, slower than even a knuckleball, it can catch a hitter off guard.
Who was the baseball player who missed the eephus pitch?
After appearing in over 300 major league games, Rip Sewell only gave up one career home run off the Eephus, to Ted Williams in the 1946 All-Star Game. Williams challenged Sewell to throw the Eephus. Sewell obliged, and Williams missed the pitch.
Can a power hitter hit an eephus pitch?
However, if the pitch doesn’t surprise the batter, or if it doesn’t break sharply enough, an eephus pitch is easy to hit, and a power hitter can hit it into the seats for a homer. Ted Williams once said an eephus pitch is extremely easy to hit, but the hitter has to supply all the power.
When did Mark Buehrle throw up the eephus pitch?
During a 5-hit performance by Ichiro Suzuki versus the Chicago White Sox on September 4th, 2004, Mark Buehrle, who has struggled facing Ichiro throughout his career, threw up an Eephus pitch during Suzuki’s 4th at-bat.