Hideki Okajima adds another pitch to his arsenal
Posted on February 14, 2008
Filed Under 2008 Season | 1 Comment
He won’t say what it is himself but pitching coach John Farrell elaborated on the pitch that Hideki has been working on. Being a junkball pitcher, someone that relies on movement rather than velocity, it only makes sense that his new pitch is a two-seam fastball.
Okajima already throws an amazingly controlled split-finger fastball, one of the best change-ups in the major leagues (it sometimes has a screwball type movement to it), a nasty curveball that he has had trouble re-creating in the MLB, a slider that he rarely throws, and a low-to-mid-80s splitter.
A two-seamer to go along with all of those pitches will make it harder for batters to distinguish between it and his splitter because both should have about the same velocity but completely different movement. He has yet to throw it against live hitters but if it turns out to be as good as his other pitches, batters beware.
Hideki has also decided to throw less between appearances this year in an effort to slow down the fatigue that affected him late last season. He posted an unbelievable 1.17 ERA in his first 57 appearances but gave up 9 runs in the last 9 games he pitched in, finishing the season with a 2.22 ERA in 69IP. If he can follow through on his plan and reduce the tiredness he experienced in his arm then you can look for him being another solid stopper again for the days Papelbon can’t pitch.
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This is by far, the most inspirational sport’s / boston sport’s / or Red Sox web site, for that matter, that I’ve ever checked out.
Great Job, keep up the good work, mikey! : )