Screwball - Screwball Pitchers

Screwball Pitchers

One of the first great screwball pitchers was Christy Mathewson (1900–1916), whose pitch was then labeled as the 'fadeaway'. Other major league pitchers who have thrown the screwball during their careers include:

  • Carl Hubbell
  • Cy Blanton
  • Luis Arroyo
  • Jack Baldschun
  • Bobby Castillo (taught the pitch to Valenzuela)
  • Mike Cuellar
  • Warren Spahn (in the second half of his career)
  • Jim Brewer
  • Mel Parnell
  • Mike Norris
  • Juan Marichal
  • Mike Marshall
  • Masanori Murakami
  • Fernando Valenzuela
  • Tug McGraw
  • Willie Hernandez
  • Jim Mecir
  • Pedro Martinez
  • Jeff Sparks
  • Daniel Ray Herrera
  • Dallas Braden
  • Yoshinori Tateyama
  • Hector Santiago

Very few if any Major League Baseball pitchers still throw the screwball, because the torque on the elbow required to throw the pitch is extreme. John Smoltz may have been the last pitcher in MLB to regularly utilize the 'screwgie'; he underwent ligament replacement surgery twice during his career.

Read more about this topic:  Screwball

Famous quotes containing the word pitchers:

    “Little pitchers have big ears.”
    —Unknown (20th century)