Ohtani Sweeper

[johndw52]

Is the sweeper less likely to cause arm injury v changeup or slider?  If not case closed. But if so could this explain Ohtani's insistence on using it too  frequently.  Saving arm for the superlotto contract.  Couldn't blame him if was so with Angels dismal outlook.  I know this is a stretch  but what else could it be?

[Chuck]

22 hours ago, johndw52 said:

Is the sweeper less likely to cause arm injury v changeup or slider?  If not case closed. But if so could this explain Ohtani's insistence on using it too  frequently.  Saving arm for the superlotto contract.  Couldn't blame him if was so with Angels dismal outlook.  I know this is a stretch  but what else could it be?

It's a good question @johndw52. I think that the splitter and a traditional slider is harder on the arm and the splitter caused Ohtani to get blisters. 

Need a deeper dive on this. 

[Angel Oracle]

22 hours ago, Chuckster70 said:

It's a good question @johndw52. I think that the splitter and a traditional slider is harder on the arm and the splitter caused Ohtani to get blisters. 

Need a deeper dive on this. 

Would be a good study to look up the splitter count to this point vs to this point in 2022.

In any event, throwing the sweeper to RHHs is fine, as it breaks away from them.   He needs to stop throwing it vs LHHs, and only then throw the splitters?

[Angels 1961]

I went from a sweeper to a push broom. The dustpan also can make the difference.

[Jason]

On 6/5/2023 at 11:35 AM, Chuckster70 said:

It's a good question @johndw52. I think that the splitter and a traditional slider is harder on the arm and the splitter caused Ohtani to get blisters. 

Need a deeper dive on this. 

Splitter causes blisters and the sweeper causes home runs. Pick your poison 

[T-angel]

Personally, wish he would stop throwing a cutter because I think that is one pitch that degrades a pitchers arm over time. Dan Haren comes to mind as someone who had a great cutter than after a certain point, his career just cratered. I would love to see if he could start using his split more, especially to lefties. It was a devastating out pitch that routinely got swing and misses. The sweeper seems most effective against right handed pull hitters.

[FromJapan]

I translated the part about the sweeper in the Ohtani's post-game press conference on June 9th (June 10th, Japan Standard Time). I used Google AI Bard to translate it into English, and then I revised it.

Reference:  NHK Sports

Q. Do you need to adjust the sweeper?
A. Today, not only the sweeper, but also the straight was not good from the first inning. It was the worst performance of the season. On the other hand, I was able to throw for 5 innings. I think it's a little good that the team somehow won with 3 runs allowed.

Ｑ. You know you understand the detailed data, such as the rotation axis of the sweeper. but how does it help you to correct it when you are hit in a game?

Ａ. Well, in the end, what is important is how to throw the sweeper corresponding to the situation. I'm also a batter, so for example, the reaction to the slider when I'm aiming for a changeup, or the reaction to the slider when I'm aiming for a straight ball, are different just by themselves. In a long season, how the batter sets up changes depending on the time.

The most important thing for me to do is to adjust how I want to throw the ball in the bullpen or in playing catch, from today until my next pitch. This question is about how to throw the sweeper, and the axis of rotation of the thrown ball will result in the problem of how the ball moves. The most important thing is how does the ball move.

Ｑ. Does it have anything to do with the fact that my body is not moving the way I want it to?
A. Well, I guess so. Today, I think everything was bad with the pitching, not just the slider.

[FromJapan]

Reference:  NHK Soprts

I used Google Translate, and then I corrected it.

On the above page, during the Q and A, Ohtani did not mention the difference in load depending on the type of breaking ball and whether splitters are likely to cause blisters.

Question about the splitter in the post-game interview on June 2nd (June 3rd, JST)

Q. The percentage of splitter reduced in this game.
A. Although labeled as sinkers on the stats, I actually threw splitters quite often. I think I threw it more than people think.

Question about the splitter in the post-game interview on May 9th (May 10th, JST)

Q. Was it a game plan decision that the number of split pitches was small? Was it a decision made in-game?

A. To throw the splitter, there weren't many opportunities for the situation, the count, the atmosphere, and so on. Also, it's our first time forming a battery with him (Okey), I don't know much about his skill of blocking. I pitched after weighing whether choosing such a risky splitter was effective or not.