Hurlers on fire with no heat
Porcello appreciates matchup
CHICAGO — Game 3 of the World Series won’t be for the velocity junkies.
There’s at least one pitcher on the Red Sox who will appreciate this slow-motion matchup between Cleveland Indians starter Josh Tomlin and Chicago Cubs hurler Kyle Hendricks.
Take Rick Porcello’s advice: Pay no attention to the radar gun.
In what will be the first World Series game at Wrigley Field since 1945, buckle up for a pitchers’ duel between a couple of guys who could end up with glorious careers in slow-pitch softball when they finish embarrassing major league hitters.
“Soft stuff works against hitters,” gloated Indians pitching coach Mickey Callaway during yesterday’s Wrigley workout. “Especially hitters trying to hit home runs.”
Tomlin was the third slowest non-knuckleball starter in the majors during 2016. His fastball averages 87.8 mph. It didn’t seem to matter in Game 3 of the AL Division Series, when he held the Red Sox to only two runs in the Indians’ 4-3 win that ended David Ortiz’ career.
And Hendricks? His 2.13 ERA was the best in the majors this season, though his fastball averages just 89.7 mph — 11th-slowest among 70 qualified non-knuckleball starters.
“I think over the past 10 years it’s been very, very difficult to be that (softtossing) guy and have success in the big leagues,” Callaway said. “You didn’t see many doing it. But I think now it’s slowly coming back to where those guys are having success again.”
So where does Porcello come into this story? Don’t be fooled by his lanky stature and fiery presence on the mound; the Red Sox right-hander relies on a two-seam fastball that averaged just 89.5 mph in 2016, the 49th-slowest twoseamer among the 56 qualified starters who used one, according to FanGraphs.
Cy Young Award votes are in and the results will be announced after the World Series. Will Porcello beat out Orioles closer Zach Britton, whose two-seamer is 6.7 mph faster than Porcello’s at an average speed of 96.2 mph?
“Everybody is always getting excited about a radar gun being lit up,” Porcello told the Herald earlier this month, speaking about the correlation of velocity and respect. “They want to see triple digits. But there are so many guys that throw hard now, it’s really not all that interesting to me anymore, to watch a guy go out there and throw 100 mph. There are a lot of guys throwing hard, maybe not 100, but a lot of guys throwing 96-97 and there are a lot of guys throwing 96-97 and getting hit.
“So I understand where people are coming from but at the same time, from my standpoint, I really don’t care how hard it is. I’m focused on trying to get guys out. At the end of the day, that’s the name of the game. When you’re measuring how well a guy is doing, you’re measuring it by how consistent he is and how many guys he’s getting out.”
Big velocity numbers and wipeout pitches tend to drive up strikeout numbers that might play well with Cy Young voters, but not Porcello.
“I’m kind of disappointed to hear that because there is so much more to the game than that,” he said. “You’re just not thinking when you’re saying that, you’re not thinking about the game or what’s going on and you’re just looking at a number on a board.”
Callaway, whose Indians staff owns a 1.82 ERA this postseason, said he was impressed by Porcello’s breakout season but admitted it’s harder to garner respect with a fastball under 90 mph.
“I think if you’re a guy who doesn’t throw that hard, you have to do it multiple years in a row to start getting the real respect you deserve,” Callaway said. “If you come out of nowhere and have one good year, it’s tough to get that respect.”
Soft tossers don’t usually get any love. One of them might get a World Series win tonight.
“I think more than 10 years ago you probably had those guys like Jamie Moyer and Tom Glavine and (Greg) Maddux and all those guys who were doing it,” Callaway said. “Then there was this period where everybody wanted the hard-throwers.
“I think the soft-throwers have a little bit of an advantage now, because there are not a ton of them. And guys are used to hitting 95. And if you make mistakes when you throw 95 it seems to get hit even harder.”