MLB Prime 9: Best Changeups

welcome to prime 9 the countdown show that covers the very best in baseball guaranteed to start arguments not in this episode features the pitchers with the nine greatest changeups why nine that's baseball nine players nine innings prime knocking the great Warren Spahn once said that hitting is all about timing and pitching is about disrupting mettaton and nothing throws off a hitter who is Sohn din on a blazing fastball better than the changeup pull the string when the batter least expects it and you can make him look foolish and they can look sloppy in this way for some pitchers the change-up is their number one weapon and finishes him with it others hide it in their arsenal and bring it out just a handful of times again the men you are about to meet not only utilize the change-up to perfection they flourished because of so here we go with the top nine change ups starting with number nine rhyme nine we should get a call okay we're out here relationship to the field this is don't want to get lost and embarrass ourselves Doug Jones he was more happy-go-lucky out there on the mound but the hitters he faced for 16 seasons were not so happy mostly because of his changing he had the Bugs Bunny change as we would call it it was ridiculous after four games in 1982 Doug didn't make it back to the major leagues until 86 when he resurfaced and Cleveland determined to succeed at that point though I was just beginning to develop what I've got now as far as the repertoire the fastball/changeup them and I thought I had something so I didn't want to give up on it that quick Doug going on to become a five-time all-star and had a phenomenal 1.85 er a in 1992 and his secret was to change the speed on most every pitch as long as they know what's coming it's okay strike you as long as they don't know how fast it's come to strike pitch to page have a pitch that you know it's coming you still can't hit it because so had such good action deception on Jones finished his career with 303 saves leaving many a hitter wondering why if they saw it they couldn't hit it that's tough to do that pitches away that was his Bugs Bunny pitch it was just a devastating pitch I mean looks just like the fastball and you're up there and you know what's coming because of the previous pitch he goes down again when you know what's coming and you still can't get it all you can do is tip your hat and just say hey you got me today most pitchers don't pitch close to a quarter century in the major leagues for seven different teams but Jamie Moyer discovered a fountain abuse when his comrades-in-arms were calling it a day he had an early career with the Chicago and weather organizations had to go to the minor leagues and then it's come back and since age 35 has had more success that he did prior to that he's been doing this for the last ten years what he's been doing is making hitters seat double by changing speeds on his changeup got him on a change every pitch that came out of Morse and looked like a great this to him but it was that change of they kept getting slower as lower and slower yeah he had the best changeup I think what a change Jamie Moyer to tell you it's coming and you could still be on your front foot fool the change-up once again consider that Jamie won 233 games after he turned 30 and almost half of them mastery turned 40 Satchel Paige would have been proud dot on the outside corner Jenny had developed over the years as a very good pitcher he understood what hit you know what he could do he wasn't that guy that was gonna light up the radar gun throwing 95 96 so he had to really pitch my change of grip is this I would like to say it's simple I put my three fingers on top my middle finger ring finger and pinky what I would call on top of the ball and underneath I have my thumb as if I was holding a fastball and I take my pointer finger and I wrap it over the outside of my thumb not being blessed with some of the velocity some of these guys have in the game had learned that location is important location with my fastball that location with my changeup that changeup and wisdom beyond his years kept Jamie pitching deep into his forties Jamie Moyer is just a great example of someone who still has enough kid in him to play the game of baseball welcome back to prime 9 featuring the game's best change ups we've made our pitch for 9 & 8 which means it's time for number 7 [Music] John Franco approached his job with a great deal of courage and a most effective changer to fix the militants mess right 3 John had guts to go out there with that pitch and not a whole lot of velocity not to survive but prosper John Franco picks up the same plane behind Johnny Franco I had an opportunity to see the change-up come in and see the reaction of the players John Franco didn't really throw extremely hard what Johnny Franco was Franco circle change was okay by him circle changes it just do the okay and put two fingers right on the seams put your pressure on your middle finger and I would just throw it as think fastball all the way all the way the rotation of the ball would be similar to this like a screwball going away from a right-handed hitter and sinking down into a lefty once I learned the change of F brought me to the next level that level is the place no other left-handed pitcher has ever reached and Franco's changeup was his ticket to ride 400 saves for John Franco that was John Franco's signature pitch and I think what made John Franco so tough he was better against right-handed hitters than left-handers he used it more as a strikeout pitch as opposed to a pitch that they wanted guys to put in the play he was one of the few left-handers that would throw changeups to lefties it was that good throughout history fireballs have been the go-to pitch for many of firemen but Franco doused the flames in his own special way there's really no difference and if you throw 95 or 85 long as you get the job done John Franco gets the job done there's a certain rhythm to you Homme Santana's changing the kind that leaves hitters can't seen it the place Johan Santana you have the chances to make double swing and devote Magnum gonna be at the plate he's struck he can throw it in any count and then hit her a hard time seeing it to some China first perfected his change when he pitched for Minnesota when he was with the twins you know we faced him a lot and his arm speed is the same on the fastball as it is on the change of how good was his changeup well his teammates came up with all kinds of names for him we call it the cartoon changeup it's pretty pretty nasty [Applause] they call him yo-yo he's got that effect you know he looks just like a fastball and it looks like he pulled a string back great changeup Santana could say one thing about his major league debut in 2000 and I struck out Jose Canseco for my first major league strike though since then he's won two Sai Young Awards in his 2006 campaign was off the charts for strikeouts in the first two innings for Santana through the 2010 season Johan led his league in strikeouts PRA and strikeouts per nine innings three-time really the first left-hander who had a dominating change if there's been some good right handers but you don't normally see that from a lefty there's a strike and Exodus is out on strikes there's a lot to like about Santana's game and his changeup is at the top of that list you know his arm action is the same nothing changes about it he doesn't give it anything away it says hey exhorting changeup here and that's what I think you know why he's a lot of estrogen in the game welcome back to prime 9 featuring the game's best change ups the witty Doug Jones came in night followed by the ageless Jamie Moyer next came met number one John Franco and number two Johan Santana so now we turn to number five it'll all pack to throw a fastball hit you in the chest and it wouldn't hurt you there's how soft he threw this on the father that doesn't know Mia agile over fire he just like a funnel with a little shot made it was Isaac to Nikki and a Nick there Eddie was a huge part of the Yankee success in the 1950s thanks to his ability to keep hitters guessing with an off-speed approach he was tough to hit he changed speeds he had phenomenal control I mean he rarely walked anyone stocky left-hander he was regarded as a jump pitcher that you made he had all sorts of different changes speeds and he threw a knuckleball every now and then every time I hit a strong they were right on it but all you got was flat balls and he even struck out a few people he throws such junk up there they swing at everything what hate is low Pat's effectiveness is the fact that he disguised his pitches with the pitcher perfect motion wasn't so much the speed of the ball it was the speed of his arm and he had a movement with the arm that dish drive you wild with hitters no bad nibbles and needed you to death he had good sinking fastball never gotten up there over 8485 with his change of that he threw when he threw his fastball I doubt if you could only throw about 75 miles an hour thanks in part to Eddie's soft toss approach the Yankees were able to win five straight championships he was always pitching six or seven eight innings and didn't have to throw a lot of pitches so he always kept the club in the game how exactly did Tom Glavine win 305 career games when he take a look at that kind of competitor that was not a premier strikeout pitcher Tommy was really just a master of the true art of pitching Tommy had to do it strictly with location and change of speeds and in time one pitch became his trademark along the way he develops one of the best changeups in the game and what made the change-up great for Tommy was that it wasn't so much different than his fastball strike three Glavine pickin he can tell he difference.we his fastball his changeup for his arm action he had about a seven eight mile an hour separation again as soon as you would start crowding the plate a little bit trying to get out there on that fastball he may drop a changeup Vanya next thing you know by the third inning the plates like two sizes and guys were chasing his changeup and he had a few things but hitters more than a changeup on the corner and Glavine was a master at living on the edge Tommy Glavine if somebody would never ever give in and of course he had the great changeup and when you have that great changeup you're never out of the count those two strikes two outs he always kept it away he was able to pinpoint on the outside corner to right-handed hitters well he's out of there on three pitches against Glavine was just amazing how he consistently put it where he wanted to put it that's a good fit inside Tommy Glavine he didn't knock you down he didn't scare you with this stuff but he gave you the Oprah four and he felt pretty good about it Tom one two sigh young awards in his career too bad there wasn't the prize for change ups Tom Glavine eyes came out either number one or number two in the National League for having the best changeup year after year after year and when you've got all those great hitters telling you that that's gotta mean that it was one of the best ever [Applause] there aren't many pitchers in baseball history better than Pedro Martinez and his formula for success was his ability to do it all you have three ways that you can attack a hitter in and out up and down and back and forth by changing speeds Pedro mastered all three of those elements [Music] Pedro possessed a devastating combination of heat and one of the best changeups the game has ever seen you got on 95 to 98 miles an hour with a changeup that stops Rock I'm out on a changeup took something off that one he's gonna make any player look like a fool this control is just been magnificent [Music] what makes a Pedro does so extremely well has change speeds incredibly deceptive I've never seen hitters guess as much against a pitcher as I did against Pedro fastball and his changeup we're really hard to separate and distinguish because the arm speed was almost identical for both of them he loves to manipulate the corners of the strike zone and change your eye levels when he threw that Bugs Bunny changeup you see a lot of ball and it looks big and it looks right down the harlot play it and you're like oh he made a mistake for the fastball it's the change-up Pedro's changeup helped him win three scions in four years and post the lowest er a by an al starter in the designated hitter up Pedro Martinez changed up and used with Boston was was about as devastating in pitch as you're gonna see [Music] it was rotation of it you can almost hear it coming in like he would throw it you know at the left-handers hip and get it to come back knowing how he throws it you could take two swings at it because you were coming out of your shoes late pictures are like that you know they're not going to give you a lot to hit and pair there was certainly one of those guys Pedro finished his career with five ER a titles and an ER a-plus of 150 for the highest all-time for a starting pitcher all I know is the years that I spent this and most dominant period of time by one pitcher that I have ever seen we now return to prime 9 where in this episode were featuring the best changeups of all time the pitchers in this show fully understood that by keeping hitters guessing you could keep them off the base paths and they were masters of their craft [Music] the year was 1958 and Giants righties do Miller was a compelling force starting and relieving while leading his league in the ER a but come the 1960s Stu found a full-time home in the bullpen as a relief pitcher when a hitters getting one look a game at him that was very difficult to adjust him you see Stu had a magical motion that made it appear you were getting a fastball but not they used to say you wait you wait you wait and you still couldn't wait long enough you did the appearance that he was throwing the ball so hard he put all his effort into it and he just floated up there Stu Miller changeover had a lot to do with his action towards home plate he throw his hands his head and the ball look alike to stop half away his head motion made the change-up even better because you hit off the head and not what the ball was heavier bats and not as much power guys could get the bat on it but they couldn't Center it and hit it very hard knowing the change was coming the hitters would adjust and that's what Miller would sneak one by everybody says he weighs a slow ball pitcher but he had enough fastball you beat him he caught you looking at cheat on each other fastball look like what - n - 1 & 2 miles an hour to make was the greatest it was the best change a violet ceiling of the glitz our number one changeup was so good it came with a Warner the ninth inning you're down on the scoreboard and here comes hells bells [Music] but not even a ringing notice helped betters against this historically good pitcher and his game-changing pitch [Music] [Applause] Trevor's wrote to becoming the all-time saves leader took a turn in the midnight at some point he had some long trouble and as velocity started to decrease so he came up with another pitch that ultimately will take him to the Hall of Fame the change-up for me is the palm ball grip that allows me to have the same farm speed as my fastball and ultimately the ball doesn't get there to try to hit a fastball regardless of the velocity Rutgers fastball now comes in around 87 88 Monica and to back it up with the change if that's life 12 miles an hour slower is just so difficult to do get there Trevor's change it was bugs money change up it was like he would throw it and then right before I got home plate he was just like yank back on the string and just start pulling the string and you really had no chance to even get a piece of it no change is good even compass Andras brought change up they still feel it you know just shake your head as you're coming back to the dugout wondering how did I not get a hit off him but he was one of those guys that just did that to you on a consistent basis Trevor's hit define changeup helped him compiled more 40 safe seasons than anyone [Music] there was no way to tell when he was changing speeds there was nothing that he gave away there was nothing that he slowed down there was nothing that he tipped off [Music] and get such an advantage for a Trevor to have because if that's the picture looking for it that's the pitch you're gonna try to hit he's got you right in the palm of his head a 2.8 7 er a in almost two decades of baseball and he's done it mainly with two pitches even given some arm trouble to still be dominant it just goes to show you throw 95 and not get anybody out Trevor Hoffman throws 83 with a good changeup and he's unhittable a good changeup is usually more than a few miles per hour slower than a pitcher's fastball but throughout the years we have witnessed some change ups that were so extreme they commanded a name all their own like the space ball so inappropriately by the space man Bill Lee we had a lot of fun with this pitch sometimes it works [Music] [Applause] sometimes it was sent into orbit [Music] Dave LaRoche became known for throwing la lob and of course there was rich Suez legendary EFA's pitch which he threw to Ted Williams in the 46 all-star game with dire consequences Ted stepped into it and climbed it out of the park none of these famous changeups qualified for this show but the fact that we're still talking about them today is testament to their timeless legacy and as we've come to learn about change ups timing is everything that's our prime 9 what's yours

Channel: cacable7

Views: 10,555

Rating: 4.9166665 out of 5

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Id: UbzDG6ehPDo

Length: 22min 28sec (1348 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 29 2020

Reddit Comments

[u/jakewatter52]

Do they still make this show? “That’s our prime 9, what’s yours?”

[u/billtrociti]

As a newer baseball fan this was really cool to get some more historical context I would have missed. Maybe a dumb question but... how can one identify (as a fan watching the game, not as a batter at the plate) a change up when it’s thrown? From what I understand it looks like a fastball when released from the pitcher’s hand, but dies as it reaches the plate. How does it appear different than certain breaking ball pitches like a sinker?