Baseball Toaster was unplugged on February 4, 2009.
scott@scottlongonline.com
Bill Burke checks back in with a report on the second start for our friend, the gyroballer Joey Niezer. To answer a question from last time, no, Niezer hasn't been signed or even scouted by a major college, though he has his eyes on a nice small school where he can ply his craft. That could change.
From the pitcher's point of view, he needs to record 21 outs in a regulation Indiana high school baseball match. On the evening of Friday, April 8th, our Gyroball case study, Joey Niezer of tiny Oldenburg Academy (Indiana), sat down 17 opposing batters without any help from his defense. That's right, 17 strikeouts in a 7 inning one-hitter. Oh yeah, and he walked nobody.
Lots of strikeouts usually come with lots of pitches and, of course, Will would have my head displayed on a pike in Monument Circle for all to see had I run Joey out there for 160 pitches (give or take a few). No, probably the most amazing part of the game was the pitch count.
Eighty-two pitches was all it took. That averages to a little less than 12 pitches per inning. The inning-by-inning breakdown looks like this: 12 14 10 12 12 6 16. Do you see that 10 pitch inning? That was one ball followed by nine consecutive strikes!
There was only one hit in this game as well, a bunt single in the second inning (the first four batters had all struck out). That batter eventually scored on an error, however that was also the only run of the game which ended with a score of 8-1.
The only real trouble of the game came in the 7th inning, when our defense allowed two baserunners to reach on errors. Joey shouldered the burden (so to speak) and proceeded to strike out the side, leaving both runners stranded.
Joey's line for the game: 7ip 1r 1h 0bb 17k
For those of you keeping track at home, that's 25-1 K/BB on the season so far.
Joey comes back on short rest to take on a strong opponent Monday night. The tale continues as the gyroball revolution marches on ...
Johnny - Oldenburg is near Batesville, in the southeastern part of the state and not far from Cincinnati. If you're near Indy, we could road trip down.
Coach Burke, can you tell us a little more about your competition? Can you tell us about how he handles big games? If he didn't learn the gyro ball, would he be as good? Do you think the gyro ball is what makes him a good pitcher? Was he as good before learning and throwing the gyro ball? What else does he throw?
What's his mental makeup? Can he handle it when two or three guys get hits off him? Can he hold a runner? What if his stuff just doesn't show up one day and he has to pitch through it...has he experienced that yet?
I'm glad he's doing well, but has he been tested outside the rank and file of Indiana High School Baseball?
My comments may sound negative. Here's why: As you move up the baseball ladder, the weaker players fall off pretty quickly. Not weaker in terms of physical ability, but mental toughness. Once he starts playing against college kids, he'll realize that everyone is just as good, if not better, than him. Can he handle that?
We'll be happy to have him. I don't know if he's on D-1 radar screens - Indiana's not a great baseball state, rep wise, and Oldenburg's program just started, didn't it?
Maybe he would be better off in Greencastle, where they win baseball games.
(I am mostly kidding, please don't get as defensive as Wabash folks tend to do over on D3football.com. However, my quick research shows the Tigers winners of 13 straight over the Little Giants over span of 6 years in their rivalry on the diamond!)
Stros Fan
I can confirm that down here in Tiger Country we've thoroughly owned the hated Wallies. I've done radio work for this year's team on the student radio station and I got to call both games against them this year.
But if he did come our way he'd run into a ridiculously thick pitching rotation - there's probably a lot more room for him where he's headed, as only one arm from pur team this year graduates.
This news is exciting because it means there's a good chance I'll get to see him at some point during his college career.
In an article entitled "The Ghost Pitch" that you wrote, you talk about double spin mechanics. Has Joey changed his motion at all to incorporate the hip rotation you describe or is the gyroball the only change that he's made?
I guess now is as good a time as any to let the dog loose. Our "Saving the Pitcher" Baseball Camp, starring Will Carroll, will be running "Level 4" clinics for coaches and parents this summer. We will feature the gyro, with much other material. Of course, there will be many Joeys, eventually. This is just one way we plan to kick-start it. More to follow, of course. But, we can say the clinics will be initially run in the San Francisco Bay Area and Orange County, California.
Steve
Joey already had good (not great) mechanics before I began working with him. His hip turn was pretty solid and a bit of focus on that got everything in order. Burke had already done good work on his arm and leg drive, so he already had a good base for the pitch. Once we'd gotten his arm in the right place, the gyro just started working. He doesn't throw the pitch much because he hasn't 'perfected' it yet. I'll leave Burke to fill in more details.
Comment status: comments have been closed. Baseball Toaster is now out of business.