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Yankees know where they stand
Pitchers share theories of where to set up on rubber
By Caleb Breakey / MLB.com
NEW YORK -- Perched high above Yankee Stadium, a camera spotted a
seldom-mentioned pitching technique on Sunday.
The camera spied the lack of a cleat on the strip of white rubber on the
mound in the ninth inning. Reliever Mike Myers uses this rectangular block to
his advantage -- he barely stands on it.
Myers is one of several pitchers who don't pitch from the middle of the
pitching rubber. When he faced Carlos Delgado in the Yankees' 8-2 win over
the Mets on Sunday, Myers' left shoe tip barely touched the white as he came
into the set position.
"It works. It gets people out," Myers said. "But it still comes down to
execution of where you throw the ball. There's no science behind it."
Or is there?
Shuffling his feet on the Yankees' blue clubhouse carpet, pitching coach Ron
Guidry worked through the many options pitchers have when setting up for a
pitch.
"If you're way on this side, then you come into the batter, but if you step
way to this side your angle is cut," Guidry said. "Moving over across to
right-handers and left-handers might help you if you did one of those things
-- maybe, maybe not."
Right-hander Darrell Rasner has worked with his fair share of pitching
coaches in his career, and he said sometimes they'll suggest that a pitcher
should move from one end of the rubber to the other.
But it would take a certain type of pitcher to excel with such a move, Rasner
said.
"You start fluctuating five or six inches a pitch, it's kind of tough. You
would be inconsistent," said Rasner, who pitches closer to the third-base
side of the rubber. "If you get your strike from here or here, it's what your
preference is. I don't feel there's an advantage either way. I guess it
depends on what you're like."
In college, left-handed reliever Sean Henn worked from the extreme third-base
side of the rubber. Yankees pitching coordinator Nardi Contreras moved him
over to the right side, which, according to Henn, created a more difficult
angle for left-handed hitters.
"You put me on the first-base side, and now I'm throwing from behind the
left-handed hitter," Henn said. "It's not that big of a move. You wouldn't
think that [24] inches would be that big of a deal. If it was that big of a
deal, I think it would have been figured out a long time ago. Lefties would
throw on the left side and righties would throw on the right side --
something like that."
Reliever Kyle Farnsworth has tried pitching from every spot on the rubber --
first-base side, third-base side and smack dab in the middle, which is where
he finally settled into a groove. He said pitching from the center helps him
hit both corners of the plate more efficiently.
The right-hander did acknowledge, however, that switching from side to side
works for some.
"If they have trouble throwing outside to a righty, they'll probably move
over a bit to get that angle more," Farnsworth said. "It's just one of those
things that you have to find where you're comfortable."
On the receiving end, Yankees backup catcher Wil Nieves said he doesn't see
much of a difference whether the pitcher is on the right, left or center part
of the rubber.
"You probably can tell, but just barely," Nieves said. "It's not much."
No matter the margin of change in the pitch, batters are trained to see it.
Yankees hitting coach Kevin Long said pitchers who set up to the extreme left
or right usually try to "cross-fire," meaning the pitch skims a small part of
the plate instead of traveling from the front to the back.
Yankees first baseman Josh Phelps said he's aware of pitchers moving around
on the rubber, especially left-handers. That's the goal, Long said -- to make
sure his hitters are prepared for what the pitcher is trying to do.
"You definitely know what side of the rubber a pitcher is on. We'll work in
the cages on different angles," Long said. "We go through it in our scouting
reports and we talk about it [and] give guys a heads up. You want to be aware
if it's happening, and what -- if anything -- it's doing to the action of the
baseball."
Caleb Breakey is an associate reporter for MLB.com. This story was not
subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
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