Photo/Illutration Los Angeles Angels starting pitcher Shohei Ohtani throws to the plate during the fourth inning against the Chicago White Sox on June 27 in Anaheim, California. (AP Photo)

As I watched Shohei Ohtani pitching for the Los Angeles Angels yesterday, I strongly felt that time goes quickly in Major League Baseball.

His main pitch is no longer a “sweeper”--the amazing pitch he threw to Mike Trout three months ago to win the World Baseball Classic for Japan.

A sweeper is a variant of a slider with a large horizontal break. MLB added it this year as a new pitch type classification. When the 2023 season opened, it was a hot topic for U.S. media.

Ohtani, who is considered a fastball pitcher, also began to frequently throw it, “to the dismay of batters and surprise of play-by-play announcers,” according to reports.

I can understand why everyone is interested in this pitch. But as an amateur who just loves baseball, I don’t quite see why it must be distinguished from a slider. Come to think of it, a splitter used to be called a forkball, if I remember correctly.

And I don’t know the difference between a two-seam fastball and a "shuuto," or shootball.

Feeling left behind in the times, I got hold of a copy of “The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers,” a baseball reference book co-authored by sportswriters Rob Neyer and Bill James.

I was immediately drawn to their opening remark that whatever name people give to a pitch, it doesn’t necessarily mean that was what the pitch was called by the pitcher who invented it. 

The authors go on to point out that almost all breaking balls in existence today already existed from 100 years ago. Only their names have changed over time, according to the book.

True, inventing a new pitch boils down to tweaking only the ball’s speed, spin direction and number of rotations. One theory even has it that all throwable curve balls have already been thrown.

In yesterday’s game, Ohtani mostly threw fastballs while he effectively used breaking balls that dropped beautifully. I need to pay attention to him more and more.

--The Asahi Shimbun, June 29

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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.

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