Fangraphs: Pitchers with Reverse Splits

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?That?s difficult, because of the way I pitch,? explained Varvaro. ?Think of a swinging gate. A lot of pitchers kind of open that gate, freeing up their front side so they can create that angle. I?m like a hitter who dives toward the outside part of the plate. I kind of dive in to come back across. Against lefties, I?m diving down the middle ? down the line ? and against righties that doesn?t work as well.?

His direction to the plate might contribute to Varvaro?s success against opposite-handed hitters, but to what extent, he?s not really sure. Try as he may, he can?t quite put his finger on it.

?I?ve looked at film of a lot of guys,? said Varvaro. ?I can?t really find a right-handed pitcher who is similar to me and has splits as drastic as mine. Maybe I could look at lefties, but that?s totally different.?

What Perkins doesn?t see when he faces left-hand hitters negatively impacts his effectiveness against them. That?s particularly true when when he throws his out-pitch, and location is the primary problem.

?I use the hitter as kind of my sight point,? explained Perkins. ?From his foot to his knee, to the catcher?s glove, down to home plate, is a box I try to have the ball finish in. When I throw my slider to lefties, I don?t have that box, because he?s on the other side. It?s the same pitch I?m throwing to righties, but I have trouble putting it where I want, because the spatial relationship of the hitter to the box is different.?

More than the batter?s box comes into play when Perkins peers in. A disruption of his sight point can wreak havoc against his visuals when he faces opposite-sided hitters. Cleveland?s Carlos Santana ? a switch-hitter who swings from the right side against Perkins ? is 6 for 10 against him, with three home runs and three walks.

?I was talking to Ricky Nolasco about this the other day,? said Perkins. ?I told him Santana?s high leg kick throws me off. Not all pitchers are visual pitchers, and he didn?t get it. He was like, ?Why would that mess you up?? I?m not focusing on the glove like a lot of guys are. I?m not that fine. I?m focusing on an area within a bigger frame.?

Perkins has limited control over how his brain processes visuals. He has no control whatsoever when it comes to who?s hitting. Being a closer, he rarely faces lefties who can?t hit lefties. They?re going to get pinch-hit for, while the ones he does face are usually above-average hitters. It?s up to him to make good pitches against them, which is sometimes easier said than done.

?I have a pretty good slider, I just have trouble locating it against lefties,? admitted Perkins. ?I should be able to execute that pitch better ? I?m a major-league player ? but I can?t.?

http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/sunday-notes-perkins-varvaro-travis-in-toronto-dozier-ducks-much-more/