Can Tanaka’s Grip Change Help?
After another horrendous start against the Boston Red Sox on July 25th, when he allowed a career-high 12 runs in 3 innings, Masahiro Tanaka has decided for the first time in his career, to alter his grip on the split-fingered fastball. Pitching Coach Larry Rothschild hoped Tanaka would alter his grip, which due to the lower seams on the baseball , has caused the ball to sit in the zone, resulting in more home runs.
“I’ve always, up to this point, tried to stick with the grip that I’ve always used for the splitter and made small adjustments in order to get the movement that I want,’’ Tanaka told The NY Post. “You get good results and bad results and the difference between the two are so big.
When it’s good, it’s really good, but when it’s bad, obviously, it’s been very bad. I thought I needed to make a different type adjustment here. That’s the biggest reason I went to something as drastic as changing the grip.”
It appears the change may have helped, although it is still too early to tell. In his last outing against the Arizona Diamondbacks, Tanaka went 4 innings , allowing 5 hits and 2 earned runs. The Yankees later went on to win the game 7–5. Tanaka also tied his season high for whiffs off his splitter. Again, it’s too early to tell after only one game if Tanaka’s mechanics have been “fixed”; however, Tanaka has shown in previous years with the faulty grip that he can show up big time in big spots. In previous post-season appearances, Tanaka has a 1.50 ERA, tossing 30 innings with 17 hits and only 5 earned runs.
The Yankees were unsuccessful in acquiring another starting pitcher, which shocked a lot of Yankees fans. Although I was not “for” getting rid of top prospects for a rental starting pitcher, I was warming up to the fact that it might be necessary. It appears the Yankees pitching staff, since the All-Star break, have collectively been in a “slump”. If you remember this time last year, the Yankees picked up J.A. Happ, which gave them a huge boost at the end of the 2018 season.
Now knowing that GM Brian Cashman was not able to boost the rotation, the Bombers will have to rely and trust in their current rotation to pitch like they are capable of doing. This team has all the pieces they need to make it to the World Series, so just like Tanaka’s splitter, get a grip!
