Return of the Eephus?

[LoneRedSeat]

I'm a little late in getting this posted, but on Tuesday night Tribe RP Kaz Tadano resurrected the Eephus pitch.

This was the first time I have ever seen this pitch used in MLB, but I was surprised to find it has popped up as recently as 1997. Pirates pitcher Rip Sewell created the pitch in the 30s. Here's a good link on Sewell, and his famous/infamous pitch:

http://www.thebaseballpage.com/features/2000/eephus.htm

Tadano threw two Eephus pitches in two innings of relief. The first was to David Ortiz at a scorching 52 MPH. Ortiz was clearly shocked to see the ball floating in so slowly and after watching it float by, burst out laughing.

The second was to Jason Varitek at 56 MPH.

It takes an interesting character, like Sewell, to throw the Eephus. Tadano, who acted in a gay pornography film while in college, would definitely qualify as an "interesting character."

[OilCan]

As long as it's not the return of the "Leephus" pitch.

[Mark19]

Originally posted by LoneRedSeat
Tadano threw two Eephus pitches in two innings of relief. The first was to David Ortiz at a scorching 52 MPH. Ortiz was clearly shocked to see the ball floating in so slowly and after watching it float by, burst out laughing.

The second was to Jason Varitek at 56 MPH.

The question is, were they strikes?

[MaineSoxFan]

Originally posted by LoneRedSeat

It takes an interesting character, like Sewell, to throw the Eephus. Tadano, who acted in a gay pornography film while in college, would definitely qualify as an "interesting character."

Hmmm..."acted in gay pornography" that's a nice way to put it.

[derekjeter916]

Originally posted by MaineSoxFan


Hmmm..."acted in gay pornography" that's a nice way to put it.

I think the poster is referring to the video Tadano was in on that subject.

[MaineSoxFan]

Originally posted by derekjeter916


I think the poster is referring to the video Tadano was in on that subject.

I know, I was referring to using the words acting and pornography together.

[Carissa]

El Duque threw them a couple of times in 2002. The first time he threw it was on August 9th against the Oakland A's. He threw it for strike 2 in the first inning to Eric Chavez. The crowd gasped at this pitch. It was awesome.

Duque then left the game with numbness in his leg and Weaver took over. The game ended after 16 innings with Oakland winning 3-2. (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/score...ANKEES-0nr.htm)

Duque threw it again a little while later to Alex Rodriguez. Unfortunately, after seeing the pitch 3 times, he deposited it over the fence. (http://www.usatoday.com/sports/score...ANKEES-0nr.htm)

"I think he was too confident that one inning when A-Rod
deposited that loop pitch or whatever you call it," Yankees
manager Joe Torre said. "We found out that A-Rod can hit a
fastball, a curveball, a slider and now that really slow thing."

"Why not throw it?" Hernanadez asked. "It is a pitch just like
the fastball. And the guy that hit it is one of the best
hitters in baseball. You have to have confidence in your
pitches."

Duque's Eephus Pitch

what is up with that slow el duque pitch

Today's News: 8/27/02

8/26/02 Team Hero

"ee-fuss" pitch.. What??

-tz's pictures of Duque's eephus

Jockbeat: THE HAZARDS OF DUQUE

[Doc's Private Stash]

I love it! Now all we need is a couple good junkball/screwball types a la Eddie Harris in "Major League" to keep old bastard pitching alive and well in MLB

[BruceCampbellKG7]

Originally posted by Mark19


The question is, were they strikes?

It was a ball to Ortiz and Varitek fouled one off

[YankeeClemens22]

Awesome!!

[-tz]

Thanks for the links, Carissa! Here are a couple more ... the hysterical historical article linked to by Me in one of the old threads has a new URL:

http://www.thebaseballpage.com/features/2000/eephus.htm

And, for another post by me (not Me) on Duque's version, see this recent thread ...

http://forums.nyyfans.com/showthread...us#post1160004

[krystl]

I remember Duque's "follie floater". It was the funniest thing I had ever seen. I was watching it saying, What the...???

[ed]

It's another reason why El Duque was always fun to watch. You never know what he's going to do next. I remember Torre referring to the pitch as "that thing."

[25Giambi25]

Originally posted by Carissa
El Duque threw them a couple of times in 2002. The first time he threw it was on August 9th against the Oakland A's. He threw it for strike 2 in the first inning to Eric Chavez. The crowd gasped at this pitch. It was awesome.

I was at that game---and it was hysterical!! Even in the upper deck, just watching that ball float in the air was weird. I had never seen that pitch before and had no idea what it was. The whole crowd did gasp as one which was pretty funny. It seemed like it took a minute for the ball to get to the plate. Everyone was saying "What the heck was that?"

[krystl]

Originally posted by ed
It's another reason why El Duque was always fun to watch. You never know what he's going to do next. I remember Torre referring to the pitch as "that thing."

Here's a quote from Torre after Alex Rodriguez nailed that pitch:

"I think he was too confident that one inning when A-Rod deposited that loop pitch or whatever you call it," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "We found out that A-Rod can hit a fastball, a curveball, a slider and now that really slow thing."