Clay Holmes, the New York Yankees’ new pitcher, throws exceptional sinkers that even top hitters have trouble returning. His road to success, fame and glory was not easy, however, facing a lot of discrimination and pressure for his fastballs.
It took Holmes seven years to get chosen by major league Pittsburgh Pirates, who drafted him in 2011 from Slocomb Highschool in Alabama. There, Holmes strained himself to fit in with his teammates whilst still throwing his unique two-seamers. Ultimately it never worked out, and the New York Yankees recruited him to their team last year in July.
Last Thursday, before his victory over the Boston Red Sox, Holmes stated, “I had a lot of people saying to go with a short-arm action, to make so many big mechanical changes. Ultimately I went against it, because I knew there was maybe a risk of losing my sinker. That’s when I really was like: ‘The sinker is going to be my ticket. I need to really figure out how to make it as good as it can be.”
Holmes’ two-seamer is unlike the typical ones thrown by Tommy John, Orel Hershiser, or Derek Lowe. Instead, Michael King, the team’s reliever, said that Holmes pitches the ball a lot higher than normal, and then catches batters off guard by how steeply the ball drops. The New York Times described Holmes’ sinker as one that seemed “heavy, even mean”.
“We love anybody who has exceptional characteristics on a specific pitch. That’s one way the industry has changed, is the recognition that, instead of trying to get all these different parts of your repertoire working and judging people that way – singularly, do they do anything exceptionally well with one pitch? And if they do, gravitate to that,” General Manager Brian Cashman stated.
On July 19th, the All-Star Game held in Los Angeles will be Holmes’ greatest chance to show off his skill as the Yankees’ first-year rookie, as well as his finest sinkers to date.
Sources: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1657470448025x243001129828885220/Clay%20Holmes%20of%20Yankees%20Rode%20His%20Sinker%20to%20Stardom%20-%20The%20New%20York%20Times.pdf
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/holmecl01.shtml
It took Holmes seven years to get chosen by major league Pittsburgh Pirates, who drafted him in 2011 from Slocomb Highschool in Alabama. There, Holmes strained himself to fit in with his teammates whilst still throwing his unique two-seamers. Ultimately it never worked out, and the New York Yankees recruited him to their team last year in July.
Last Thursday, before his victory over the Boston Red Sox, Holmes stated, “I had a lot of people saying to go with a short-arm action, to make so many big mechanical changes. Ultimately I went against it, because I knew there was maybe a risk of losing my sinker. That’s when I really was like: ‘The sinker is going to be my ticket. I need to really figure out how to make it as good as it can be.”
Holmes’ two-seamer is unlike the typical ones thrown by Tommy John, Orel Hershiser, or Derek Lowe. Instead, Michael King, the team’s reliever, said that Holmes pitches the ball a lot higher than normal, and then catches batters off guard by how steeply the ball drops. The New York Times described Holmes’ sinker as one that seemed “heavy, even mean”.
“We love anybody who has exceptional characteristics on a specific pitch. That’s one way the industry has changed, is the recognition that, instead of trying to get all these different parts of your repertoire working and judging people that way – singularly, do they do anything exceptionally well with one pitch? And if they do, gravitate to that,” General Manager Brian Cashman stated.
On July 19th, the All-Star Game held in Los Angeles will be Holmes’ greatest chance to show off his skill as the Yankees’ first-year rookie, as well as his finest sinkers to date.
Sources: https://s3.amazonaws.com/appforest_uf/f1657470448025x243001129828885220/Clay%20Holmes%20of%20Yankees%20Rode%20His%20Sinker%20to%20Stardom%20-%20The%20New%20York%20Times.pdf
https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/h/holmecl01.shtml
