Play ball

August 19, 2007

The Sept. 2007 edition of Play, an occasional supplement in the Sunday Times, features “The Art of Pitching,” a “primer” on pitching by the Yankee’s Mike Mussina, as told to Tyler Kepner.

Mussina a 17-year-veteran, discusses how he deals with situational pitching, including “The Tough Out,” personified by the Orioles’ Brian Robert; “The Power Hitter” (Red Sox David Ortiz); “The Base Stealer” (Rickey Henderson); and “The Free Swinger” (Vladimir Guerrero).

Kepner also describes, accompanied by drawings, Mussina’s arsenal of pitches, which includes a 2-seam fastball, a 4-seam fastball, a changeup, a curveball, and a slider. He also compares the strike zone as it has evolved over the last 15 or so years as well as the of scuffing a ball.

The on-line version of the article features additional audio commentary, as well as links to the previous editions of Play.

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