“The spin rate of two-seam is low, so it tends to fall, but because of that naturalness, we insist on two-seam.”
NC Dinos pitcher Eric Peddy pitched 7 scoreless innings on the 25th and became the winning pitcher. He threw 103 pitches that day, but threw only 22 two-seams without a four-seam.
He explained the reason for throwing only two-seam as above. It takes reverse rotation due to air resistance, and the direction of the ball changes just before it touches the batter’s bat, which is natural.
The fastball we commonly know is usually a four-seam fastball. A two-seam fastball is a type of fastball, but the ball slightly changes direction in front of the batter. Depending on the direction in which the finger is applied, the ball falls left, right, and down. As of the 27th, Pedy’s ERA is 0.58.
Not everyone can throw a fighting spirit. The two-seam grip is easy, but it has less velocity than the four-seam, which is called a fastball. If you throw it flat, you can get a long hit. Representatively, KIA Adonis Medina suffered from an ERA of 9.00 until the 25th because the control of the two-seam, the main weapon, did not work well. Medina recorded eight scoreless innings on the 26th and revealed the secret, saying, “The two-seam control was good that day.”
NC Pedy does not throw four-seams, but instead throws two-seams like most players do. On the 25th, Pedy’s two-seam maximum speed came out at 150 km per hour.
Kiwoom Heroes pitcher Eric Yokishi also only throws two-seams. On the 26th, Yokishi, who pitched 2 runs in 6 innings, threw 40 out of 91 pitches with a two-seam, and the highest speed was 146 km per hour. Regarding his throwing two-seam only, Yokishi explained, “I throw two-seam because I feel more comfortable with the two-seam grip and the movement difference between my four-seam and two-seam is not so great.” 크크크벳
KT Wiz pitcher Wes Benjamin also started throwing two-seams this season. He said, “I practiced two-seam a lot during the off-season to induce as many ground balls as possible.”
KT Koh Young-pyo, Sohn So-jun, SSG Kim Kwang-hyeon, and Kiwoom Choi Won-tae also make good use of two-seam. LG Jung Woo-young is famous for throwing powerful two-seams.
He has players who throw just as well as top-level pitchers even without two-seam. Kiwoom An Woo-jin rarely throws two-seam. On the 25th, on the day of the second win of the season with 7 scoreless innings, he did not throw a single two-seam. KIA Yang Hyeon-jong is also a representative four-seam pitcher.
On the 18th, Samsung Baek Jung-hyun, who almost achieved the first ‘perfect’ in KBO League history, said that he boldly threw it away when his two-seam control did not work. He explained that he sealed the two-seam and threw the four-seam mainly, saying, “(Catcher Kang Min-ho) couldn’t control it perfectly, so I decided to use four-seam instead of two-seam.”
Pedi and An Woo-jin are considered top-notch starters in the KBO league, but the types of catching batters are very different. Peddy’s rate of inducing ground balls is 2.3 times higher than that of floating balls, while Woojin Ahn’s rate of inducing floating balls is 10% higher.
After all, there are many ways to catch a hitter. Two-seam itself is not a special type of pitch, but it is a matter of how powerfully and well you throw the two-seam.