COMPARING MLB SLIDERS: Gyro vs. Sweeping

Simple Sabermetrics
17 Feb 202106:24
EducationalLearning
32 Likes 10 Comments

TLDRThis video explores the nuances of slider pitches in baseball, focusing on spin efficiency and gyrodegree to distinguish between pure gyrospin and sweeping sliders. Spin efficiency, which describes the percentage of spin that affects a pitch's movement, and gyrodegree, offering a visual representation of spin direction, are crucial for understanding pitch behavior. Highlighting examples from pitchers Luis Castillo and Adam Ottavino, the video contrasts their differing slider styles - the sharp, late movement of gyro sliders versus the broad, horizontal sweep of sweeping sliders. Alongside practical applications on the field, the video also revisits foundational sabermetrics concepts, making it an insightful resource for both newcomers and seasoned enthusiasts eager to deepen their grasp of baseball analytics.

Takeaways
  • 🧢 The return of the Sabermetric Shop is highlighted, featuring a new SS Performance Hat with an all-color rubber patch on high-quality branded bills.
  • 📊 Spin efficiency is a key metric that describes the amount of spin on a pitch that affects its movement, usually expressed as a percentage of total spin.
  • 🔄 True spin is the actual spin rate of the pitch, representing the total number of times the ball revolves around its axis, scaled up to a minute.
  • 📈 Understanding spin efficiency is crucial as it can indicate how a pitch performs relative to its spin rate, with different pitches benefiting from higher or lower efficiency.
  • 🔢 The calculation of spin efficiency involves understanding how the axis of the ball shifts and affects the pitch's movement in three dimensions.
  • 🏐 Gyrodegree is a metric that provides a visual representation of the pitch's axis orientation relative to the direction of the ball's travel, affecting the efficiency of the spin.
  • 💫 Pure gyrospin occurs when the gyrodegree is near 90 degrees, resulting in a pitch that spins around a single point, similar to a perfectly spiraled football.
  • 🥌 Two types of sliders are discussed: the pure gyrospin slider with sharp, late movement (low spin efficiency, high gyrodegree) and the sweeping slider with more horizontal movement (high spin efficiency, low gyrodegree).
  • 📊 Examples of these sliders are provided, with Luis Castillo's slider representing the pure gyrospin type and Adam Ottavino's slider representing the sweeping type.
  • 🎥 A video comparison is suggested to visually differentiate between the two types of sliders, emphasizing the distinct movement profiles.
  • 🔍 The video encourages further exploration of these concepts through links in the description to additional resources, including a slider pitch design tutorial.
Q & A

  • What is the main topic of the video?

    -The main topic of the video is to explain the differences between two types of baseball pitches, focusing on the metrics of spin efficiency and gyrodegree, and how these metrics affect the movement and effectiveness of the pitches.

  • What is spin efficiency in the context of baseball pitching?

    -Spin efficiency describes the amount of spin on each pitch that affects its movement. It is typically positioned between total spin and true spin as a percentage. For example, a pitch with a spin rate of 2200 but a spin efficiency of only 80 would have an actual spin making the pitch move around 1760 RPMs.

  • How is true spin different from spin rate?

    -True spin is the total number of times a pitch would revolve around its axis, scaled up to a minute. It is the actual adjusted spin rate that affects the movement of the pitch, as opposed to the raw spin rate, which is the total spin without adjustment for efficiency.

  • What does gyrodegree measure in baseball?

    -Gyrodegree measures the visual representation of the pitch's axis shift from being perpendicular to the direction the ball is traveling. It helps to understand how the ball moves in three dimensions, considering the shift in the axis forwards or backwards.

  • How does gyrodegree affect spin efficiency?

    -A change in gyrodegree affects spin efficiency because it alters the direction of the spin. If the spin isn't all going in the direction of the pitch, it lowers the spin efficiency. For instance, a right-handed pitcher getting around the ball slightly can change the gyrodegree to 45 degrees, which would lower the spin efficiency due to the misdirection of the spin.

  • What is a pure gyrospin slider?

    -A pure gyrospin slider is a pitch with around 0 to 25 spin efficiency or a gyrodegree quite near 90 degrees. It is characterized by sharp, late movement and is often described as having no spin-induced movement according to the spin-induced movement plot.

  • How does a sweeping slider differ from a pure gyrospin slider?

    -A sweeping slider typically has a higher spin efficiency, often above 50 percent, and a gyrodegree closer to zero degrees. It is characterized by significant spin-induced movement, primarily horizontal, and is commonly described as having a frisbee or bigger movement style.

  • Who provides the example of a pure gyrospin slider in the video?

    -Luis Castillo from the Cincinnati Reds provides the example of a pure gyrospin slider in the video.

  • What is the source for the slider movement profiles mentioned in the video?

    -The source for the slider movement profiles mentioned in the video is Baseball Savant.

  • How can viewers further explore the topics discussed in the video?

    -Viewers can further explore the topics discussed in the video by checking the description for links to a bunch of videos the speaker has done in the past on these topics, including spin efficiency and gyro degree, as well as a slider pitch design tutorial.

  • What is the main takeaway from the video?

    -The main takeaway from the video is understanding the practical application of metrics like spin efficiency and gyrodegree on the field, and how they can be used to analyze and improve the effectiveness of different types of baseball pitches.

Outlines
00:00
⚾ Understanding Baseball Pitches: Spin Efficiency and Gyro Degree

This paragraph introduces a comparison of two different baseball pitches based on their spin metrics, emphasizing the importance of understanding spin efficiency and gyro degree to distinguish them. The narrative begins by announcing the return of the Simple Sabermetrics shop featuring a new performance hat, then shifts to explaining key metrics like spin efficiency, true spin, and gyro degree which help in analyzing pitch movement. Spin efficiency relates to how much of a pitch's spin contributes to its movement, with true spin being the actual movement-inducing spin, and gyro degree representing the tilt of the pitch's spin axis. Examples include a 90 mph fastball's spin metrics affecting its movement. Additionally, the paragraph introduces the concept of gyro degree and its role in transforming two-dimensional representations of pitches into three-dimensional understanding, aiding in visualizing how a pitch moves through space.

05:03
🔄 Types of Sliders: Analyzing Movement and Spin

The second paragraph delves into different types of slider pitches, focusing on pure gyrospin sliders and sweeping sliders, exemplified by Luis Castillo and Adam Ottavino respectively. It defines a pure gyrospin slider as having low spin efficiency, close to a gyro degree of 90, which indicates little to no spin-induced movement but may still move sharply. In contrast, sweeping sliders exhibit high spin efficiency and a gyro degree closer to zero, leading to significant horizontal movement akin to a frisbee. The paragraph underscores the practical application of the metrics discussed in the first paragraph and encourages further exploration of these topics through additional resources provided in the video description. The aim is to enhance the viewer's understanding of how different sliders behave and their effects on the game, reinforcing the educational aspect of the video.

Mindmap
Keywords
💡Spin Efficiency
Spin efficiency refers to the proportion of a pitch's total spin that actually contributes to its movement. It's crucial for understanding how different types of pitches behave. For example, a pitch with a high spin rate but low spin efficiency might not move as expected because only a portion of the spin is affecting its trajectory. In the video, it's used to differentiate between pitches, illustrating that even with the same spin rate, two pitches can have very different movements based on their spin efficiency.
💡True Spin
True spin is defined as the component of a pitch's spin that directly influences its movement, effectively the practical application of spin efficiency. It is calculated by taking the product of the total spin rate and the spin efficiency percentage. The concept helps in understanding the actual movement potential of a pitch, as opposed to just its raw spin rate. The video mentions true spin to clarify that it's an 'adjusted spin rate' crucial for assessing a pitch's effectiveness.
💡Gyro Degree
Gyro degree measures the orientation of a pitch's spin axis relative to its direction of travel, essentially indicating how much of the spin is gyroscopic versus contributing to movement. A pitch with a gyro degree close to 90 would resemble a football spiral, indicating pure gyrospin with minimal movement-causing spin. This concept is critical in the video for understanding why some sliders have sharp, late movement (high gyro degree) and others have a more sweeping action (lower gyro degree).
💡Gyrospin
Gyrospin describes a type of spin where the baseball rotates like a bullet or a football in a spiral, not contributing to lateral or vertical movement but rather to the pitch's stability in flight. Pure gyrospin is highlighted in the video to explain the behavior of certain sliders that appear to move sharply and late, a result of their spin axis being nearly parallel to the direction of travel, resulting in minimal air resistance-induced deviation.
💡Slider
A slider is a type of baseball pitch with a characteristic lateral movement, intended to deceive the batter. The video discusses two main types of sliders: 'gyro' sliders, which have a high gyro degree and result in sharp, late movement, and 'sweeping' sliders, characterized by lower gyro degrees and more horizontal movement. These distinctions help viewers understand how pitchers use different spin techniques to create variations in pitch behavior.
💡Spin Rate
Spin rate, measured in revolutions per minute (RPMs), quantifies how fast a pitch is spinning as it travels to the plate. It's foundational for understanding pitch movement; however, as the video emphasizes, the spin rate alone doesn't dictate pitch effectiveness—spin efficiency and the resulting true spin are also crucial. The video uses spin rate to illustrate the difference between the total spin and the portion of the spin that actually affects the pitch's movement.
💡Spin Induced Movement
Spin induced movement refers to the change in trajectory of a pitch due to its spin. The video explains that while some pitches might have low spin efficiency and thus less spin induced movement, they can still be effective due to the type of movement (e.g., sharp, late breaks) created by their specific spin characteristics. It is used to describe how different pitches move through the air, influenced by their spin rate, efficiency, and axis.
💡Luis Castillo
Luis Castillo, a pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds, is mentioned in the video as an example of a player who effectively uses a gyro slider. His pitch, characterized by low spin efficiency but a high gyro degree, exemplifies how a pitcher can leverage gyrospin to create pitches with sharp, late movement. Castillo's use of this technique serves as a practical illustration of the concepts discussed in the video.
💡Adam Ottavino
Adam Ottavino is used as an example of a pitcher who employs a sweeping slider, characterized by a higher spin efficiency and lower gyro degree than a gyro slider. His pitch demonstrates significant horizontal movement, serving as a counterpoint to Castillo's and highlighting the diversity of slider types. Ottavino's technique exemplifies how understanding and applying spin efficiency and gyro degree can lead to effective pitch design.
💡Sabermetrics
Sabermetrics, the empirical analysis of baseball through statistics, underpins the video's exploration of pitch types and behaviors. By discussing metrics like spin rate, spin efficiency, and gyro degree, the video applies sabermetric principles to understand and categorize pitches. It shows how advanced analytics can provide deeper insights into pitching strategies and effectiveness, moving beyond traditional stats to evaluate player performance.
Highlights

The video discusses the differences between two types of baseball pitches and how to use them effectively.

The Simple Sabermetric Shop has returned with a new SS Performance Hat featuring an all-color rubber patch.

Understanding spin efficiency is crucial, as it describes the amount of spin affecting the movement of a pitch.

A pitch with a high spin rate but low spin efficiency may perform with a lower than average spin rate due to its true spin.

Gyrodegree is a metric that provides a visual representation of the pitch's movement, assuming the ball is a two-dimensional object.

Gyrodegree measures the axis's position relative to the direction the ball is traveling, affecting the pitch's spin efficiency.

Pure gyrospin occurs when the gyro degree hits 90 degrees, resulting in the ball spinning around a single point.

Gyro sliders are characterized by sharp, late movement and low spin efficiency or high gyro degree.

Sweeping sliders have higher spin efficiency and lower gyro degree, resulting in more horizontal movement.

The video provides examples of two different types of sliders, one from Luis Castillo and the other from Adam Otavio.

The video emphasizes the importance of understanding how metrics like spin efficiency and gyrodegree apply on the field.

Links to past videos and resources for further learning are provided in the video description.

The video concludes with a brief review of the main takeaways and encourages viewers to explore more content for further learning.

The video aims to help viewers understand the practical application of sabermetric terms like spin efficiency and gyrodegree.

The video includes a slider pitch design tutorial for those interested in learning more about pitch mechanics.

The video provides a visual comparison of the two types of sliders, making it easier to spot the differences.

Transcripts

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BaseballPitchingSpinEfficiencyGyrodegreeSliderTypesSabermetricsPerformanceAnalysisSportsStrategyLuisCastilloAdevinoPitchDesign