A P.I.N. Look at Carter Capps

 

    You may have heard of Carter Capps, but do you really know who he is? Capps was a relief pitcher who played for the Mariners, Marlins and Padres. Though he only pitched for five seasons and 147 innings, Carter Capps tells a very interesting story.

    Capps wasn't a successful pitcher at the start of his career -- he pitched to a 5.49 ERA in 59 innings in 2013 -- so, like any good pitcher, he made an adjustment.

    But this was more than just an adjustment. Capps completely changed his delivery. Now, he literally jumped off the rubber towards home plate before delivering each pitch. While it's a very unethical pitching style, it did its job. His already fastball, which already sat in the mid-to-upper-90s appeared to be much faster than it actually was, and Capps threw to a 1.16 ERA in 2015 (31 innings).

    This strategy seemed unfair toward the batter, and so was momentarily declared illegal by MLB; every pitcher needed to be in contact with the rubber as the pitch is released, they said. But upon observance, it became evident that every pitcher, no matter the throwing style, was and is not in contact with the rubber as the pitch is thrown, as evident with the following image of AJ Smith-Shawver:

    And so the rule was changed back, though not entirely: a pitcher may take one step toward home plate for his delivery, but not a second. This posed a problem to Capps as he attempted to return to the majors after an injury, for he had made yet another adjustment to his already unique wind-up.

    Though his career was short and lack-luster when you look at it as a whole, Carter Capps was a genius when it came to 'playing' the game. For his enginuity, Capps certainly deserves to be the first-ever player featured on the P.I.N.

    I wonder when we will see another pitcher who modifies his wind-up to look similar to Capps'. Also, how effective would this style of pitching be in today's game? Granted, Carter Capps didn't retire that long ago, hanging up the cleats in 2017 at the age of 26. 

    

    Carter Capps is currently the pitching coach for Seattle University, a D-1 NCAA school. Maybe we'll see a pitcher emerge from the school with a similar motion? I guess only the future can tell.

    Thank you for reading my analysis on Carter Capps. When you take a closer look, every baseball player is more than meets the eye.

Welcome to the Player Insider Nation

    Welcome to the Player Insider Nation, where great minds ponder the inside of a player's career and the brilliance it takes to make such a career. In this blog will be an inside look at a lesser-known baseball player, including what it is that got him to big leagues, what it is that took him out, and his family life. 

    If there are any suggestions for players that you would like me to publish about, leave them in the comments, and I will be sure to get to them when I have the chance. 

    Here's to hoping this blog goes well, and a good afternoon to all the soon-to-be readers of the P.I.N.