He had held steadfast that he’s having a mechanical issue with his splitter. Link to Media. David Laurila grew up in Michigan's Upper Peninsula and now writes about baseball from his home in Cambridge, Mass. His discovery of the split-finger was not divinely inspired. Admins may or may not choose to remove the comment or block the author. Since arriving in Boston in 2013, Koji Uehara has captured the hearts of Red Sox fans. �It�s encouraging. Only one other pitcher – Red Sox teammate Edward Mujica (57.6%) – has thrown a splitter with more than 50% frequency in the early going. Career: 22-26, 95 SV, 2.66 ERA, 572 SO, P, AllStar, RedSox/Orioles/... 2009-2017, t:R, born in Japan 1975 By Brian MacPhersonJournal Sports Writer Thursday May 14, 2015 at 10:22 AM. Just a few of those famous split-fingered fastballs, and it’s game-over. Original content available for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons license, except where noted. The slightly altered grip allows him to throw each kind of splitter with the same arm action � multiplying its deception. Let�s put that in perspective: Uehara threw 563 splitters last year. On 16 of them, he got a hit. Digital access or digital and print delivery. Last year’s leader was Chicago’s Zach Putnam, at 56.1%, while Uehara was right behind him at 47.5%. As noted in Sunday’s column, Koji Uehara has thrown 24 pitches this season, and 21 of them have been splitters. BOSTON -- They each hail from Japan and each throw a dominating split-finger fastball, so it's easy to compare Masahiro Tanaka to Koji Uehara. W hen Koji Uehara came on in the eighth inning Tuesday, after teammate Junichi Tazawa had struck out Miguel Cabrera with two men on, the Boston Red Sox were clinging to a 1-0 lead over the Detroit Tigers in what was undoubtedly the single biggest at-bat of Game 3 in this year’s American League Championship Series. I also asked if throwing almost exclusively splitters was the plan going into each of Uehara’s outings. and play-by-play data provided by Sports Info Solutions. Last night, the Sox lead the Yankees 4-3 going into the ninth inning. �But it�s basically if I�m gripping it on the seams or if I�m not.�. And when Jake Peavy thought about what he could do to become better in 2014, he looked to Uehara and that splitter. The pitch that Koji Uehara threw so frequently, so effortlessly and so dominantly throughout 2013 was not handed down to him by a mentor. Isn’t afraid to elevate… Last year was the first time he threw more splitters than fastballs, throwing 14 more splits than straight fastballs. Koji Uehara, who throws around 88 mph, has peripherals that are comparable to those of Dellin Betances. He authored the Prospectus Q&A series at Baseball Prospectus from December 2006-May 2011 before being claimed off waivers by FanGraphs. ARLINGTON, Texas — Don’t cast aside the old man and the splitter. Before that, he had retired 37 batters in a row, setting a Boston record and getting within a good week of the all-time record, 45, by Mark Buehrle.Before that, he was still one of the stories of the season, a flash closer who had gone from low-leverage innings in Texas to Boston's ninth inning within a year. And please don't worry, your report will be anonymous. It was also the most effective his splitter has ever been, as opponents hit a beggarly .096 off the pitch in 2013. I’m assuming its a fluke due to the 2-game sample size. I asked Ryan Hanigan, who was behind the plate for both appearances, if he’s ever called such a high percentage of a particular breaking pitch. Not going to be a Koji Uehara stack up elicits swings on pitches of... You can do different things with it, at different speeds, it...: Tuesday, April 27, 2021 4:48 AM ET, Park Factors by,... 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