Kepner also adeptly spans eras, with accounts of such instances as Max Scherzer taking notes from Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax. Kepner walks this line deftly, maintaining a balance as strong as Roy Halladay’s symmetric windup. Kepner finds a beautiful balance of intricate analysis to satisfy the big-data stans of the modern day while keeping a strong blend of humor and storytelling.
“Who’s hitting? Is he hot or cold? Where are the baserunners? Are we on the road? Is it nighttime?” are among just a few of the questions Mussina poses. One of the main study subjects of the book is new Hall of Famer and former Yankee great Mussina, who sums up the mental seesaw of pitching in the book’s early chapters when discussing all the factors that go into choosing just ONE pitch. You know what’s even more interesting? Reading about how Strasburg tries to lay down a bunt against a mid-nineties cutter. Learning about Stephen Strasburg’s approach to pitching is interesting. Each pitch is examined through the scope of history and perspective, from on the mound, behind the plate and in the batter’s box. Kepner explores pitches as varied as Mike Mussina’s dazzling knuckle curve to Mariano Rivera’s devastating cutter. How? By going right to the source.įrom traditional hurlers like Bob Gibson to spin rate obsessives like Trevor Bauer, Kepner leaves no stone unturned, diving into the history, evolution, mechanics, grip and usage of every major pitch that has been recorded in our National Pastime, while using plenty of Yankees hurlers to tell the story. a national baseball writer and former Yankees beat writer for the New York Times, uses his book to dissect those thought processes in finite detail. The pitcher constantly evaluates how his pitches feel on that particular night, how the hitter looked against a certain pitch, who is on deck, the list goes on.
Baseball may seem to have a number of lulls in action, but this doesn’t pertain to the man on the mound. As Tyler Kepner notes in his new book “K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches” (due out next week), a pitcher’s gears are always turning.
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