Sliding In: Anthony Bass Brings Weapon to Blue Jays' Bullpen
When Anthony Bass broke into the big leagues back in 2011, he was a 23-year-old two-pitch swingman for the San Diego Padres—more of a thrower than a pitcher, he admits.
Bass' two main deliveries, a fastball and slider, garnered mixed results in the early going. While the pitch mix worked in his rookie season, Bass soon lost his place in the San Diego rotation, and a few years later lost his spot in the big leagues.
A decade later, Bass isn't in any danger of losing his MLB spot and the results are no longer mixed. The four-seam fastball was replaced with a biting sinker and the slider reached new heights, becoming one of the best pitches in baseball and a crucial weapon in the Blue Jays bullpen.
"It took a lot of time to figure out who I was and what works for me," Bass said.
The 34-year-old can't remember when or from whom he initially learned his slider grip, but he's thrown the same breaking pitch his entire career. At various points throughout his decade-plus of pro ball, the slider has been Bass' most-used delivery, but never as extreme as in 2022. He throws the slider 55.2% of the time this year, compared to 40.5% sinker usage and the occasional split.
Despite leaning on the slider more than ever, opposing batters can't seem to make the adjustment. Opponent batting average against Bass' slider is .158 and the expected numbers show it's no fluke. Opponents hit the breaking pitch hard just 25% of the time, while swing-and-missing on it at a 42.1% clip.
It's always been a "depthy slider," Bass said, but he's learned to contort and tweak the pitch to his liking over the years. With some help from Max Scherzer YouTube highlights, Bass mixes in a variation with some more horizontal movement against righties, getting on the side of the ball and pushing it off barrels. But against lefties, it's the bat-missing, curveball-esque vertical drop that he leans on. Bass doesn't want the pitch to get too big, though, so he rarely throws it in side sessions or during pre-game catch play.
More than pitch shape or break, the key for Bass' slider is the command, or in real estate terms: Location. Location. Location.
Bass' execution on both his sinker and slider has been the best of his career in 2022, Blue Jays bullpen coach Matt Buschmann said. The 34-year-old owns the outside corner against righties this season, especially, and their 41.8% whiff rate on the pitch backs it up.
"He throws a good slider in the right spot really often," Buschmann said. "And that's going to be a better slider than the best slider ever that rarely gets to the right spot."
With the pitch, Bass aims right down the middle, letting the movement of his slider take it to the corner. When he's ahead in the count, he'll aim a bit closer to the edges so it's finishing off the plate for the swing-and-miss. The pitch tunnels perfectly off his sinker, keeping hitters from selling out for either delivery.
It's an approach Bass has mastered over his 11 years with eight organizations across two professional baseball leagues. Part of his ability to repeatedly execute the pitch is a trust in his approach, Buschmann said, understanding what he has works and he no longer needs to find another level to keep his job or stay in the big leagues.
"He's gone into a couple offseasons now not having to work on a bunch of stuff and just continuing to work on the same pitches," Buschmann said. "He's mastering the art of having these two really good pitches and the split."
Even with slider/sinker mastery, Bass will still have his failures. Even this year, rocking a pristine 1.39 ERA, he's still lost feel for his deliveries at times and given up runs. But when the slide and sink are on, Bass has been one of the best relievers in baseball, and he's in no danger of losing his job any time soon.
Mitch Bannon is a baseball reporter for Sports Illustrated covering the Toronto Blue Jays and their minor league affiliates.Twitter: @MitchBannon