Taking It Slow: Chris Bassitt and Rich Hill Keep the Curveball Alive
PITTSBURGH — The PNC Park scoreboard flashed the words 'slow curve' in Friday's fourth inning.
That's what they call Rich Hill's snail-paced rainbow pitch, one variation of his many curveballs. That specific breaking ball drove in on the hands of Alejandro Kirk at 65.6 miles per hour, drawing a harmless grounder to third.
“He was dropping down and flipping in wiffle balls," manager John Schneider said.
It wasn't even the slowest pitch of the contest, as Hill and Blue Jays starter Chris Bassitt combined for 15 pitches under 70 MPH on Friday. For one night, velocity took a back seat to the big bender.
"Hey, whatever works," Schneider said. "Whatever gets the job done."
Bassitt chucked 10 curveballs on Friday, bottoming out at 67.5 MPH. It's a pitch he's had since high school, mixing it in about 12.5% of the time as one of his eight different deliveries.
With Bassitt essentially calling his own game this year, thanks to pitcher-directed Pitch Com on his belt, it's on the 34-year-old to decide when to mix in the slow curve. The righty balances reading opponent swings and working off previous battles, remembering what he showed batters in prior at-bats and even games months before.
Bassitt's primary pitch, the sinker, sits at 92 MPH, while the curve is 20 MPH slower. The big breaker can freeze batters who gear up for the fastball and it works the other way, too. Three times this year, Bassitt's caught an opposing hitter staring at a strike-three sinker right down the middle. The only way a player watches that pitch go by with two strikes is if they're sitting curve, Bassitt said.
“When you have that kind of [velocity] separation, it’s tough for a hitter to lock in on one pitch," Schneider said. "You have so little time to react and the ball probably looks [huge] to some hitters."
Bassitt's tinkered with using the curveball even more, throwing it 27 times in a 10-strikeout start against the Pirates in September last year. But, the righty's found it works best as a wrinkle in his wider repertoire.
“I don’t think I can just sit there and rely on [the curveball],” Bassitt said. “The sweeper that I throw is low 70s and the curveball is obviously upper 60s to low 70s, and I can mix both those and survive, but I can’t do what Rich [Hill] does.”
Hill, on the other hand, lives by his curve. The 43-year-old, currently in his 19th MLB season, mixes equal parts 89 MPH fastball and 70 MPH curve, tossing both about 40% of the time. Hill gets away with the higher curve usage because he's got a better feel for the pitch, Bassitt said, contorting location and speed at will with more aggressive break. The Pirates lefty has thrown curveballs anywhere from 62.7 to 74.1 MPH this season.
Collectively, Hill and Bassitt have thrown 126 pitches under 70 MPH in the first five weeks of 2023. 10 players have thrown 15 or more pitches under 70 MPH this season: Hill, Bassitt, and eight position players.
In a modern baseball environment that lauds velocity and 100 MPH fastballs are the norm, Basitt and Hill remain bastions of the slow breaker. Does Bassitt enjoy mixing in the curve? "Ya, I love it," he said. Seeing the slow rainbow freeze batters in the box brings a certain unique enjoyment a blazing fastball could never match.
But, don't expect your favorite fireballer to mix in a 68 MPH curveball any time soon. Even Bassitt would trade the pitch for a few more MPH in a heartbeat.
“At 70 miles an hour it’s really good, but I’d love to have one that’s like 85," Bassitt said.
Mitch Bannon is a baseball reporter for Sports Illustrated covering the Toronto Blue Jays and their minor league affiliates.Twitter: @MitchBannon