Top 5 Magic Pitches “Not Hit at All” in Professional Baseball in 22 Years of High Pitching and Low Hitting…!

The 2022 season marked the second time in 82 years, since 1940, that five no-hitters, tied for the most in history. The perfect game by Akinori Sasaki (Lotte) and no-hit, no-run games by Joe Higashihama (Softbank), Shota Konaga (DeNA), Yoshinobu Yamamoto (Orix), and Ponce (Nippon Ham) made it the second time in history that five no-hitters have been accomplished.

As predicted by Kodai Senga (Softbank), the number of .300 hitters has decreased, and the Pacific League has three teams with team batting averages in the neighborhood of .203. The reason for the “pitching high, hitting low” is not only the ball that doesn’t fly, but also the significant improvement in the level of pitchers.

In addition to scientific training and form analysis, pitchers have evolved remarkably because it is now possible to measure and adjust the rotation and change of the ball based on video and data.

With an average pitch speed of 146 km/h, 4.5 km/h higher than eight years ago, NPB pitchers today have narrowed the gap with MLB pitchers considerably. The number of sharp major-class breaking pitches and fastballs has increased, which is irresistible to pitching enthusiasts. The following is a ranking of the top five pitches based on an analysis of each pitcher’s magic pitches based on data such as xPV (*1), xPV advanced (*2), and hit batting average for the year 2022.

1 xPV/100…An index that eliminates expected pitch value and factors outside the pitcher’s area of responsibility as much as possible, and is a good estimator of true ability. 0 means that the pitcher did an average job for the league.

2 xPV advanced…The deviation of xPV/100. As in the case of exam deviation, if it exceeds 70, it is excellent. Among professionals, Moinello has a deviation above 80.

5th . Keller (Hanshin) Straight (4-seam) xPV advanced 77

In fifth place is Keller’s straight. Keller, a new foreigner of Hanshin, was expected to be the closer to fill the hole left by Roberto Suarez, who moved to the majors, but he failed to live up to expectations immediately after the season opener due to a lack of adjustment.

However, he has continued to pitch dominantly since his adjustment to the second team, and his 4-seam has overwhelming accuracy. His maximum velocity is 157 km/h and his average velocity has increased to 152.2 km/h. Since his time in the majors, he has hit .134 with a quality that makes him swing under the ball with a lot of vertical change, and he has not allowed a homerun. Although his quality is slightly lower than Osuna’s, he was rated higher because of his good control of the pitch.

The Hanshin pitchers’ ability to adjust, especially their technique to improve the 4-seam, is excellent. He is eager to adapt to Japanese baseball by learning to use the split, and between his strong curve and straight, he can add a slapper like Moinello or Matsui. If he does so, we can expect to see him as a suppressor from next season onward, like Pierce Johnson and Suarez.

4th place: Jariel Rodriguez Jariel Rodriguez (Chunichi) Vertical Slider xPV advanced 78

No. 4 is Jaleel Rodriguez’s vertical slider. Jaliel Rodriguez, who has switched to a set-up man this season, overwhelms hitters with his 160-kilogram, straight slalom 4-seam and sharp vertical slider.

Rodriguez’s vertical slider is characterized by its sharp, top-spinning, “power curve”-like nature, and its high velocity, in the low 130s.

The faster the speed of the curve, the more effective it is, and Rodriguez’s vertical slider, with a power curve-like curve in the low 130s, has a .082 batting average, making it a truly magical pitch.