Okay, so today I wanted to see what all the fuss was about with Walker Buehler’s pitching. I’d heard he’s got a killer fastball and some nasty breaking stuff, so I figured I’d dive in and see for myself.
Digging into the Data
First, I pulled up some recent game footage. I wanted to get a good feel for his mechanics, his release point, all that good stuff. I spent a good hour just watching him pitch, pausing and rewinding to really see how he grips the ball and how his body moves.
Next, I checked out some of his stats. I mean, you gotta see the numbers, right? I looked at his ERA, his strikeout rate, his walk rate… all the usual suspects. It’s one thing to watch a guy, but the stats can tell a different story, so I wanted to see that the eyes match up with the performance, you know?
Breaking Down the Pitches
Then, I focused on each of his pitches individually.
- Fastball: Man, this thing is electric. I noticed how he gets on top of it, creating that downward plane. I tried to see the kind of movement. It is really impressive.
- Curveball: I watched how he snaps it off, the break is so sharp. It looks like it just drops off the table. I can see why batters have trouble with it.
- Slider:This one moves differently, its more of lateral and has more sweeping movement.
- Changeup:This one is the trickiest of the set.
I spent a lot of time just comparing the pitches, seeing how he uses them in different counts, against different hitters. It’s like a chess match out there.
My Overall Impression
After all that, my take is, yeah, Walker Buehler is the real deal. It is easy to see he’s not just throwing hard, he’s pitching. He’s got a plan, he’s executing, and he’s got the stuff to back it up. I definitely learned a lot just from watching and studying his game today. I might even try to incorporate some of his techniques into my own, very amateur, pitching!
