This pitcher's eye-popping submarine delivery will make you question everything you've ever known
You think you know things, but in reality you have no clue.
Life tends to throw lessons like that at all of us in a variety of ways. You might think you have a handle on what’s going on, and an idea that you’re in charge of some aspect of it.
That’s an amusing concept, being “in charge” of anything. None of us are in charge of anything.
How do I know this? Well, I watch a lot of baseball, as you might expect. Most pitchers on the baseball diamond adhere to a set of “rules” or “commonly accepted practices” in terms of how they go about their business.
Not Tyler Rogers. Look at this:
Our elbow hurts just watching this. pic.twitter.com/Pybo4oY1qV
— Subscribe to Cut4 on YouTube!!!! (@Cut4) August 28, 2019
That's how the rookie Rogers throws pitches. The Giants right-hander made his Major League debut in Tuesday night's game against the D-backs at Oracle Park, and ... wow.
Watch it again.
Now, it's important to note that a pitcher using a "submarine" style like Rogers' is not a new thing. It's happened in baseball for years. Decades, even. But that doesn't take away from the shock value of seeing it for the first time in a while.
Growing up, I was immersed in the "Moneyball" culture of Billy Beane's A's around the year 2000. One of the key pitchers during that era and the team's 20-game winning streak of 2002 was Chad Bradford, a cricket-farmer-turned-baseball-player who threw like this:
Watching Tyler Rogers, the twin brother of Twins left-hander Taylor Rogers, make his debut with the Giants, I couldn't help but think of Bradford. Both pitchers practically scrape the mound with their knuckles during their delivery.
It's a truly mesmerizing display of physical might, honestly. Pitching with a "regular" delivery seems impossibly complex enough, with all the muscles and joints snapping together to help push a baseball 60 feet and change toward home plate.
But also doing that while spinning your body sideways and flinging the ball from a significantly different angle? It's truly bizarre, and I love every second of it.
More of this, please, pitchers.
And while I'm making requests, I want to see Tyler Rogers from this angle, too:
Adrian Garro joined MLB.com in 2016. Throughout his travels, both Bartolo Colon and Vin Scully have placed their hands on his shoulders. Not at the same time, though. That'd be amazing.
