Kendall Graveman on the Pitch He Lives and Dies By

Kendall Graveman has lived and died by his sinker since breaking into the big leagues in 2014. (He’s also spent a lot of time in injured-list purgatory, but that’s another story.) The 29-year-old right-hander has thrown his signature pitch nearly 60 percent of the time over 446 career innings, all but a handful of them with the Oakland A’s. Graveman is now with the Seattle Mariners, who inked him to a free agent contract last November.

This past March, I approached the Mississippi State product in Mariners camp for an overdue discussion about his sinker. It had been nearly five years since we’d talked pitching. That back-and-forth focused mostly on his cutter, with a glimpse at his approach and TrackMan usage sprinkled in for good measure. We only briefly touched on the pitch that got him to the big leagues. The time had come to rectify that earlier omission.

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David Laurila: When did you first learn to throw a sinker?

Kendall Graveman: “There’s a coach back home who used to work at Central Alabama Community College, and he came over and was teaching the pitching aspect at a camp I was attending. This was in the small town of Alexander City, and I was probably 12 years old at the time.

“A two-seamer was kind of a different — it’s something I‘d never seen — but I was able to pick the ball up and make a move. Ever since then, I’ve been able to manipulate it. Going through high school, I was a groundball pitcher — I was the same guy I am now — and didn’t strike out a lot of guys. Over the years I’ve been able to develop that pitch more, and have been able to create early contact, soft contact, and groundballs.”

Laurila: How does one go about manipulating a sinker?

Graveman: “For me, it’s how well I stay on top of the baseball, as opposed to letting my hand drift a little bit to one or two o’clock. I’m trying to stay 12 o’clock; at least that’s the feeling I have. A lot of the time, the feeling is different than actual reality, but when I stay on top of it, I get the sharper, smaller movement, as opposed to east-to-west movement.

“There are times throughout the season where I have to focus on keeping my front side really closed. That way I can get the ball to do what I want it to. When the front side flies open, I get the bigger east-to-west movement, and hitters are usually going to show you how that’s not good. There are a lot of barrels when I’m pitching like that.”

Laurila: I assume technology helps you reconcile any feel-versus-real issues that might crop up?

Graveman: “I want more vertical movement than horizontal movement, and yes, I can look at that on the slo-mo video. I mean, we’re splitting hairs at this level to make stuff better. But staying behind the baseball… and then, obviously, there’s the laminar flow that comes with the way the ball moving, to help that sink.”

Laurila: Sinkerball pitchers are somewhat of a rare breed these days. Rather than changing with the times, you’ve stuck with what you’ve always done.

Graveman: “My college coach really emphasized to let that be my identity. Part of you wants to be that guy who goes out there and strikes out a lot of people, but for me to dominate a performance it’s going to have to be 10-plus groundballs in a game. Knowing my identity, and not trying to do too much, has really been helpful for me in my career. I can’t try to be something I’m not.”

Laurila: Along with sink, you tend to get some arm-side run. Do you view that as a good thing?

Graveman: “I do, because I can front-hip a left-handed batter. I can start pitches at him and create a strike that way. A lot of the pitches on my glove side I want to be balls-to-strikes. Conversely, on the arm side I’m looking for strikes-to-balls.”

Laurila: Are there ever times you want your sinker up in the zone?

Graveman: “There are. I was around Kyle Hendricks a little bit last year, and when he goes to that up-and-in area to a righty, he’s trying to get the ball to run. He’ll still be throwing his two-seamer when he does that. It’s something I’m continuing to work on, because I think that’s a very powerful pitch in today’s game: the one at the belt line, running in to a righty. Hitters want to see your two-seam up, so if you create a pitch that’s up, but then all of a sudden is in on their hands, you can create a lot of discomfort for the hitter in the box.”

Laurila: You mentioned the importance of staying on top of the ball to get sink. What about the grip itself?

Graveman: “I’m in between the two seams. My fingers are always together when I’m throwing a sinker, and I’m trying to throw the left side of the baseball. When I come over the top of it, I’m throwing to the left side naturally, because my hand placement is predominantly on the left side. I try to get my index finger to ride the seam.

“Conversely, when I throw my cutter I’m trying to throw the right side of the baseball and create movement from right to left. That’s kind of the way my brain works. That’s kind of how I was taught.”