Sunday Notes: Mason Englert Has a Unique Changeup Grip and Threw a Baby Curveball To a Buddy

Mason Englert throws an array of pitches. The 25-year-old right-hander’s repertoire comprises a four-seam fastball, a sinker, a changeup, a cutter/slider, a sweeper, a “big curveball,” and a “shorter version of the curveball.” He considers his changeup — utilized at a 31.6% clip over his 13 relief appearances with the Tampa Bay Rays — to be his best pitch. More on that in a moment.

Englert, whom the Rays acquired from the Detroit Tigers in exchange for Drew Sommers back in February, will also break out the occasional… lets’s call it a baby curveball.

“I threw a few that were around 60 mph when I was in Durham,” explained Englert, whose campaign includes nine outings and a 1.84 ERA for Tampa’s Triple-A affiliate. “One of them was to the best man in my wedding. It was the first time I’d faced him in a real at-bat, and I just wanted to make him laugh.”

The prelude to Englert’s throwing a baby curveball to his close friend came a handful of weeks earlier. Back and forth between the Bulls and the bigs this season, he was at the time throwing in the bullpen at Yankee Stadium.

”I was totally messing around and wanted to see what kind of reaction I could get from Snydes (Rays pitching coach Kyle Snyder),” recalled Englert, whose major-league ledger this year includes a 4.84 ERA and a much-better 2.93 FIP. “I lobbed it in there, kind of like the [Zack] Greinke-style curveball, and landed it. I thought he would laugh it off, but instead Snydes goes, ‘Huh. You could maybe use that early in counts to some lefties.’ That was him having an openness to, ‘Hey, make the ball move different ways, do different things, use them all.’”

The first time the Forney, Texas native threw it in a game was in Triple-A. A lefty was at the dish, and he landed it for a strike at 60.7 mph. The one he subsequently threw to his buddy bounced.

“When I faced Thomas Saggese, he’d been struggling against fastballs,” Englert recalled. “So, while I wanted to throw it to be funny, it wasn’t going to be funny if he crushed it. I was kind of like, ‘Ah, I don’t know,’ and the pitch ended up about a foot short of the plate. I did get a smile out of it.”

Which brings us to his changeup, which at 87.6 mph is markedly harder than his baby curve.

“It’s a unique grip,” explained Englert, who considers himself a bit of pitching nerd. “I came up with it in 2021, because I couldn’t sidespin the baseball. I had to figure out a way to orient the seams to make it move. I eventually spiked my pointer finger. I’m the only person I know who’s done that. There is the kick-change now, where guys use their middle finger, but I use the pointer finger. And I rip it. I throw it as hard as I can.

“It’s a two-seam [changeup grip], and I get that seam-shifted-wake,” added Englert. “The spike kicks the efficiency to around 60%. When I first started throwing it, I needed to find a way to lose some efficiency. I threw with that grip and didn’t have the seams right, but it was, ‘Hey, that’s 60% — we can just move the ball until the seams catch.’ The first one I threw once I had the ball in the right position just took off. I was like, ‘That’s it.’ Since then, it’s been my changeup.”

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RANDOM HITTER-PITCHER MATCHUPS

Grover Land went 1 for 5 against Joe Lake.

Wally Moon went 2 for 5 against Fred Waters.

Forrest Cady went 1 for 3 against Mellie Wolfgang.

Pete Fox went 3 for 6 against Norm Branch.

Gene Woodling went 2 for 4 against Jim Stump.

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Dave Sims saw a lot of good pitchers while calling Seattle Mariners games from 2007-2024. The now-New York Yankees broadcaster considers Félix Hernández the best of the bunch, which isn’t exactly a surprise. “King Felix” was a six-time All-Star, won a Cy Young Award, and threw a perfect game.

“It’s not close,” said Sims, who was behind the mic for the right-hander’s 2012 perfecto. “At his peak, Félix had five pitches. The changeup was unbelievable. He had a big fastball. Every five days you knew that you had a fighting chance to win a ballgame. It’s a shame he never made it to the playoffs. Felix was an artiste.”

The current Seattle pitcher Sims has most enjoyed watching?

“It might be [Bryan] Woo,” Sims said to my question. “Hey, he’s throwing a fastball at the top of the zone and they can’t hit it. He’ll just rear back and throw it. But there’s Logan Gilbert, too. He has a pretty wide assortment of pitches. I mean, they’re all fun. George Kirby isn’t going to walk you. Luis [Castillo] has that great two-seamer [and] great changeup. Bryce Miller is another guy; fastball top of the zone. That’s what they teach over there. First pitch strike, fastball, and don’t hold anything back.”

The 72-year-old broadcaster still keeps close tabs on this old club. While Sims is happy to be “home” — the Philadelphia native worked in New York throughout the 1980s and 1990s — his attention often turns westward once he’s off the air. When I talked to him following last Sunday’s game in Boston, Sims had just tuned in to the early innings of a Seattle home affair. “They haven’t been hitting well lately,” Sims said with a matter-of-fact sigh.

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A quiz:

Willie Wilson has the top two stolen-base seasons in Kansas City Royals history, having swiped 83 bags in 1979, and then 79 bags in 1980. Which player has the franchise’s third-highest single-season total? (A hint: he had 369 career steals and is currently a coach for a big-league team.)

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NEWS NOTES

A reminder that this year’s national SABR convention takes place later this week — the dates are June 25-29 — in the Dallas-Fort Forth area. The schedule, which includes an impressive array of featured speakers, can be found here.

Ron Taylor, a right-hander who appeared in 491 games while playing for five teams from 1962-1972, died on June 16 at age 87. A native of Toronto who later spent three decades as the Blue Jays’ team physician, Taylor won World Series rings with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1964 and the New York Mets in 1969. He is a member of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame.

Morrie Steevens, a southpaw whose career comprised 22 appearances — a dozen for the Chicago Cubs in 1962, and 10 for the Philadelphia Phillies across the 1964-1965 seasons, also died on June 16. The Salem, Illinois native lost both of his decisions. Moreover, his team lost every game in which he appeared (an addendum follows below.)

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The answer to the quiz is Tom Goodwin, who had 66 steals while playing for the Royals in 1996. Goodwin is now the third base coach for the Atlanta Braves.

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Morrie Steevens’s team not winning any of the 22 games he appeared in isn’t the modern era (since 1901) record. I checked with Sports-Reference’s Katie Sharp, and the dubious distinction belongs to Jack Warner, who pitched in 33 games for the Cubs across the 1962-1965 seasons. Chicago’s North Side club went 0-32-1 in those contest (the tie, which came against the Cardinals — Steve Carlton made his MLB debut with St. Louis that day, walking the only batter he faced — was called on account of darkness. Wrigley Field had yet to install lights.

Six other pitchers appeared in more than 22 games without their team winning. Of them, Charlie Bicknell (1948-1949 Phillies) and Scott Ruffcorn (1993-1997 White Sox and Phillies) have the most. Each made 30 appearances, all of them in losses.

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Tim Hill is throwing a boatload of sinkers in his first full season with the New York Yankees. The sidearming lefty reliever has relied on his signature offering a hefty 80% of the time, and he’s done so with good results. Over 34 outings comprising 32-and-a-third innings, Hill has a 66.0 GB% and a 2.51 ERA.

The 35-year-old is thriving with decreased velocity, and he was never a hard thrower to begin with. Four seasons ago, his sinker averaged just 91.1 mph, and this year it is a mere 88.2 mph. Few pitchers cook with less gas.

Another decline is more notable. In 2021, the vertical drop of Hill’s worm-killer was 34.9 inches. In 2022, it was 38.5 inches. Last year, it was 40.2 inches. So far this season, it is 42.0 inches. Only San Francisco sidewinder Tyler Rogers, at a ridiculous 53.1 inches, is currently throwing a sinkier sinker.

According to Hill, the depthier depth hasn’t been by design. There have been no grip changes, no tweaking of seam orientation. His arm angle has moved slightly, but that has been organic as opposed to purposeful.

“I think things just change from year to year,” Hill replied when queried on the subject. “Your body changes as you get older. Another year of throwing baseballs. [Stuff] just changes.”

Intent aside, the lefty is happy to be getting more depth. Right?

“On the sinker, yes,” said Hill. “Everything has kind of shifted. I would say the sinker has been more depth-y, but the four-seam hasn’t had as much lift. You’ve got to deal with what you’ve got. In a perfect world, I’d still have the lift on the four-seam, but again, everything has shifted down. You’ve got what you’ve got, and you have to make it work.”

Opposing hitters have a .219 BA and a .323 SLG against Hill’s sinker. They have a .200 BA and a .400 SLG against his four-seamer.

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FOREIGN AFFAIRS

The pitcher-dominant NPB had another dominant effort earlier this week when Tatsuya Imai fanned 17 batters while tossing a two-hit, no-walk shutout against the Yokohama DeNA BayStars. The 27-year-old Seibu Lions right-hander has a 1.17 ERA over 92 innings on the season.

Jon Duplantier threw a four-hit shutout with no walks and 12 strikeouts on Thursday as the Hanshin Tigers blanked the Lotte Marines 2-0. The 30-year-old erstwhile Arizona Diamondbacks hurler has a 1.66 ERA over 59-and-two-thirds innings with the NPB club.

Tatsuru Yanagimachi is slashing .344/.448/.452 with three home runs and a 189 wRC+ over 222 plate appearances for the Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks. The 28-year-old outfielder leads all NPB batters in BA, BB%, and OBP.

Do Yeong Kim missed the first month of the KBO season with a hamstring injury, returned to record a 171 wRC+ over 111 plate appearances, then landed back on the IL after re-injuring it in late May. The 21-year-old Kia Tigers third baseman — last season’s KBO MVP — remains out of action and is expected to be reevaluated in the coming week.

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Scott Miller’s new book, Skipper: Why Baseball Managers Matter (and Always Will), addresses a number of topics, one of which is the data-driven evolution of the decision-making process. A juxtaposition of memorable postseason pitcher-usage decisions stands out.

In Game 7 of the 1991 World Series, Jack Morris threw a 10-inning complete game, out-dueling John Smoltz as the Minnesota Twins beat the Atlanta Braves 1-0. As Miller chronicles in the book, Morris had thrown 118 pitches through nine innings when manager Tom Kelly approached him in the dugout and said, “That’s all, can’t ask you to do more than this.” The right-hander was having none of that, and pretty much demanded that he return to the mound to finish the job.

“Kelly, with pitching coach Dick Such standing there and siding with Morris, stared at the pitcher for a beat,” wrote Miller. “(Kelly) threw his arms up and said those immortal words, ‘Ah, hell. It’s only a game.’”

Twenty-nine years later, Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash removed Blake Snell from Game 6 of the 2020 World Series with the Rays clinging to 1-0 sixth-inning lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers. The two-time Cy Young Award-winner had thrown just 73 pitches. As history shows, the move backfired.

A conversation that took place prior to the game encapsulated what transpired. Miller explained that exchange.

“I know you have twenty-five different scenarios already planned out, I get it,” Smoltz remarked to Cash during the television broadcaster’s pregame access. “And you do this as well as anybody. But of those, which is your nightmare scenario tonight?”

“A 1-0 game, two outs in the sixth, and I’ve got to take my pitcher,” Cash responded.”

Miller’s book is a must-read.

Author’s note: Shortly after this column was completed, it was reported that Miller has died at age 62 following a battle with cancer. A highly-respected sportswriter with countless friends throughout baseball, he’ll be missed.

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A random obscure former player snapshot:

Pancho Herrera had a long and interesting career. A native of Santiago de las Vegas, Cuba, Herrera played for the Negro American League’s Kansas City Monarchs from 1952-1954, and later two-plus seasons with the Philadelphia Phillies. He also spent several years in the minors, most of them as a Triple-A slugger. All told, the first baseman/outfielder hit 305 professional home runs, the last of them in 1972 as a 38-year-old player-manager in the Florida State League.

His most notable season came with the Phillies in 1960. Hitting mostly out of the cleanup spot, Herrera hammered 17 home runs while posting a 118 wRC+, but he also set a then-National League record by fanning 136 times (Mark Reynolds holds the current record with 223 strikeouts). Herrera finished second in senior circuit Rookie-of-the-Year voting, losing out to the Dodgers’ Frank Howard. Ron Santo finished fourth.

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FARM NOTES

Tommy Hawke has 63 steals in 68 attempts to go with a .308/.451/.383 slash line and 151 wRC+ over 259 plate appearances for the Low-A Lynchburg Hillcats. The 22-year-old outfielder went unranked our recently-released Cleveland Guardians Top Prospects list.

Tyler Renz has a 2.73 ERA and 27 strikeouts in 33 innings in the Arizona Complex League. An 18th-round pick last year out of Bedford, New York’s Fox Lane High School, the 18-year-old right-hander is an honorable mention on our Milwaukee Brewers Top Prospects list.

Ryan Sloan has a 2.86 FIP to go with a 4.54 ERA and a 26.1% strikeout rate over 41-and-two-thirds innings for the Low-A Modesto Nuts. The 19-year-old right-hander is No. 8 on our Seattle Mariners Top Prospects list.

Andres Galan is 5-0 with a 1.54 ERA and a 22.5% strikeout rate over 41 innings between the Florida Complex League and Low-A Charleston. A 17th-round pick last year out of the University of California Berkeley, the 21-year-old right-hander is unranked on our Tampa Bay Rays Top Prospects list.

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Like Rafael Devers, Mo Vaughn was a prolific left-handed-hitting slugger who came up through the Red Sox system, became a fan favorite, and made three All-Star teams. Also like Devers, he reportedly had a rocky relationship with the front office. Upon becoming a free agent following the 1998 season, he bid adieu to Boston, inking a deal with the Anaheim Angels.

Vaughn played in 1,053 games with the Red Sox, while Devers played in 1,046. Here a few more of their Boston numbers.

Devers; 1,136 hits, 215 home runs, 2,081 total bases, 127 wRC+, 27.6 fWAR.
Vaughn: 1,165 hits, 230 home runs, 2,074 total bases, 137 wRC+, 27.6 fWAR.

Vaughn played just four seasons after leaving Boston. Hampered by injuries, he hit 98 home runs while logging a 113 wRC+.

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LINKS YOU’LL LIKE

Writing at The New York Times, Joon Lee addressed how sports, once one of America’s most accessible forms of entertainment, is increasingly being paywalled, splintered and sold to the highest bidder.

Andscape’s Justice B. Hill wrote about a Negro Leagues Museum exhibit that showcases Black managers throughout baseball history.

Erstwhile Kansas City Royals closer Dan Quisenberry pitched in 850 professional games, all but one of them out of the bullpen. The sidearmer’s lone start came in his pro debut when he went the distance for the Midwest League’s Waterloo Royals. Kurt Blumenau wrote about the contest for SABR’s Games Project.

A 19-year-old Baltimore Orioles infield prospect died in a jet-ski accident that happened last weekend and involved three other players. Sarah Jean Maher has the story at The Athletic (subscription required).

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RANDOM FACTS AND STATS

New York Yankees pitchers have been credited with 84 assists, the most in the majors. They have been charged with two errors, tied for the fewest in the majors.

Boston Red Sox pitchers have been charged with 10 errors, tied for second most in the majors. They have been credited with 42 assists, tied for second fewest in the majors.

Roman Anthony, Kristian Campbell, and Marcelo Mayer are the first trio of Red Sox batters to homer in the same season at age 22 or younger since 1974 (Dwight Evans, Fred Lynn, Jim Rice).

Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski allowed no hits and no runs in his first 10 MLB innings. Mike Mayers, who debuted with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2016, allowed 24 hits and 24 runs in his first 10 MLB innings.

Minnesota Twins first baseman Ty France has a .211 batting average and a .322 slugging percentage with the bases empty. He has a .331 batting average and a .424 slugging percentage with men on. With runners in scoring position, those numbers are .365 and .446.

Chicago Cubs infielder Nico Hoerner has a .259 batting average and a .323 slugging percentage with the bases empty. He has a .317 batting average and a .392 slugging percentage with men on. With runners in scoring position, those numbers are .389 and .486.

Eugenio Suárez hit the 300th home run of his career on Friday, making him the third Venezuelan-born player to reach that number. Miguel Cabrera (511) and Andrés Galarraga (399) are the others.

On June 19, 1967, Cleveland right-hander Steve Hargan hit a ninth-inning walk-off home run — he also went the distance for the win — to lift the Indians to a 4-2 win over the Kansas City Athletics. It was Hargan’s lone homer in nine big-league seasons.

On today’s date in 1982, Wade Boggs hit his first career home run in the 11th inning to give the Boston Red Sox a 5-4 win over Detroit Tigers. Dwight Evans had earlier tied the game with a two-out, two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth.

Players born on today’s date include Steel Arm Davis, a two-way player who performed in the Negro National League from 1920-1935. The Wortham, Texas native’s clubs included the Chicago American Giants and Detroit Stars.

Also born on today’s date was Roy Hitt, a pitcher whose MLB career comprised 21 games for the Cincinnati Reds in 1907. Far more notable was his time in the Pacific Coast League. The Carleton, Nebraska native won 20 or more games seven times, a 31-12 season with the San Francisco Seals standing out as his best. Hitt is in the PCL Hall of Fame.