What do you think of Yokishi, who handed down the grip to Otani’s coveted “Sweeper” Ahn Woo-jin?

• allforyouclick
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• on Apr 17, 2023

 Kiwoom Heroes’ Eric Yokishi (34) introduced in detail the new type of ‘Sweeper’ that Woojin An (24) is interested in recently. 

An Woo-jin, who is reigning as the best ace in the league with an average ERA of 0.47 in 3 games (19 innings) this season, said in an interview on the 13th, “I want to throw a sweeper among breaking pitches. It’s still not at a level that can be used during the game. I’m trying to practice, but it doesn’t work. It should fly like a slider and bend sideways, but it just falls like a bell. It doesn’t seem to fit well with me,” he said, revealing his interest in sweepers. 

The sweeper is a pitch that has recently become a hot topic in the major leagues. It is similar to a slider, but has a high horizontal movement, so it has a great effect in the major leagues. In particular, Shohei Ohtani (Angels) drew keen attention as he caught teammate Mike Trout, who was the last batter in the World Baseball Classic (WBC) final, with a sweeper. 

Ahn Woo-jin said, “These days메이저놀이터, all pitchers talk about is the sweeper. Yokishi also told me about Sweeper. The hyungs who like Ohtani also taught me how to grip, so I practiced, but it didn’t work out well,” he laughed. 

Yokishi, who introduced the sweeper grip to Kiwoom pitchers, said in an interview on the 16th, “I know the sweeper grip, but I don’t actually use it. He’s only thrown once or twice in the past year. In my case, the horizontal movement was great, but the speed was too slow, so I didn’t think I could use it. I wonder if pitchers with fast velocity will be effective,” he said of the sweeper. 

Regarding the sweeper’s grip, Yokishi said, “I basically hold it like a two-seam. However, the feeling of throwing is like throwing a curve. I don’t know the scientific principle, but if you throw it like that, the ball curves greatly to the side and flies. There are pitchers who throw like a curveball, and there are pitchers who throw like a cutter. The important thing is that he throws hard the moment he throws. Normally, curves or sliders use the middle finger to give rotation, but sweepers give spin with the index finger.” 

The sweeper is a pitch that is not well known in Korea. Yokishi also revealed that he did not learn from someone, but obtained information through the Internet such as Instagram. Yokishi, who said, “I usually look for interesting topics through Instagram, etc.” “The slider has a slightly shorter sideways curvature and falls like a bell. On the other hand, the sweeper has a large horizontal movement, although it depends on the angle of the arm. I think it’s definitely different from sliders. If you look at the pitching data, there is a clear difference,” he pointed out the characteristics of the sweeper. 

Yokishi said, “I don’t have the desire to throw too much because my elbows will be a bit too much for me,” and Yokishi said, “The sweeper is a good pitch, but I think the slider still has value.” expressed /f