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A common grip of a slider a pitcher uses
In baseball, a slider is a pitch halfway between a curveball and a fastball. When pitched, the slider breaks laterally and down, with more speed than a curve ball but less speed than a fastball. The break on the pitch is shorter than that of a curveball. The release technique of a slider is between a curveball and a fastball. The slider is similar to the cutter, a pitch which is thrown as a fastball, but differs in the sense that a slider tends to be more of a breaking ball. A notable slider is thrown by John Smoltz which come in looking like strikes and then break out of the strike zone. [1] Francisco Rodriguez throws a hard curveball that is often mistaken for a slider.
[edit] History
The innovator of the slider is debated, but some source Charles Albert Bender as the first to use the slider, then called a "nickel change" in the 1910s.[2] Bender used his slider to help him achieve a no-hitter and win 212 games in his career.[3] Bender was the first pitcher to win six World Series games.[2]
[edit] References
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