Kansas City Star

‘What was that?’ How a new pitch (or is it?) is making waves with the KC Royals

KC Royals pitchers (left to right) Alec Marsh, Brady Singer and Seth Lugo all throw sweepers, a pitch that has made a recent resurgence in MLB. Photo collage USA TODAY SPORTS/NETWORK SURPRISE, Ariz.
The New York Times

Phillies’ Orion Kerkering got his sweeper moving again. It’s sparked his season

Sent in to preserve a 1-0 lead against Atlanta on May 27, Phillies reliever Orion Kerkering turned to his trusted weapon: the sweeper. The first he threw to Ronald Acuña Jr. had the star swinging ...
The New York Times

MLB’s trendiest pitch, the sweeper, has its problems — but with familiar fixes

The whirly. The hand of God. The sweeper. The slutter. The riding slider. Baseball’s newest pitch has many different names, but mostly one form. It’s a slider that, because of the way the seams are ...
Stars and Stripes

What is a sweeper? A look at the pitch taking over the majors

PHOENIX — Bob Melvin was talking about the improvement of Padres reliever Steven Wilson, when the San Diego skipper dropped in some cool-kid lingo that’s making the rounds in Major League Baseball ...