Chien-Ming Wang: A PITCHf/x Story

by Kyle Boddy on Apr 19, 2009 9:41 AM PDT in PITCHf/x Work Comment 9 comments

New York Yankees pitcher Chien-Ming Wang sits in the dugout after giving up seven runs to the Cleveland Indians in the second inning during a Major League Baseball game Saturday, April 18, 2009 at Yankee Stadium in New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

9 months ago: New York Yankees pitcher Chien-Ming Wang sits in the dugout after giving up seven runs to the Cleveland Indians in the second inning during a Major League Baseball game Saturday, April 18, 2009 at Yankee Stadium in New York. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

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Chien-Ming Wang hasn't had a very good 2009, so far:

	W-L	G	GS	CG	SHO	SV	BS	IP	H	R	ER	HR	BB	K	ERA	WHIP
2009 - Chien-Ming Wang	0-3	3	3	0	0	0	0	6.0	23	23	23	2	6	2	34.50	4.83

Yikes. But what's to it? His pitching mechanics? I took a quick look at video that I have on file (see my previous post about Wang) and compared it to last night's start, but I didn't see anything meaningful. Of course, with 30 FPS worth of video and varying camera angles due to the new stadium, it's hard to tell anything definitive.

However, here's what I did notice when I compared Wang's 2008 PITCHf/x data to last night's start. Using Josh Kalk's PITCHf/x tool from 2008, I got this chart for Wang's pitches:

type	Speed (MPH)	Break x (inches)	Break z (inches)	Balls	Strikes Called	Strikes Swinging	Foul/Foul tip	In play outs	Singles	Doubles	Triples	Home Runs
Fastball	92.78	-10.23	6.14	610	265	54	303	298	81	24	0	6
Sinker	96.2	-8.37	5.17	38	16	3	19	10	4	4	0	0
Slider	86.49	-2.35	3.69	151	43	74	57	41	12	6	0	1
Change	84.49	-4.58	4.22	43	16	20	17	13	3	1	0	1

Using the new tool from BrooksBaseball, I got the following chart for his start on April 18th:

Pitch Type	Average Speed	Max Speed	Average H-Break	Average V-Break	Number Thrown	Strike Percentage	Nibbleness	Time to Plate
FF (FourSeam Fastball)	91.00	92.3	-10.79	3.52	21	66.67	4.46	0.410
SI (Sinker)	90.37	91.9	-11.92	3.55	25	60.00	6.73	0.414
CH (Changeup)	81.60	82.4	-9.29	1.27	4	75.00	4.51	0.461
SL (Slider)	81.85	82	-1.66	-1.61	2	100.00	4.40	0.457

The most telling numbers are his differing velocities between his fastball/sinker from last night's start and 2008 - take a look at how much slower he was throwing last night! Furthermore, there's nearly 3 inches less in vertical break. Take a look at this pitch chart from last night:

When his velocity was up near 92, he was recording outs without a problem. When it dipped even just a few MPH, he was getting crushed. It reinforces the idea that very small percentage changes make a big difference in baseball.

The major difference in velocity and movement would concern me greatly if I was someone in the Yankees front office. This has all the signs of a "cascade" injury, where the initial injury to Wang's foot has caused altered mechanics up the line or has exposed a lack of fitness elsewhere. Look for Wang to go on the 15-day disabled list, if only for his complete ineffectiveness.

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on mlb network last night

dan plesac was saying wang isn’t raising his leg has high as last year in his delivery and his hands are further away from his body. showed video on it and it seemed accurate. no idea if that means anything, though.

by larry on Apr 19, 2009 9:51 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Thanks

I’ll try to look a little closer. I didn’t investigate all that much, but didn’t notice anything glaring.

Webmaster of Driveline Mechanics
http://www.drivelinemechanics.com - An Unconventional Look at Scouting

by Kyle Boddy on Apr 19, 2009 9:58 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

i only was half-paying attention to when mitch williams and plesac were talking about the ramifications of this

but williams, iirc, was saying whatever wang was doing differently may be causing some of his pitches to flatten out.

by larry on Apr 19, 2009 10:02 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

That could be quite true

If Wang’s release point is significantly different in 2009 compared to 2008, he could be losing his natural movement. Even though his velocity is down, if he is overthrowing to compensate for this, that could cause the loss of movement as well.

Webmaster of Driveline Mechanics
http://www.drivelinemechanics.com - An Unconventional Look at Scouting

by Kyle Boddy on Apr 19, 2009 10:04 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

since you're more versed in mechanics than me

maybe you can figure out the point from what they were saying but they referred to greg maddux as pitching “taller” than he was – i believe in reference to this whole leg kick/drive point – and then i think went on to say wang was pitching “shorter” than he was because of the apparent change in his delivery. again, was writing an article at the time so i wasn’t paying full attention.

by larry on Apr 19, 2009 10:10 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Taller/shorter

That probably just means “better movement.” Taller pitchers throw on a higher and steeper downwards plane (obviously) towards the plate, which is tougher for hitters to pick up. Maddux could do things with the baseball that no one else could; moving the ball to all parts of the strike zone.

In the end, it’s just more baseball nonsense-speak. Don’t get me wrong, I partake it in as well, but a cursory reading of Ball Four will enlighten you. :)

Webmaster of Driveline Mechanics
http://www.drivelinemechanics.com - An Unconventional Look at Scouting

by Kyle Boddy on Apr 19, 2009 10:19 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

that is why i tuned out.

the video was interesting to me. hearing mitch williams and plesac wax about it wasn’t.

by larry on Apr 19, 2009 10:38 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

be careful

this early in the season . . . pitch f/x has not been modified for recording errors. for instance, i know the vertical break between arlington and camden yards is about 4 inches. i have not looked at a lot of the data yet . . . but there are issues. i think brooks typically puts in correction factors a quarter of the way into the season.

by craydad on Apr 20, 2009 9:35 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs