Boston’s Got a History With the Eephus Pitch
Former major leaguer Kazuhito Tadano delighted fans in Japan when he uncorked the rare, super-slow Eephus pitch in a Japanese Pacific League game on Sunday. The video made the rounds on American sports websites Tuesday.
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It’s slow, it’s funny, and if it crosses the plate at the right angle, it’s very effective. It’s considered a trick pitch since so few pitchers try it, but that wasn’t always the case. In fact, Boston’s got some significant baseball history tied to the Eephus.
Ted Williams faced pitcher Rip Sewell, whom many credit with inventing the pitch, during the 1946 All-Star Game at Fenway Park. After missing the first two offerings by Sewell, Williams decided to try and drive the ball deep.
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In 2008, Paul jackson wrote about the encounter for ESPN:
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The other Boston connection conjures up unhappy memories. Pitcher and all-time fan favorite Bill Lee had a version of the Eephus pitch, which he called the “Leephus’’ or the “Spaceball.’’ Lee’s version wasn’t so much of a lob as it was a slow, high curve ball. But the pitch didn’t work to Lee’s advantage when he threw it to Tony Perez in the 1975 Word Series.
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In its celebration of trick pitches, Grantland dubbed Lee’s Game 7 Eephus as “the most ill-advised pitch in baseball history,’’ and it’s hard to disagree.
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