How fast does ivan nova throw

Inflammation of the right triceps. Inflammation in his right rotator cuff. Statcast Statistics. Nova relies on 4 pitches. Fastball : 4 Seam, 2 Seam, Cutter, Sinker. Offspeed : Split, Change, Fork, Screw. Breaking : Slider, Curve, Knuckle, Other. Note: Years are in reverse order. How this works : Every pitch is affected by the forces of gravity, which means that every pitch drops on its way from the mound to the plate.

Suddenly, he wasn't the least bit scared of throwing the ball over the plate. As a result, practically overnight, he became very good at his job. If Nova's story reads like a fairy tale that's too good to be true, that's because it is. Baseball history is replete with pitchers who, over the course of their careers, have slowly but surely improved their command of the strike zone. It's the natural order of things, a byproduct of maturity and experience, not to mention the increased respect that umpires tend to give those with tenure.

But almost nowhere in baseball history will you find a case like Nova's. Almost nowhere will you find a pitcher who, after seven major league seasons, just flat-out stopped walking people -- a starter who, nearly a decade into his career, went from having league-average control to an All-Star-worthy ace throwing more strikes than anyone in the game. For Nova, the difference is simple. In fact, it's as easy as P-N-C, one-two-three. Nova didn't always think too much.

In , his first full season in the majors, he went and was good enough to get the nod in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Tigers whom he beat. Despite pitching his home games in the cozy confines of Yankee Stadium -- where the right-field fence is just feet away and where lefty hitters salivate over their at-bats -- the right-hander allowed just 13 home runs in innings. The following year, he got in his head. Actually, Matt Wieters and too many taters got in his head.

On May 2, , during a home start against the Orioles, Nova threw a changeup to Wieters that landed feet away in the right-field seats. It was the second time in a month that Baltimore's switch-hitting catcher had gone deep on a Nova changeup. Later in the same game, left-handed hitting Nick Markakis went yard on another changeup from the Yankees starter, depositing it feet away beyond the wall in right. Truth is, it wasn't what Nova was throwing that mattered so much as where he was throwing it.

You pitch around guys and you walk people. Then you force yourself to go right in the middle of the plate and give up homers. Which is exactly what happened.

In , despite working just five more innings than the year before, Nova served up more than twice as many gopher balls 28 in IP. The trend continued over the next few years, as did Nova's propensity for walking more batters than he needed to.

From , when he first debuted with Yankees, through , when he was shipped to the Pirates right before the trade deadline, Nova averaged 2. Not horrible, but not great. Over that same time span, major league starters as a whole issued 2. In other words, when it came to control, Nova was perfectly average. In related news, his performance was pretty average too.

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