| Mike Boddicker built a successful major league career less on overwhelming stuff and more on guile and out-thinking batters. Boddicker had a fastball that topped out in the high-80's, but threw a variety of curveballs at different speeds (in his New Historical Baseball Abstract, Bill James named Boddicker’s curve the best of the 1980s) and a unique "foshball" that baffled American League hitters. By changing speeds, throwing pitches at different angles, and keeping batters off balance, Boddicker was able to frustrate opponents. Rod Carew once described Boddicker’s pitching repertoire as "worse garbage than the stuff I take out at night," but it smelled sweet to the 1983 Orioles, as Boddicker helped them win a world championship in his rookie season.
Read more at the Baseball-Reference Bullpen |
