This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (January 2009) A groundball pitcher, sometimes referred to as "wormkillers" for the number of balls that hit the dirt and "kill worms" is a pitcher that relies on getting hitters to hit into ground outs instead of flyballs or strikeouts. Most groundball pitchers rely heavily pitches with good downward movement (sink), such as the sinker, the two-seam fastball, and the splitter/forkball. These pitches are used to 'jam' hitters, causing them to hit the ball into the ground, and to an infielder. As a result, many groundball pitchers have a very high groundout to flyout ratio (GO-AO), and a high number of double plays turned. Examples include Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Brandon Webb, Atlanta Braves pitcher Derek Lowe, Colorado Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook, and Washington Nationals pitcher Chien-Ming Wang. Notes v · d · eBaseball positions Pitchers Ace pitcher · Starting pitcher · Relief pitcher · Middle relief pitcher · Long reliever · Setup pitcher · Closer · Left-handed specialist · Fireballer · Power pitcher · Control pitcher · Groundball pitcher · Flyball pitcher · Switch pitcher Defensive players Basic: Pitcher (1) · Catcher (2) · First baseman (3) · Second baseman (4) · Third baseman (5) · Shortstop (6) · Left fielder (7) · Center fielder (8) · Right fielder (9) Other terms: Infielder · Outfielder · Utility player · Utility infielder · Position player · Battery · Fourth outfielder · Corner outfielder Offensive players Batter · Runner · Batting order (1–9) · Designated hitter · Pinch hitter · Pinch runner · Lead off · Leadoff hitter · Cleanup hitter · Clutch hitter · Contact hitter · Switch hitter Non-players Official scorer · Umpire · Manager · Coaches · General manager Related Disabled list · Phantom ballplayer This baseball-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.v · d · e


Van Buren Pitcher Begins UA Career With Victory
FAYETTEVILLE - Freshman Brandon Moore of Van Buren looked like a seasoned veteran on the mound for the Arkansas Razorbacks.

be hit on the ground So let s look at what Brandon Webb s extreme groundball pitcher chart looked like the past two season compared to say Barry Zito s extreme fly ball pitcher Starting with Webb we can see that no matter where he throws the ball there s a pretty good chance it will end up being a groundball Zito on the other hand will have a greater chance of
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/pitch-location-and-groundballs

SI.com - Writers - Jon Weisman: Success can be elusive for ...
There's something very tantalizing, very Holy Grail, about the ground-ball pitcher. Visions of 27 outs on 27 pitches dance in one's head. Why waste three fastballs or ...



Pohle not shy about contact
Even with the new offense-suppressing composite bats, pitching to contact seems counterintuitive in college baseball. Just watch batting practice, or if you are a freshman pitcher like Clemson’s Kevin Pohle, do not watch batting practice.

threw it 21 of the time 61 for strikes The changeup may be the pitch that will allow him to return to his winning ways especially when he gets it down in the zone like he did tonight Also keeping his slider down is helpful in returning to being a groundball pitcher Look for the pitching coach Chuck Hernandez to get Willis to focus in and repeat tonight s performance in
http://mlbnotebook.com/2009/05/all-aboard-the-d-train.html

Glossary of baseball (G) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A pitcher who tends to induce more ground balls than fly balls from the hitters. ... will bring a ground ball pitcher in as a relief pitcher when there are men ...



2011 Atlanta Braves Spring Training: Derek Lowe Has A Chance To Be The Dark Horse For The Braves
Derek Lowe has faced a lot of criticism since signing his deal with the Braves prior to the 2009 season. Coming off four straight seasons with ERA's below four, it was expected for Lowe to anchor the rotation with more mid-3 ERA's and good groundball numbers. While his ERA's have been worse than his actual performances, there have still been a hail of critical remarks shot Lowe's way. As a major ...

keep the ball in the park but as a groundball pitcher he didn t give up a lot to begin with For one last clue let s take a look at his Batting Average on Balls in Play or BABIP This is perhaps most telling Grimsley s batted balls were fielded more often for whatever reason after 1998 As a groundball pitcher Grimsley s BABIP would tend to be above the
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/graphical-grimsley

THE BOOK--Playing The Percentages In Baseball
In theory, a ground ball pitcher with a good strikeout rate is the best of both worlds. ... ERA has a ground ball pitcher bias due to the nature of unearned runs. ...



Tech begins 2011 season against Western Michigan
Two outs, bottom of the seventh inning — the game is tied, 3-3.

gave up 3 home runs the entire season This is where I see danger flags Over the past couple season Scott Eyre has transformed himself from a groundball pitcher to a flyball pitcher I think it s highly unlikely that he will be able to allow as few home runs as he did last season especially with his increased fly ball tendencies Even though this will lead to an
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/2005/11/page/2

Pitch Location & Groundballs | FanGraphs Baseball
So, let's look at what Brandon Webb s (extreme groundball pitcher) chart looked like the past two season, compared to say Barry Zito s (extreme fly ball pitcher) ...



Freshman Kevin Pohle looks to induce ground balls with two-seam fastball
Tigers resume play today at home against Cincinnati

FB of 18 9 While it s not unusual for groundball pitchers to have a higher HR FB I d consider 18 9 freakishly high so expect there to be some improvement in the home runs department It s rare to find an extreme groundball pitcher that can also strike batters out and Webb definitely falls into that category Sure his strikeouts may have dipped a bit but his control is
http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/index.php/daily-graphing-brandon-webb

Groundballs and Home Run Rates | FanGraphs Baseball
Yesterday, I looked at balls hit on the ground versus balls hit in the air and their ... ups), as a pitcher's ground ball rate increases does a pitcher's home runs allowed via ...



Mets Bullpen Open for Competition
Unlike the team across town, the Mets bullpen is hardly settled. The early plan is to have D.J. Carrasco, Bobby Parnell, and Francisco Rodriguez handle the 7th, 8th, and 9th inning respectively. Veteran lefty Tim Byrdak (.644 OPS against LH) would be the logical choice to replace Pedro Feliciano as the primary lefty out of [...]

the home run department keeping his home runs per nine innings rate HR 9 below the league average in all but two of his nine seasons His groundball tendencies certainly help him out When you get right down to it Escobar strikes out a ton of batters has a declining walk rate doesn t give up many home runs and oh yeah he s a groundball pitcher too Seriously
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/daily-graphing-kelvim-escobar

Ground Ball/Fly Ball - What Pitcher is best for the Nats ...
Assuming he regains his health and form from a few years ago, he is a reliable ground ball pitcher. Is he a suitable pitcher for the Nats? ...



Rockies' Morales ready to shed maddeningly inconsistent label
Franklin Morales is maddening because he's so talented but inconsistent. There are no shades of gray in the left-hander's career. He was brilliant as an emergency starter in 2007, and he was a terrific closer at the end of 2009.

that Grimsley s drug routine may have helped him locate the ball better I m sure the truth isn t that simple but this kind of finding is perplexing How about home run rates you ask Some evidence but nothing too compelling here Steroids and HGH might have helped Grimsley keep the ball in the park but as a groundball pitcher he didn t give up a lot to begin with
http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/graphical-grimsley

Groundballs and home run rates
A further look into groundball tendencies and home runs per flyball allowed. ... I looked at groundball and home run per flyball rates for all pitcher seasons 1988-2006 ...



MLB: Every Team's Top Player Under 26 Who'll Make the Biggest 2011 Impact
Young players, whether they be mid-season call-ups or rookies who make the team out of spring training, tend to have a massive impact on their team's success. From players like Buster Posey and Jason Heyward to Neftali Feliz, more and more are young stars expected to produce immediately upon their arrival in the majors.  Let's take a look at who we can expect to have some of the biggest impacts ...

still a bit of room for improvement here but if he can continue to strike out batters the way he s been doing it this spring K 9 over 12 he ll do just fine with his current BB 9 To add to the good news he s also a groundball pitcher which is a little rare to find in a pitcher that makes batters struggle to make clean contact with the ball Obviously this and
http://www.hardballtimes.com/daily/article/daily-graphing-rich-harden

The Truth About the Grounder from The Hardball Times
With many sites now tracking ground ball and fly ball information for the minor leagues, ... The main advantage of a ground ball pitcher is supposed to be his ability to ...



Royals Hope To Count On Pitcher Luke Hochevar
Charlie Riedel - AP over 1 year ago: Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Luke Hochevar delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles Sunday, May 17, 2009, in Kansas City, Mo. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) View full size photo » The 2011 Kansas City Royals starting rotation looks to Luke Hochevar to help fill a void left by Zack Greinke. In today's installment of ...

Kevin Frandsen gets called out at the plate after trying to score on a groundball in the second inning Chronicle photo by Darryl Bush
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/archive/2006/05/11/SPG8SIPLC51.DTL

The Baseball Analysts: Categorizing Pitchers by Strikeout and ...
Categorizing Pitchers by Strikeout and Groundball Rates: Starters - 2007 Edition ... Santana's in the southeast because he's not a groundball pitcher. ...



MLB Predictions: Breakdown of Who’ll Top AL in Each Main Statistical Category
  Predicting individual leaders in each statistical category is like picking bull stocks from the NASDAQ—everybody has 20/20 hindsight.  But, before reading all the Warren Buffett spring training predictions, keep in mind how many people really bought stock in Apple or Google 10 years ago? Likewise, who really thought Jose Bautista would hit 54 HRs last year, or that Adrian Beltre would lead the ...

Accardo gets a congratulatory fist bump from catcher Eliezer Alfonzo after bumping off the Rangers with three groundball outs for his third save Chronicle photo by Michael Maloney
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/object/article?o=0&f=/chronicle/archive/2006/06/30/SPGD9JN9MJ1.DTL