Tugboat’s seemingly unimpressive heater might not light up the radar gun, but batters insist it feels much faster than it actually is. It even gives the illusion of rising.
That’s because Tugboat throws from an unusually low angle that opponents aren’t accustomed to seeing, with mechanics that allow him to effectively hide the ball. Paul Quantrill, Tugboat’s pitching coach with Team Canada at the World Baseball Classic earlier this year, said the pitch looks like it “comes out of his jersey.”
The result is a fastball that Quijano describes as “a short little bazooka at 90 miles an hour.” Jeff Duda, Tugboat’s longtime coach at the Okotoks Dawgs Academy in Alberta, said his fastball feels more like 94. He turns to the “Invisiball” about 60% of the time.
“Maybe our algorithms say this isn’t going to play,” Quantrill said. “But apparently that f—ing hitter didn’t get the memo, because he’s not hitting it very good.”
His Name Is Tugboat. He Throws an ‘Invisiball.’ And Now He’s a Major-Leaguer. – WSJ