Slider

What is a slider?

A slider is a pitch that appears to “slide”, deceiving a hitter by causing him to miscalculate the pitch’s trajectory. This is a pitch in the category known as “breaking balls,” or pitches that move as they approach the batter.

The slider is one of the faster breaking balls, able to hit close to 90 MPH for some pitchers. After throwing, the pitch appears to be a normal fastball, only to break laterally towards the pitcher’s glove-side. For righties, that means it slides from right to left, with the opposite for lefties.

How is slider used by pitchers?

Sliders are one of the most effective tools for getting hitters to swing and miss, leading to strikeouts. Because the sliding action deceives the hitter, it can cause them to mistime the swing or aim in the wrong spot, leading to these missed swings. As a result, sliders are often thrown when the pitcher is ahead, and in two-strike counts, where the hitter has to swing.

How to throw a slider?

Sliders use a similar grip as fastballs. Commonly, the index and middle fingers are close together.

Slider Examples

Here is Jacob Misiorowski throwing an absolutely filthy 96 MPH slider:

Interesting Slider Stats

While Baseball Reference doesn’t have pitch type data, you can check out the page for Randy Johnson, one of the most effective

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