Over the past couple seasons, the “sweeper” has gone from a fresh coat of paint on a particular style of slider to a common part of the baseball lexicon. This year, there’s a new pitch du jour that’s growing in popularity among pitchers. The “kick change” is here, it’s incredibly nifty, and it may have a massive impact on a number of pitchers this year, including Seattle’s closer Andrés Muñoz and longtime Yankees reliever turned Mets starter Clay Holmes.
The kick change is great for pitchers who already throw sliders and/or cutters.