By: Jiahao Chen
Clay Holmes, of the Yankees, used his sinker to earn him fame throughout his life. He played countless games as a pitcher, and his sinker (a pitch with a fast and hard downward angle that induces ground balls) was what helped him win his games and lead his team to victory.
Holmes recalled that the first time he threw a sinker was when he was playing catch when he was 7 years old, saying he felt more comfortable with his fingers along the seams when he threw the ball. Throwing the ball using a two-seam grip would allow him to become a professional player, one that was able to throw a sinker.
Many people were suggesting to Holmes to use short-arm action, but he refused. “Ultimately I went against it, because I knew there was maybe a risk of losing my sinker,” he said. He claimed that after this thought, he started to focus on making his sinker the best it could be, thinking of it as his “ticket.” His teammates also knew one thing that Holmes believed: if Holmes could perfect his sinker, he would become a baseball star.
His sinker was already amazing and he was already famous for being the only pitcher to pitch fastballs 80% of the time. “Fastball” really just meant his two-seam sinker, but even if he tried a four-seamer where the ball travels directly forward in a straight line, he still ends up with a sinker. Holmes doesn’t know why this happens either, saying, “I don’t know. I just can’t get a ball to stay on a line.”
To perfect his sinker, he did have study his throw. Through studying the movement of his throw, he then knew that he didn’t have to be so good at the sinker; he could relax and still strike out batters.
After this period of time, Holmes almost perfected his sinker, so he didn’t need to go any farther. His team was relieved, with one teammate saying, “I originally hated playing catch with him, and I wouldn’t do it when he first came over here because all he was doing was ripping sinkers.”
If everything goes as planned during the all-stars games, Holmes will probably be at the mound at the end of the game, showing the skill in his sinker.