David Laurila speaks with Larry Andersen about his slider, the pitch that landed Andersen in Boston in exchange for now Hall of Famer Jeff Bagwell. I like this part:
“[The Astros] did want me to shorten up the leg kick a little, because guys could run on me. But I was more concerned with the hitter. I wasn’t so much worried about… especially the speedsters, like an Ozzie Smith or a Vince Coleman. I’d take a look and make sure they were stopped, but they were probably going to run anyway. They were going to take the bag. My main concern was not giving up hits, so I focused on the hitter.”
It seems the great pitchers have this line of thinking.
The article is interesting throughout. Part of the reason for trading Bagwell was that it looked liked he was blocked in the Boston organization. Wade Boggs was playing third, and Scott Cooper was right behind Boggs. Mo Vaughn was ripping up AAA, so the Sox didn’t think of moving Bagwell to first. Houston certainly got a bargain in that deal.
from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2kbTyIP
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