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HumanRainDelay · 02-16-2021, 07:12 PM

Alfonso Perea has been generating lots of buzz around spring training.

The Reading Railbirds starting pitcher had his worst season as a pro last year (0-8, 6.61 ERA, 1.85 WHIP), but wants to put those bad memories behind him.

Especially disturbing were the frequent home runs Perea surrendered.

“Those long balls just came at the worst times and seemingly in bunches," Perea acknowledged.

“I knew it was bad when my kid cousins were asking for free game tickets when I was starting so they could sit in the left field bleachers and catch home run balls.”

Ouch.

Enter this season’s Alfonso Perea equipped with a new pitch that opposing batters may equate to a Bigfoot sighting: the eephus pitch.

When asked about Perea, Railbirds' centerfielder Erick Bullock quipped:

“Eephus pitch? Is that what the thing is called?"

"That blooper messes with a ball player. You are embarrassed that a major leaguer is throwing it to you, but then two swings later, you are on the bench angry about popping-up to first."

Even educated baseball fans may be stumped to explain Perea's new option, a pitch that gained notoriety in the 1940s with then MLB hurler Rip Sewell.

After injuring himself in a hunting accident, Sewell began effectively throwing a high-arching and extremely slow blooper pitch. Sewell's teammates coined the unorthodox toss as an eephus or nothing pitch. A true eephus pitch is lobbed around 25 feet into the air before leisurely dropping into the strike zone.

Sewell made a career out of the eephus and was named to four consecutive All-Star games. During regular season and playoff games, no one ever hit a home run off of Sewell s magical pitch.

The only player during an MLB game to go long ball off of Sewell's eephus was the legendary Ted Williams during the 1946 All Star Game.

Humorously, Williams later admitted (confirmed by video) that he had moved so far to the front of the batter's box, that his right foot was clearly over the box's line when hitting the famous eephus pitch home run. The round-tripper should not have counted.

“I don’t expect to be the second-coming of Rip Sewell,” Perea explained.

“Just helping my team win and having family members seated behind home plate and excited to watch me pitch as opposed to dodging home run balls in the outfield seats--that would be reward enough from mixing in the eephus.”

02-16-2021, 07:12 PM	#4
HumanRainDelay Minors (Single A) Join Date: Nov 2020 Posts: 91	Railbirds #4: The Eephus Alfonso Perea has been generating lots of buzz around spring training. The Reading Railbirds starting pitcher had his worst season as a pro last year (0-8, 6.61 ERA, 1.85 WHIP), but wants to put those bad memories behind him. Especially disturbing were the frequent home runs Perea surrendered. “Those long balls just came at the worst times and seemingly in bunches," Perea acknowledged. “I knew it was bad when my kid cousins were asking for free game tickets when I was starting so they could sit in the left field bleachers and catch home run balls.” Ouch. Enter this season’s Alfonso Perea equipped with a new pitch that opposing batters may equate to a Bigfoot sighting: the eephus pitch. When asked about Perea, Railbirds' centerfielder Erick Bullock quipped: “Eephus pitch? Is that what the thing is called?" "That blooper messes with a ball player. You are embarrassed that a major leaguer is throwing it to you, but then two swings later, you are on the bench angry about popping-up to first." Even educated baseball fans may be stumped to explain Perea's new option, a pitch that gained notoriety in the 1940s with then MLB hurler Rip Sewell. After injuring himself in a hunting accident, Sewell began effectively throwing a high-arching and extremely slow blooper pitch. Sewell's teammates coined the unorthodox toss as an eephus or nothing pitch. A true eephus pitch is lobbed around 25 feet into the air before leisurely dropping into the strike zone. Sewell made a career out of the eephus and was named to four consecutive All-Star games. During regular season and playoff games, no one ever hit a home run off of Sewell s magical pitch. The only player during an MLB game to go long ball off of Sewell's eephus was the legendary Ted Williams during the 1946 All Star Game. Humorously, Williams later admitted (confirmed by video) that he had moved so far to the front of the batter's box, that his right foot was clearly over the box's line when hitting the famous eephus pitch home run. The round-tripper should not have counted. “I don’t expect to be the second-coming of Rip Sewell,” Perea explained. “Just helping my team win and having family members seated behind home plate and excited to watch me pitch as opposed to dodging home run balls in the outfield seats--that would be reward enough from mixing in the eephus.”