Major League Baseball

Pitching Ninja's filthiest pitches: Hader, Holmes among Division Series best

Updated Oct. 17, 2022 4:19 p.m. ET

By Rob Friedman, aka "Pitching Ninja"
FOX Sports MLB Analyst

The MLB postseason is in full swing, and of course, so is filthy pitching.

Here are my filthiest pitches from the AL and NL Division Series.

In the most impressive outing of the NLDS, Hader slammed the door on the Dodgers' chances by dismantling Mookie Betts, Trea Turner and Freddie Freeman in devastating fashion. After a slump, Hader — arguably the most dominant closer in the game the past couple of years — is BAAAACK.

This overlay shows just how tough it is to hit against Hader when he's on. This is his fastball and slider overlaid, and you can see how those pitches come in on the same trajectory but finish in very different spots.

Hitting can sometimes be flat-out impossible.

Due to Hader's resurgence, I decided to create a new entrance video for him, with Hader riding the San Diego lucky goose "House of the Dragon"-style. I dub thee Josh Targaryen, Destroyer of Hitters and King of the NLDS.

Clay Holmes: Breaking ankles

Holmes broke José Ramírez's ankles with this fierce 93 mph slider. It's not often that you can turn a great hitter such as Ramírez into a pretzel, which makes this pitch particularly impressive.

You can see why this slider is so tough to hit in this overlay. Holmes had thrown 16 consecutive sinkers before this wicked slider. Ramírez was expecting another sinker but instead got this slider that almost hit him in the foot.

The fact that this pitch travels in the same basic trajectory as Holmes' sinker makes it very difficult for a hitter to pick up … until it's too late.

Lance McCullers Jr.: Frisbee slider

McCullers is one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball. When people think of McCullers, they generally think of his gross knuckle curve, but his slider is equally nasty. Opponents have a nearly 32% whiff rate on that pitch and slug only .222 against it.

This incredible slider broke 20 inches horizontally and made Julio Rodríguez nearly fall over trying to reach it.

This overlay shows just how ridiculous McCullers's stuff is. Here's that Frisbee slider combined with the two-seamer. The pitches crisscross on the way to the plate. Filthy!

Clayton Kershaw: Bounced Cooperstown curve

Kershaw is a first-ballot Hall of Famer, and this is a first-ballot Hall of Fame curveball.

Kershaw got Jurickson Profar to swing at a curveball that basically bounced in the grass. Look how far out in front Profar is on this!

Even the pitch tracker seemed to hilariously troll Profar on this one. See that dot? That's almost cyberbullying.

Here is Kershaw's fastball and curveball overlaid, and you can clearly see how those pitches start looking the same, but then the curveball dives to the dirt, earning an epic whiff.

Incredibly, that curveball was the lowest pitch ever to get a swing-and-miss in the pitch-tracking era!

José Alvarado: Destroying Orlando Arcia

Alvarado's emergence as a dominant reliever is a big reason the Phillies advanced to the NLCS.

In this jaw-dropping sequence, Alvarado gets Arcia to jump back on two 100 mph sinkers in the middle of the zone and then finishes him off with a vicious, 94 mph cutter for a sword. Just electric stuff!

Bonus clips: The Ripper

Umpire John Tumpane, whom I've dubbed the Ripper due to his elite punch-out (or, more accurately, "stab out") mechanics, caught a couple of bodies during the Dodgers-Padres game.

Word to the wise: Never go down looking with the Ripper behind the plate, or you'll be placed on the umpire injured list!

I can't wait to see what filth the rest of the postseason brings!

Rob Friedman is an MLB pitching analyst for FOX Sports whose work has been featured on many Major League Baseball broadcasts. Follow him on Twitter @PitchingNinja.