# Joe Thatcher, Padres Pitcher: Watch This Guy..... **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [August 30, 2009, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-thatcher-padres-pitcher-watch-this-guy/508266 "2009-08-30T16:48:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 14\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2009, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-thatcher-padres-pitcher-watch-this-guy/508266/1 "2009-08-30T16:48:06Z")
…pitch: [http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090826&content\_id=6631850&vkey=news\_sd&fext=.jsp&c\_id=sd](http://toronto.bluejays.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20090826&content_id=6631850&vkey=news_sd&fext=.jsp&c_id=sd) Because an injury of my own has me side-lined, I’m watching a lot of Braves baseball these days, and last week noticed what I would call a “contortionist” pitching delivery! (as did the announcers:)) So I did a bit of reading and learned that Joe had a tumor on his left leg which made me wonder if that’s the reason for the unusual style? He looks kinda “scary” from a batter’s standpoint, which reminds me of my pony league days, when I couldn’t _stand_ hitting against a side-arm pitcher. Do y’all know of any other pitchers whith an unusual delivery? BTW, they showed him in slo-mo that night, and man, that looks like it would hurt, pitching like that! Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 5:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-thatcher-padres-pitcher-watch-this-guy/508266/2 "2009-08-31T05:57:53Z")
It’s far from the strangest pitching motion I’ve seen. Ever seen [Hideo Nomo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjlmJBH35vU)? ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-thatcher-padres-pitcher-watch-this-guy/508266/3 "2009-08-31T06:04:49Z")
Odd, but yes, it’s not Hideo Nomo odd, or Fernando Valenzuela or Hideki Okajima odd. I can’t quite put my finger on what’s so weird about this guy, even for a sidearmer. I think it’s that he is actually releasing the ball much _higher_ than you would expect, given how low to the ground the rest of his body is. ---
**Author:** ![Paintcharge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/paintcharge/32/7946_2.png) [@Paintcharge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paintcharge)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-thatcher-padres-pitcher-watch-this-guy/508266/4 "2009-08-31T13:21:03Z")
[Chad Bradford](http://www.mlb.com/team/player_media.jsp?player_id=136268) has a very odd style. Someone once put together a composite image of him-took his upper body and rotated it to be in a normal position-his motion is similar to a regular pitcher. He just leans way over to throw from about two inches off the ground. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-thatcher-padres-pitcher-watch-this-guy/508266/5 "2009-08-31T15:29:18Z")
There’ve been a lot of sidearmers, and they’re ALL weird in thier own way. What struck me out the OP’s link was the defensive play he made. That’s a lot harder than it looks. That was a hell of a play. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-thatcher-padres-pitcher-watch-this-guy/508266/6 "2009-08-31T20:53:23Z")
A batter takes a lot “on faith” stepping up to a sidearm pitcher. Uh-Huh! Can I get an “Amen”! 🙂 And yeah, I agree about that play! Awesome! Hey, some baseball trivia for ya’: (For the oldies but goodies) What’s a “Butterfly Mitt” for? No prize. Just braggin’ rights! 😉 Thanks Q ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 8:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-thatcher-padres-pitcher-watch-this-guy/508266/7 "2009-08-31T20:56:07Z")
> [@Paintcharge](#): > > [Chad Bradford](http://www.mlb.com/team/player_media.jsp?player_id=136268) has a very odd style. Someone once put together a composite image of him-took his upper body and rotated it to be in a normal position-his motion is similar to a regular pitcher. He just leans way over to throw from about two inches off the ground. Heilige Scheisse! :eek: Dood! And I thought Thatcher was “special”! Quasi ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-thatcher-padres-pitcher-watch-this-guy/508266/8 "2009-08-31T23:06:05Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > A batter takes a lot “on faith” stepping up to a sidearm pitcher. Uh-Huh! > > Can I get an “Amen”! 🙂 > > And yeah, I agree about that play! Awesome! > > Hey, some baseball trivia for ya’: (For the oldies but goodies) What’s a “Butterfly Mitt” for? > > No prize. Just braggin’ rights! 😉 > > Thanks > > Q Isn’t it a giant, big-ass catcher’s mitt to catch knuckleballers? ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2009, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-thatcher-padres-pitcher-watch-this-guy/508266/9 "2009-08-31T23:35:55Z")
Yup, you got it.🙂 The way I understand it, (and I’m an old Atlanta Crackers fan!) the mitt was used to _stop_ it rather than _catch_ it, because it’s such a crazy pitch and hard to follow! God, I MISS those days of B&W TV and watching the Crackers play: > **[Atlanta Crackers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlanta_Crackers)** > > The Atlanta Crackers were Minor League Baseball teams based in Atlanta, Georgia, between 1901 and 1965. The Crackers were Atlanta's home team until the Atlanta Braves moved from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in 1966. > Atlanta played its first Southern Association game (against the Nashville Baseball Club) on Saturday, April 26, 1902 (Memorial Day) in Piedmont Park before a crowd of around 3,500. For 60 years (until 1961), the Crackers were part of the Class AA Southern Association, a period during whi... For a kid just “off the boat”, whose Dad tried to explain the concept of “Bäse-ball”, I was just mesmerized, because all I had been used to, up until that time, was “Fussball”. To this day, Germans don’t “get” baseball (for the most part). American football ('Der Eier-Ball" - The “Egg-Ball”) and basketball - yes, but unless you see a field on an Army Base, I don’t think you’ll see a baseball stadium in Deutschland. Now, I’ll stand back while one of you “whippersnappers” proves me wrong! 🙂 I will always love Fussball (soccer), but “Base-a-ball have been bery, bery good to me!” (Who said that?). Also, the other night, while I was watching the Braves play the Padres? I heard the announcer say something like (and I’m not quoting exactly, okay): “The Nicaraguan pitcher is pitching to the Japanese batter as the Cuban second baseman chats with the Phillipino runner”. As I said, that isn’t an _exact_ quote, but it just demonstrates what a great game baseball is, to have crossed all kinds of borders like that! Thanks Quasi (der Modem:D) ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-thatcher-padres-pitcher-watch-this-guy/508266/10 "2009-09-01T00:04:46Z")
> [@Quasimodem](#): > > \To this day, Germans don’t “get” baseball (for the most part). American football ('Der Eier-Ball" - The “Egg-Ball”) and basketball - yes, but unless you see a field on an Army Base, I don’t think you’ll see a baseball stadium in Deutschland.\ Uh…well, there’s the [Bundesliga](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bundesliga_(baseball)) with teams such as the Paderborn Untouchables and the Mainz Athletics in the First Division. [This is the Bundesliga’s website.](http://www.baseball-softball.de/bundesliga/index.php?SXL_Session=e0b82e7038f56e364ae5cb7d95ea5c65) It’s in German ETA: as if it would be silly for a German baseball league to have a website in some language other than Deutsch :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-thatcher-padres-pitcher-watch-this-guy/508266/11 "2009-09-01T00:19:34Z")
:rolleyes: SIGH :rolleyes: Kids these days… just _no_ respect for their elders!😉 What’re ya gonna do with 'em? Ya try to tell 'em something, and do they take it as fact from a wizened old gentleman and pass it on to _their_ children and grandchildren? Nope. They run right to them comm-pooters and go to Wicki-whatever and spout their _knowledge_! Well [Dana Carvey] we didn’t _have_ “knowledge” back in _my_ day! We had them “rumors”, and that’s how we lived our lives! Based on them rumors! And we _liked_ it![/Dana Carvey]. ;);)😉 , Thanks, **KennerTheGreat** Quasi ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 3:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-thatcher-padres-pitcher-watch-this-guy/508266/12 "2009-09-01T03:43:34Z")
“Tongue In Cheek”? I know it’s hard to read a personality into internet words, but I am the real deal, and would not hurt you for the world. “Big-Time”, okay? No offense meant.🙂 Not EVER!😉 Quas’ ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-thatcher-padres-pitcher-watch-this-guy/508266/13 "2009-09-01T17:46:57Z")
None taken, Guin. Actually, I wouldn’t have guessed there was a Bundesliga for baseball in Germany either. I wasn’t trying to purposely prove you wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Quasimodem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Quasimodem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quasimodem)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2009, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/joe-thatcher-padres-pitcher-watch-this-guy/508266/14 "2009-09-01T23:20:44Z")
Man just paid me a compliment! 🙂 Q