Former San Francisco Giants manager Roger Craig, who popularized the ‘splitter’ thrown by MLB pitchers in the 1980s, has died. He is 93 years old.안전놀이터
The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 5th (local time) that former coach Craig passed away in San Diego the day before. According to the bereaved family, he suffered a brief illness before his death.
After stepping on the MLB stage in 1955, he left an inconspicuous record of 74 wins and 98 losses in his career until 1966, but after transforming into a leader, he left his name in baseball history as a ‘splitter’s evangelist’.
During his tenure as manager of the San Diego Padres in the late 1970s, he taught pitchers the ‘split-finger fastball’ (splitter), in which a ball is thrown between the index and middle fingers.
The splitter, which flies like a fastball after leaving the pitcher’s hand and then suddenly falls in front of the batter, has existed in the major leagues since the early 20th century, but it was not a commonly used pitch.
However, as Craig spread the splitter to pitchers, the power of this ball began to be recognized in the major leagues.
Jack Morris, who learned the splitter from the Detroit Tigers, where Craig was a pitching coach, became the number one contributor to Detroit winning the 1984 World Series.
In particular, as Mike Scott, an ordinary pitcher of the Houston Astros, transformed into the best ace in the league with the splitter, the splitter’s popularity caught fire.
Scott had a poor record of 5-11 in 1984, but transformed into an 18-win pitcher the following year with a splitter.
He also won the Cy Young Award in 1986, the highest honor for pitchers.
However, the splitter, which was popular as the pitcher’s most wanted to throw, gradually disappeared from the baseball world as the side effect of putting too much strain on the pitcher’s arm became known.
Craig led San Francisco to a National League championship in 1989, but took a knee in the World Series.