The LaLob

I knew about the Ephus pitch, but I had no idea about the LaLob. Thank God the New York Times decided to profile Dave LaRoche, the creator of the LaLob.

"Nearly 30 years after garnering national acclaim for his 20-foot-high curveball — clocked at 28 miles an hour — LaRoche is still remembered for his LaLob pitch."

Wow-28 MPH. I honestly cannot imagine a pitch that slow in the majors today. Would it actually work? I doubt it. So how did the LaLob come to be?

“It was kind of on a dare,” he said. “Back then, it was nothing to get up three or four times in a game. I was always working on my spin, and I kept flipping it slower and a little bit higher. The guys wanted to know how high I could throw it and have it still be a strike. I got good at throwing strikes with it.”

Needless to say, if a pitcher threw the LaLob, or some form of it today, it'd be HUGE. The media would be all over it, the 24 hour sports channels would repeat it over and over again, and the fans would love it. Food for thought: could you imagine if Joel Zumaya could throw the LaLob? How's this sound? A 100 MPH fastball to go along with a 28 MPH lob/curve thing. That'd be fantastic.