Despite their entire job being able to throw the ball accurately, some pitchers can have a difficult time dialing things down for a throw over to first base.
There’s a reason a lot of pitchers will pitch the ball underhand to the first baseman if they can, because it’s tough to slow things down when you’re accustomed to trying to throw the ball as hard as possible. There are some fairly famous examples of pitchers struggling to make what should be a very simple throw for them, with Jon Lester’s yips being the all-timer, as for years he quite literally could not make a throw to first.
On Wednesday night in Miami, Cardinals pitcher Jordan Hicks was the latest pitcher to succumb to a throwing error to first base, but his came with heightened stakes as there were runners on first and second in the bottom of the ninth with St. Louis clinging to a one-run lead. So, as a chopper bounced back to him, he double clutched and airmailed his first baseman, allowing the game-tying and game-winning runs to score on the most painful walkoff of the season.
The Marlins walk it off on a BRUTAL Cardinals throwing error pic.twitter.com/PTiu4S7Ybj
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 6, 2023
The worst thing to do when throwing a baseball is trying to aim it, and you can see Hicks take a second little hop to try and get his throw perfect, while not rocketing it full speed at his first baseman. The result is a lollipop throw that goes bounding into foul territory, with no one able to back up the play and prevent Miami’s runners from rounding the bases and ending the game.