Vicente padilla eephus pitch

Then a starter for the Rangers, the right-hander was off to a subpar start against left-handed hitters in his first season in the American League. That year, lefties batted.

From Steve Hamilton’s “Folly Floater” to Vicente Padilla’s “soap bubble,” this unconventional pitch continues to surprise and entertain baseball fans.

So he attempted a new gimmick. Instead of firing a traditional pitch versus lefties, he tossed a slower one with the element of surprise. While Padilla doesn't remember the guinea pig for the first experiment, he could vividly recall the shock of the sequence. And then, the eephus pitch was born. Six years later, Padilla is still unleashing the unconventional pitch, but now it's with the Red Sox.

Padilla's eephus made its spring training debut March 5, when he froze Twins catcher Joe Mauer on a 53 mph toss. During his days with the Dodgers, Padilla's pitch was dubbed the "soap bubble" by legendary broadcaster Vin Scully. Upon release from his hand, the baseball floats in the air —— in between 50 and 55 mph —— and breaks ever so slightly at the plate.

The slow movement and deceptive timing of the eephus usually stymies opposing batters. Just ask Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz. But Padilla's in the major-league minority.

I've seen that before, he actually struck him out on three eephus'.

The only active hurlers to incorporate the pitch in their stash are Miami's Mark Buehrle and Houston's Livan Hernandez. Of the trio, Padilla likely leans on the eephus the most often. There are gambles that come along with the eephus. By tossing such a slow curveball, Padilla is essentially exposing himself to hitters —— who are prepared for the pitch —— to unload the long ball.