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In sweeping the Chicago Cubs in the NLCS, the Mets will be going to the World Series for the first time since 2000. A major contributor to the Mets' success has been Jeurys Familia. Originally, he was the Mets' setup man to Jenrry Mejia. However, after Mejia was suspended for half of the season for PED use, Familia was thrusted into the closer role. From the get-go, Familia has not disappointed. He has not only been dominant in the closer role, but he has proceeded to break the Mets’ franchise record for saves in the regular season and postseason.

Elsa/Getty Images

During the regular season, Familia had an ERPA of -1.81 and an xFIP of 2.55. This success and dominance can be attributed to Familia's ability to pile up strikeouts (9.92 K/9) and induce a ton of groundballs (groundball rate of 58.3%). With an already fantastic fastball/slider combination, Familia added a third pitch in late August; a split-fingered fastball (aka the splitter)(Image 1). The addition of the splitter to his arsenal of pitches has made Familia virtually un-hittable because of how perfectly it compliments his sinker and slider.

Image 1:

In its own right, Familia's split-fingered fastball has become a phenomenon amongst sports media. The truly remarkable aspect of the splitter is the obscurity of the pitch in the majors. In recent years, many teams have discouraged the use of the splitter because of the stress that the pitch can cause on the elbow. The thought process behind this theory is that as the fingers are spread out on the baseball, the more prone the pitcher is to elbow injury with higher uses of the pitch. However, this pitch gained its notoriety in the 1980s with many famous pitchers using it such as Bruce Sutter, Jack Morris, Mike Scott, and many more. Now, only a handful of current major league pitchers use this pitch.

In particular, Familia's splitter is remarkable in its own way because it is not like the typical splitter. The splitter at the major league or collegiate level is normally thrown at 83-85 MPH, sometimes even slower. It also has a severe downward break. However, Jeurys Familia throws his splitter at 92-94 MPH with a more neutral vertical break. In most cases, this pitch would not be classified as a splitter. Still, with how significantly different the pitch is from his sinker and slider, its only classification can be a splitter.

As shown in Image 2, Jeurys Familia does not command his splitter consistently well based on the wide variation in the light pink data points. However, with a consistent sinker and slider, he does not need a perfectly command-able splitter. The splitter compliments the sinker because it has similar horizontal break, but the splitter has more negative vertical break. The pitch also compliments his slider because they have similar vertical breaks, but different horizontal breaks. Over the course of the season, Familia's slider has had more of a sweeping action. While, the splitter has more of a vertical, dipping action. The most important point to bring up is that, with how fast Familia throws the splitter, it seems nearly impossible for a hitter to recognize which pitch is coming.

Image 2:

The Splitter Against Anthony Rizzo:

3-2 Slider Against Jorge Soler:

Since the Mets' last World Series appearance, the team has had their share of prominent closers. Some were enigmatic in performance like Armando Benitez and Francisco Rodriguez. Others have been a short bright spot in the role such as Billy Wagner and Bobby Parnell. However, Jeurys Familia seems like the bonafide closer for years to come for the Mets' organization. As his top-notch peripheral numbers in ERPA and xFIP show, his franchise single-season record of 43 saves and franchise postseason record of 5 saves were no fluke. He has the perfect combination of pitches for inducing a ton of strikeouts and groundballs. Now, with the addition of a "true" split-fingered fastball, he has a new pitch to make hitters look silly at the plate.

References:
1. "Baseball Reference." Baseball-Reference.com. Baseball Reference, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
2. "Baseball Statistics and Analysis | FanGraphs Baseball." Baseball Statistics and Analysis | FanGraphs Baseball. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Apr. 2015.
3. AP Press. "Split-Finger Fastball, Once Popular, Is Falling Away." The New York Times. The New York Times, 01 Oct. 2011. Web. 26 Oct. 2015. .
NOTE: All statistics accurate as of 10/26/15

By Sanjay Pothula
AriBall.com

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