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{{short description|Type of baseball pitch popular among Japanese pitchers}}
{{For|the gyroscopic exercise tool|Powerball (exercise tool)}}
A '''gyroball''' is a rare type of [[pitch (baseball)|baseball pitch]] used primarily by players in [[Japan]]. It is thrown with a spiral-like spin, similar to bullet from a rifle, or an American football pass.<ref name=Slate>{{Cite news |last=Chu |first=Keith |date=2006-11-10 |title=What the Heck Is a Gyroball? |url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2006/11/what-s-a-gyroball.html |access-date=2025-04-14 |work=Slate |language=en-US |issn=1091-2339}}</ref> This spin stabilizes the ball in flight, minimizing its deviation from a straight-line path to home plate.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://webusers.npl.illinois.edu/~a-nathan/pob/SpinAxis.pdf|title=Determining the 3D Spin Axis from TrackMan Data|last=Nathan|first=Alan M.|date=May 24, 2012|access-date=2 January 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111125235928/http://webusers.npl.illinois.edu/~a-nathan/pob/SpinAxis.pdf|archive-date=25 November 2011}}</ref> The gyroball is sometimes confused with the [[shuuto]], another pitch used in Japan.

==Overview==
The gyroball pitch was first developed by Ryutaro Himeno{{efn| 姫野龍太郎}}, a scientist who used computer simulations to model baseball flight paths, and Kazushi Tezuka{{efn|手塚一志}}, a baseball instructor who developed a throwing technique to pitch a gyroball.<ref name=SABR>{{Cite web |last1=Baldwin |first1=Dave |last2=Nathan |first2=Alan |title=An Analysis of the Gyroball |url=https://sabr.org/journal/article/an-analysis-of-the-gyroball/ |access-date=2025-04-14 |website=Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last1=Himeno |first1=Ryutaro |title=The Secret of the Miracle Pitch (魔球の正体) |last2=Tezuka |first2=Kazushi}}</ref> The pitch is thrown with a [[Anatomical_terms_of_motion#Pronation_and_supination|pronated]] motion of the arm and from a [[Submarine (baseball)|low arm angle]], which Himeno and Tezuka argue reduces arm strain.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080508023852/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/the_bonus/01/25/matsuzaka.gyroball/1.html Brett Bull, "Unwinding the Gyroball," SI.com January 30, 2006]</ref>

This delivery creates a bullet-like spin on the ball, similar to the way an [[American football]] spins when thrown.<ref name=Slate /> The effect of this spin, which minimizes the [[Magnus force]] on the ball, is often misunderstood; a correctly-thrown gyroball will have minimal deflection from its straight path to home plate. Multiple early reports on the gyroball mistakenly claimed that the gyroball moved '''more''' than a conventional pitch, behaving like an extreme [[curveball]] or [[Slider (baseball)|slider]].<ref name=SABR />

==Relationship to other pitches==
The unconventional spin of a gyroball is similar to the primary spin axis of some [[knuckleball]] pitches, such as those thrown by [[R. A. Dickey]]. However, knuckleballs are intended to minimize the ball's spin, increasing the effects of air drag to create an erratic flight-path, unlike the stabilizing spin of a gyroball.<ref>[http://baseball.physics.illinois.edu/DickeyPitch103a.html Anatomy of a Really Nasty Pitch] Alan M. Nathan, "Anatomy of a Really Nasty Pitch"</ref>

The gyroball is often confused with another primarily Japanese pitch, the [[shuuto]]. Some of this confusion stems from an error in an early article on the gyroball by baseball writer [[Will Carroll]].<ref>[[Will Carroll]],"The Ghost Pitch"{{cite web |url=http://www.robneyer.com/book_04_gyroball.html |title=Rob Neyer |access-date=2005-06-22 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050507132537/http://www.robneyer.com/book_04_gyroball.html |archive-date=2005-05-07 }}</ref> Although Carroll later corrected himself, the confusion still persists.

The unconventional spin may also lead a batter to mistakenly identify the pitch as a high-movement [[Slider (baseball)|slider]] when the ball leaves the pitcher's hand, even though the pitch will end up moving like a fastball once in flight.<ref name="Passan2007">[[Jeff Passan]], "Finally, the gyroball mystery solved," Yahoo.com Feb 21, 2007 [https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-mlb_07_gyroball022107&prov=yhoo&type=lgns]</ref>

==Appearance in popular culture==
===Video games===
''[[Baseball Mogul]]'' was the first game to include the gyroball, in 2005. ''[[MLB 07: The Show]]'' and ''[[The Bigs]]'' also include the pitch. [[Daisuke Matsuzaka]] is the only pitcher with a gyroball in each of these games.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}} However, the movement of the pitch in the video game differs from the movement of the actual pitch, and Matsuzaka believes that the programmers mistook one of his other pitches for the gyroball.<ref>{{Citation|title="魔球「ジャイロボール」の存在レッドソックス・松坂大輔が衝撃発言"}}</ref>{{Verify source|date=April 2025|reason=This is a paraphrase of an unattributed quote from an earlier version. In a web search, I found this Japanese source listed for the quote, but I do not know whether this is accurate.}} It is also an obtainable ability in the game ''[[MLB Power Pros]]''.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

===Japanese animation===
In the Japanese [[manga]] and [[anime]] baseball series ''[[Major (manga)|Major]]'', the protagonist, Goro, is known for his use of the gyroball pitch, which was his only pitch until he eventually adds a [[forkball]] to his repertoire.{{citation needed|date=April 2025}}

==Pitchers who throw the gyroball==
Confusion about the nature of the gyroball, especially outside Japan, means that the list of pitchers who are believed to throw gyroballs is variable, depending on the source. Kazushi Tezuka cited [[Shunsuke Watanabe]], [[Tetsuro Kawajiri]], and [[Tomoki Hoshino]] as examples of Japanese gyroball pitchers when explaining the pitch to an American audience.<ref name=Passan2007 />

Much of the discussion of the gyroball in [[Major League Baseball]] circles stemmed from [[Daisuke Matsuzaka]], a Japanese pitcher who joined the [[Boston Red Sox]] in 2007. His slider was mislabeled as a gyroball in video analyses.<ref name="Passan2007" /> Matsuzaka had said he was trying to learn to throw the gyroball, but it is unclear if he ever actually threw it.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fox |first=Dan |title=Schrodinger's Bat: Searching for the Gyroball |url=http://baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=6419 |date=July 5, 2007 |website=[[Baseball Prospectus]]}}</ref>

Various other pitchers have claimed to be learning to throw gyroballs,<ref>T. R. Sullivan, "Notes: Wilson adding to pitching menu Rangers left-hander will experiment with Japan's 'gyro'"MLB.com [http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20070221&content_id=1810634&vkey=news_mlb&fext=.jsp&c_id=mlb]</ref> or have been claimed by others to throw gyroballs.<ref name=niwa>Masayoshi Niwa,"ウィーバー兄弟はジャイロボーラー？"MAJOR.JP Mar 11, 2007 {{cite web |url=http://mlb.yahoo.co.jp/column/?n=13 |title=Major.jp{{pipe}}MLB コラム |access-date=2007-04-18 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070812152648/http://mlb.yahoo.co.jp/column/?n=13 |archive-date=2007-08-12 }}(Japanese)</ref><ref name=Passan2007 /> Tezuka claims that many children throw gyroballs unintentionally before their instructors modify their pitching form to produce more standard pitches.<ref>Masayoshi Niwa,"松坂のスライダーはジャイロボールなのか？（後編" Jun 31, 2007 MAJOR.JP [http://mlb.yahoo.co.jp/column/?n=10]{{dead link|date=October 2017|bot=InternetArchiveBot|fix-attempted=yes}}(Japanese)</ref>

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.espn.com/espn/eticket/story?page=gyroballsearch&redirected=true ESPN article including video of hitters facing the Gyroball]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160111193533/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFvNWDKAxAs Video Matsuzaka's Gyroball Revealed]
* [https://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2007/02/21/sports/20070222_GYRO_GRAPHIC.html A demonstration by Tezuka, posted on ''New York Times'']
* [https://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/22/sports/baseball/22gyro.html The Japanese Gyroball Mystery] ''New York Times'' article by Lee Jenkins.
* [https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-mlb_07_gyroball022107 Recent Yahoo! Sports article on the true Gyroball] Another Yahoo! Sports article by Jeff Passan.
* [http://www.rotoauthority.com/2005/10/daisuke_matsuza.html Video, possibly of Gyroballs]
* [http://www.slate.com/id/2153373/?nav=fix "Explainer" on the gyroball.] from [[Slate (magazine)|Slate]].
* [https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-gyro031306&prov=yhoo&type=lgns Searching for Baseball's Bigfoot] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070309211912/http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp-gyro031306&prov=yhoo&type=lgns |date=2007-03-09 }}, a Yahoo! Sports article by Jeff Passan.
* [https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news;_ylt=AlxLlQKuwnup6EyoulnyfP45nYcB?slug=jp-mlb_07_gyroball022107&prov=yhoo&type=lgns Yahoo! Sports article]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070202041101/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/the_bonus/01/25/matsuzaka.gyroball/index.html Unwinding the Gyroball] by Brett Bull, special to SI.com.
* [http://www.bigempire.com/sake/gyroball_matsuzaka_1.html Big Empire article]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WKhHcTCDF5E A slowed-down video showing the movement and spin of the gyroball]
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1gXMeb-6j4 Video Trajectory of the Gyroball]

{{Baseball pitches}}

[[Category:Baseball pitches]]
[[Category:Baseball in Japan]]

Gyroball - Revision history